As Pittsburgh is entering its “false spring” season, a local production of the Tony-Award-winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening is set to open at the end of March for a limited run. This rock musical has been performed on tours and in local theater productions, but what makes this particular staging of Spring Awakening unique?
Everyone involved in this production, onstage and off, are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Spring Awakening, from its early origins as a play in 1891, has been a controversial piece of media because of its frank discussion of sexuality, abuse, suicide, and abortion in its coming-of-age story. The original playwright, Frank Wedekind, took his frustration with the hypocrisy of German society and explored it in his story about a group of teenagers who are experiencing sexual feelings for the first time. Meanwhile, the adults in their lives keep the characters in the dark about their own bodies and desires, all while pushing unrealistic expectations on them. As a result of these pressures and ignorance, tragedy strikes their small town.
“The education system of the time was very explicitly trying to coach [the children] into being moldable, controllable citizens,” said Jami (they/she), the media curator for the show. “This is an empire on the edge of collapse, trying to control its people through moral authority. And we felt like this story was important for the moment we’re experiencing.”
The queer production entity behind A Queering of Spring Awakening, Sour Flower, first bloomed in 2025 with its inaugural event, Lavender Lux, a Pride festival featuring local musicians, drag and burlesque artists, and a craft festival, all housed within Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood.
The co-directors of “A Queering of Spring Awakening,” Mel Kleeburg (they/them) and Ariel Squire (she/her), had shared roots in musical theater in Pittsburgh. The two had met at Point Park University in the theater arts program and started performing at a young age.
“I’ve done a lot of theater, but hadn’t really had any sort of experience where it’s been so affirming towards everyone’s gender and sexuality,” said Squire, who is also the show’s intimacy coordinator. “I’ve seen a lot of times when that’s been stifled, especially with gender expression.”
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That stifling is also what led Kleeburg away from the theater for a while.
“When you’re performing, you don’t really have control over what you do or wear,” they said. “And I kept getting frustrated, feeling like I wanted to change things, but I wasn’t allowed to.”
Through their shared interests and frustrations, they found a crew of like-minded individuals also looking to curate a queer theatrical space and created Sour Flower Events.
“Now that we’re able to create that space for everyone, [theater] has become that much more fun,” said Kleeburg.
Sour Flower launched a Kickstarter campaign in November 2025 to make this show a reality.
“Today, our authoritarian government threatens the bodily autonomy, safety, and fundamental rights of queer and trans people. Facing this crisis, we believe in this art as an act of radical joy and an important platform for change,” the description on the Kickstarter stated.
The production reached its goal within a matter of weeks. “It shows that there’s a need for [queer musical theater],” said Squire.
For many Spring Awakening cast members, this production was a return to the theater after an extended hiatus. Whether it was from burnout or typecasting based on body type and assigned gender at birth, this production brought them back onstage, this time in a more affirming environment.
When they first heard about “A Queering of Spring Awakening,” Max Urban (they/he) knew they had to try out for this show as a longtime fan, even with their top surgery date coinciding with early rehearsals.
“Logic said, ‘You shouldn’t do this,’ but I would spend the rest of my life wondering what would happen if I didn’t audition for this,” Urban said.
Cal Pavelle (they/them), who plays Hänschen, said this was the first time in 7 years that they’ve been a part of a musical theater production, and their first since starting on testosterone.
“Going on [testosterone] has been a huge journey because your voice, especially in that first year, is so different, and your range shrinks super drastically,” Pavelle said. “You’re cracking, and you don’t have the control over your voice and the tones and finding the right notes that you used to. I was classically trained as a soprano and I’m now a bass.”
Being a part of A Queering of Spring Awakening connected them with other queer people who were transitioning and had experienced similar things with their voices, like Shae-lin Carr, who plays Melchior in the show.
“He has been an awesome support, because he had to relearn how to use his voice, too,” Pavelle said. ‘”That’s one of the great things about this cast is that there are other people who may be further along in their transition [who] have insight.”
For Shae-lin Carr (he/him), this will be his third time in a production of Spring Awakening, this time as his true self.
“When I came out as trans, it was very much treated as a ‘we’ll humor you’ situation. That led me to continue playing women [characters], because it was easier,” he said. “It made me lose my passion for theater for a while.”
Even in the auditions and callbacks stage, Shae-lin found a sense of community amongst people with similar experiences. “I’m not the odd man out here. No one’s looking at me funny,” Carr said. It’s so nice to be seen.”
The acceptance didn’t end at casting. Even in the rehearsal process, the music has been adjusted to fit the voices of the actors, not the other way around.
“In musical theater, a lot of people don’t know what to do with trans people, and they try to make you think a trans person can’t sing a role they may like,” Max Urban, understudy for the character of Mortiz, said. “The music directors have been so wonderful with allowing us to take things up or down the octave if we need to, because that’s what fits our voice comfortably. It’s not taking anything away, it’s adding a lot to the show that everyone is able to use their voices [comfortably].”
Considering the timeliness of the show’s themes of bodily autonomy, the organizers behind A Queering of Spring Awakening felt it was only right to give back to the community. Sour Flower collaborated with the Autonomous Body Shop, a mobile mutual-aid resource. The Autonomous Body shop provides free information and supplies such as emergency contraception, condoms, pregnancy tests, diapers, Fentanyl and Xylazine test strips, and menstrual supplies. Proceeds from the show will be going towards their efforts in education and connection to reproductive health, abortion care, and harm reduction.
“The Autonomous Body Shop will be there the whole run [of Spring Awakening],” Jami said. “We’re trying to get people to see this great resource and how it’s connected to the story of the show.”
Despite the dark material of the story, the team at Sour Flower hopes the audience walks away from this show feeling hopeful.
“This show, even with all the heavy themes in it, feels safe,” Mel said. “I hope people leave feeling like they want to help their community, and the people who are struggling the way the kids in this show are.”
Tickets sold out in less than an hour after launching online, with Sour Flower adding on 2 additional performances to the run. Those performances then sold out in 10 minutes.
“It’s lovely to know we have the support of the community behind us. I’m really excited that this cast gets to have the audience they deserve,” said Squire. “I’m excited by the possibilities that may open up to us in the future.”
Sour Flower’s A Queering of Spring Awakening will be running at Little Giant Studio in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood from March 26 to 29. All shows have been sold out as of the time this article was written.