By: Zenab Saeed ~Staff Writer~

Xavier University’s Theatre is preparing to stage its production of “Spring Awakening,” a rock musical that focuses on the lives of a group of students and their coming-of-age journeys. The Tony Award winning musical features music written by Duncan Sheik and is based on the 1891 German play of the same name.

The musical will take place Theatre at 7:30 pm from April 16 to 19 in the Gallagher Student Center. The production will be directed by Stephen Skiles, feature choreography by Dee Anne Bryll, music direction under Scot Buzza and scenic design by Alana Yurczyk.

Tyler Kuhlman, who will be playing the role of Melchior Gabor, said, “I am first and foremost looking forward to sharing this production with an audience. This is such a powerful piece of theater stuffed with real life issues and to finally be able to deliver the story to an audience will be an amazing feeling.” The show largely follows the life of Kuhlman’s character, including his best friend Moritz, played by Griff Bludworth, and his love interest Wendla, played by Maya Farhat.

In order to prepare for the production, the cast rehearsed under the direction of Stephen Skiles.

“In preparing for this show, I have had to learn a lot. Skiles has done incredible work with me as an actor. The show has gone from being a performance to actually being a real experience every time we go through a rehearsal,” Kuhlman said.

“He has been able to get me to release my reservations about different scenes and actions performed in the production, and it has brought an immense amount of life to the show. I would also like to give a huge thanks to my cast and crew members,” he said.

“Seeing as I came out of nowhere and landed in their program they could all have easily not been welcoming, but they have all been kind from the word ‘go.’ You don’t find that every day and it was amazing to feel that kind of comfort from the start,” Kuhlman said. For more information, on the show visit http://www.xavier.edu/theatre.