Spring Awakening: Those You've Known (2022)

IMDb plot summary: Fifteen years after the Tony-winning Broadway run of Spring Awakening, the original cast and creative team reunite for a spectacular, one night only concert.

Directed by Michael John Warren. Starring Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, and John Gallagher Jr.

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known is a documentary focusing on a reunion of the original cast of the musical Spring Awakening for a concert performance fifteen years after its Broadway run. Virtually the entire original cast, down to the minor characters and ensemble, were available to reunite, so we get some really great interviews with all of these cast members, many of whom hadn't made a name for themselves when they were first in this show and are now regularly working actors. They reflect on the show's journey to Broadway and its impact on musical theater for teenage audiences. I've never actually been a fan of Spring Awakening but I appreciated the layout of the documentary, where we would get a good mix of information about the show, mixed with video footage of the original performance, mixed with footage of the concert, all of which did a really great job of selling the show and its themes and its importance. It almost made me want to go see the show, which is about as high a compliment as you could get for something like this. For those who are much bigger fans of either the show or the people involved I'm sure this is very much a love letter for them. As it is, I'm not sure it's an essential Broadway documentary but it certainly an earnest one, and I appreciate the enthusiasm with which all these characters view this work.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known > Bad Education

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known < Key Largo

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known < Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known > Liberal Arts

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known < Aliens

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known < Knight and Day

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known > The Wedding Singer

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known > Junebug

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known < Quiz Show

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known > The Act of Killing

Spring Awakening: Those You've Known > Jackie

Final spot: #1608 out of 3791, or 58%.