Wedekind & his play

Frank Wedekind (Born Benjamin Franklin Wedekind) was a playwright in the 1800s. He was born in Germany, but grew up in Switzerland and lived in Munich for most of his life. He worked as a journalist and as a secretary for a circus, before beginning to write his own plays. In 1891, he released his first play, Frühlings Erwachen, also known as ‘Spring Awakening’. It was immediately banned in Germany, (partially for being extremely critical of the German bourgeoisie) and set the groundwork for expressionist theater.. He released a multitude of other plays, including the Earth-Spirit and Pandora’s Box. These plays went on to inspire the opera Lulu. He worked for many years as an actor and performer, including with a satirical cabaret called “the Eleven Executioners." 

Spring Awakening was Wedekind's first play. He finished writing it in 1891, but due to the controversial nature of the play, wouldn’t be put on stage until 1906 in Berlin by Max Reinhardt. It was constantly censored, first in Germany, then in England by the Lord Chamberlain in 1963 after only 2 performances. It was put on in the US in 1917 but did not gather much interest, and was closed down after one performance. It was finally put on uncensored in the Old Vic in 1974, which lasted for approximately 2 months. The production notes from this show made it into the hands of Tom Hulce, who used it while adapting Spring Awakening into the rock musical we know today.