#hanschen call

[hansrilowz]

help us understand hanschen to the extent that you do

EEEEEEEEHEH THANK U FOR THIS… i absolutely love hanschen and he’s been my favorite character in any media since i was like 13 and now i’m about to turn 21 😅

when i was about 13-15 i was on spring awakening tumblr and that was very crucial to my understanding of him at that time… despite having a lot of wrong and weird opinions while i was younger, i’ve continued on interacting with spring awakening media and continued to watch the musical and read the play as i got older. as i got older i understood him more and more. (i do want to note that every actors interpretation of hanschen is different, but this is my general opinion on his character all together.)

so, hanschen at the time of the musical was about 14. that’s a confusing time to be a kid, especially a queer one! a lot of people don’t seem to like hanschen, calling him creepy or manipulative. i feel like, again, a big part of understanding these characters is understanding that they’re children in an incredibly oppressive society. in contrast to the other spring awakening kids, hanschen has seemed to mature a lot more quickly, along with his peer melchior.

hanschen and melchior are the only characters in the show who know about sex at the beginning. melchior is more sex-positive, open to talking about it with moritz and teaching him about it. hanschen, on the other hand, is more neutral about it. in frank wedekind’s play, during his desdemona scene, there’s a line that says: “Thuman’s Psyche — another legacy of the hatchet-faced Mademoiselle Angélique, that rattlesnake in the paradise of my childhood;”. there’s another scene earlier in the play, in act one scene two, where melchior says: “-George Zirschnitz wanted to tell Hansy Rilow, but Hansy Rilow had already learned it all from his governess when he was little.”

these lines tell us that when hanschen was just a child, his governess had told him all about sex, as well as showing/teaching him about Thuman’s Psyche. hanschen uses the term “rattlesnake” to describe his governess, a term that tell us she was someone who shook up and made his mostly peaceful childhood chaotic.

in the classroom scene early on in the musical, different actors and productions usually work with how hanschen acts while moritz messes up his recitation and while melchior is having his speech interpreting Virgil’s Aeneid on moritz’s behalf before “all that’s known”. this is regarding the teacher criticizing moritz and hitting melchior with the teaching stick. for example: jonathan b. wright in the original cast is a little bit more naïve while actively trying not to let his confident façade slip, laughing at what the teacher says to please him but getting scolded and scared afterwards; though you can still see he has a childlike nervousness and tenseness to him. when melchior is hit, he jumps with the rest of the boys from being startled.

in contrast, andy mientus in deaf west spring awakening, is slightly less naïve and keeps up the fake cockiness slightly better. using clips from the june 13, 2015 performance, his hanschen seems more focused on making sure he truly pleases the teacher and doesn’t let the façade slip. he laughs along with the teacher, and while the teachers back is turned and melchior starts signing, he tries to seem unbothered. though while melchior is hit with the stick, we do see him flinch, letting the act that he seems unbothered slip. after “all that’s known” and moritz and melchior start signing to each other, hanschen chooses to blatantly ignore them as to not get in trouble. (which, if i remember correctly, was changed in some performances to have him seem bothered by them signing and making it known he doesn’t agree with them rebelling against the teacher, which still fits to his character.)

i think both of these interpretations are very true to hanschen. he’s still a kid, but he doesn’t want to test his luck with authority. he wants to please them and he doesn’t want to get in trouble. despite all that, he’s 14 and he still gets nervous and scared and both their interpretations show that. at the core of hanschens character, he was never meant to seem truly cocky or rude. his demeanor on the outside is practically just a survival instinct, as he knows he’s queer and he’s matured and knows how the world and reality can be. some additional context for this argument in the musical lies in the vineyard scene, where not only is he more softer and comfortable around ernst, he says these particular lines: “Trust me, there are only three ways a man can go. He can let the status quo defeat him - like Moritz. He can rock the boat like Melchior and be expelled. Or, he can bide his time, and let the system work for him - like me.”

the overall analysis of these lines is saying that you can either let your present situations suffocate you, stir things up and try and combat them to change things, or you can wait things out and work with what you have, like hanschen does. this tells us that yes, he is giving into pleasing authority despite not agreeing with them so things work out for him and he leads a steady life. this doesn’t make him cocky or stuck-up, he’s just more matured and knows what’s best for him at that time.

another misconception of hanschen’s character is calling him manipulative and creepy towards ernst. i’ve always thought that, in both the play and musical, their relationship has always been transparent with no hidden, creepy undertones. my personal favorite version of hanschen and ernst’s relationship is in deaf west spring awakening. andy mientus here plays hanschen very confidently, but he’s also afraid of getting his feelings hurt. he’s too afraid to get too emotionally invested to protect his feelings. in deaf west’s vineyard scene, when hanschen kisses ernst at first and then says: “When we look back, thirty years from now, tonight will seem unbelievably beautiful”, he moves to leave. he’s scared and doesn’t think ernst will reciprocate his feelings. then, when ernst grabs him and says, “In the meantime?”, hanschen takes that as a green light to kiss him again. that possibly, those feelings were reciprocated. after that second kiss ernst says: “On my way here this afternoon I’d thought perhaps we’d only talk”, and hanschen took it as a rejection. that he felt ernst was suddenly regretting what had happened. hanschen then says “So are you sorry we-?”, making this more obvious. he turned and started pulling away to leave. ernst then grabs hanschen saying that he loves him, which hanschen obviously softens up to him and realizes that his feelings are reciprocated. so, he was going to run away due to, what he thought was, a rejection.

hanschen, even if he did come off very confident, just had a wall he had put up to seem basically, nonchalant. he told us, and ernst, that he wants to lead a steady life and he will adapt to the world around him in order to do that. at the end of the day, regardless of this, he’s still a 14 year old boy with a messed up childhood that led to him maturing far faster than his peers. he was scared, nervous, and afraid of his feelings and getting hurt in any way.

those are the reason why he’s always been my favorite character, not just in spring awakening, but generally. he’s a blatant reminder that these kids are just about 14 and that, both back then and now, we all have had different ways of growing up and going about our insecurities. he’s a complex character and largely misunderstood, but at the end of the day his character is a representation of being emotionally mature at a young age due to trauma. he is another reminder of the overall story of spring awakening it’s message: what happens to kids when authoritarian figures around them are negligent.

[bluemirrorangel]

Spring awakening characters as things me and my friends have said

Melchior: she didn't mark my test this shit's homophobic.  

Moritz: I have concluded that my entire life is just wii mii music and  unsettling images. 

Georg: I'm sorry but how the fuck is stealing a pigeon illegal like how do you even steal a fucking pigeon like I'm sorry but if it's on the street it's free real estate. 

Otto: I spent my entire life thinking being  royalty  was something special like they called them blue bloods and I thought their blood was literally blue like you'd cut them and the blood stayed blue. 

Melchior: I don't deal with my intrusive thoughts; I just kind of intervene when they're like, 'you should jump off a bridge.' I'm all 'do you take constructive criticism?'

Ernst: I'm sorry but why tell me that i shoul take art this year like you've seen my drawing ? my stick figures look like they should go to A&E.  

Hanschen: oh no I'm being sincere I just constantly sound sarcastic.

Anna: I have nothing against being in the ensemble it's just you get given shit by the people whose characters have names she was all like 'you know you're replaceable right?'  Well no shit Sandy so are you that's why you have a fucking understudy.

  Moritz: honestly love triangles are fucking pyramid schemes.

  Ilse:  grandparents are weirdIi just got given £10 and a half assed talk about acceptance involving  the phrase alternative lifestyle like my aunt practices witchcraft but my lifestyles alternative.

  Wendla: and remember kids you'll never be single with Christian mingle.

[arqueete]

Spring Awakening Broadway: Where Are They Now? (Part 1)

It's been 18 years since Spring Awakening first opened on Broadway and 15 years since the original production closed. I decided to do some digging on what everyone who performed in that production is doing these days.

Part 1 covers the original cast, while part 2 will cover replacements.

Jonathan Groff Melchior

Went on to several prominent roles on TV shows like Glee, movies like Frozen, and musicals like Hamilton (pictured.) He is currently in Merrily We Roll Along on Broadway.

Lea Michele Wendla

Notably starred in the TV show Glee and has released several albums. She was recently seen in Funny Girl on Broadway (pictured.)

John Gallagher, Jr. Moritz

Went on to star in several other Broadway shows including American Idiot. He has released an album under the name Johnny Gallagher. Recently appeared in Swept Away (pictured), a musical based on the music of The Avett Brothers.

Lauren Pritchard Ilse

Has a music career under the name LOLO and was notably featured on the Panic! At the Disco song "Miss Jackson" in 2013.

Jonathan B Wright Hanschen

Had a few acting credits on TV shows like Gossip Girl (pictured), now seems to be pursuing voice over work.

Gideon Glick Ernst

Has appeared in several other Broadway shows and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in To Kill a Mockingbird in 2019 (pictured.) Some recent credits include the movie Maestro and a recurring role on the TV show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Skylar Astin Georg

Has had a variety of screen roles with musical elements, like the movie Pitch Perfect and the TV shows Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Zoey's Extraordinatory Playlist. He currently stars in the TV show So Help Me Todd (pictured.)

Brian Charles Johnson Otto (u/s Moritz)

Appeared on Broadway again in the ensemble of American Idiot (pictured.) Was recently on tour singing backup for Allen Stone.

Lilli Cooper Martha

Has been in several other Broadway shows including SpongeBob SquarePants and Tootsie (pictured) for which she and was nominated for a Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony in 2019. She most recently provided voice acting for the TV series Hazbin Hotel.

Remy Zaken Thea

Has appeared in several off-Broadway shows, most notably Freckleface Strawberry The Musical (pictured.) Now owns a professional tutoring company in New York called Andersen Education.

Phoebe Strole Anna (u/s Wendla, Ilse)

Has appeared in several off-Broadway shows, most recently Kung Fu (pictured.) She is doing a lot of audiobook narration.

Christine Estabrook Adult Women

Continues to do a lot of TV work, most recently on the show Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (pictured.)

Stephen Spinella Adult Men

Continues to work in theater, film, and TV including a return to Broadway in The Velocity of Autumn and currently in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (pictured.)

Frances Mercanti-Anthony (u/s Adult Women)

Went on to appear in Broadway plays including Jerusalem. Now doing theater education work for organizations like Paper Mill Playhouse, Rutgers University, and New England Music Camp.

Rob Devaney (u/s Adult Men)

Appears to have moved away from acting around 2009 and now has a career in UX design.

Krysta Rodriguez Ensemble (u/s Wendla, Ilse, Anna, Martha, Thea)

Has performed in several other Broadway shows including The Addams Family and the revival of Spring Awakening. She was most recently touring in Into the Woods (pictured) and will appear in the Kennedy Center production of Bye Bye Birdie this summer.

Jennifer Damiano Ensemble (u/s Ilse, Anna, Martha, Thea)

Has performed in several other Broadway shows including American Psycho (pictured) and Next to Normal, for which she was nominated for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical Tony in 2009. Most recently appeared in Black No More off-Broadway.

Robert Hager Ensemble (u/s Melchior, Hanschen, Ernst, Otto, Georg)

Went on to join the 1st national tour of Spring Awakening as Hanschen. Has since appeared in several other Broadway shows and the national tour of Fun Home (pictured.) He is also writing his own musicals. Siluetas, for which he wrote music and lyrics, will be premiering at Power Street Theatre in Philadelphia this summer.

Gerard Canonico Moritz (replacement), Ensemble (u/s Moritz, Hanschen, Ernst, Otto, Georg)

Was in the show until it closed, by which time he was playing Moritz. Has appeared in many other Broadway and off-Broadway shows including Groundhog Day and Be More Chill (pictured), and is currently on Broadway in Almost Famous.

[moritzakgae]

hanschen fans are so strong. they got the writers of the musical effectively calling him a future nazi and an uber-capitalist and yet they persevere.

[spirngakawening]

Okay so in the play his name's Hans, nickname Hänschen (otherwise translated as Little Hans or Hansi); in the musical he's just called Hanschen & fandom has sometimes taken that to be his full name, nicknaming him Hansi (which is really just another nickname for Hans anyway) or whatever

Interestingly, the name Hans was originally short for Johannes, before becoming a name in its own right

So Hanschen is a nickname of a name that was a nickname, and that process was repeated with Hansi as a nickname of Hanschen

So anyone naming him Hanschen and nicknaming him Hansi is actually calling him a nickname (Hansi) of a nickname (Hanschen) of a name that was a nickname (Hans, from Johannes). A nickname of a nickname oF A NICKNAME–

[totallytrucked]

alt (aka the second, less funny version):

My dealer: Got some straight gas 🔥 This strain is called Spring Awakening 😳 You’ll be zonked out your gourd 🤩

Me: Yeah whatever. I don’t feel shit.

(5 minutes later) You know… I've never been beaten. Not once. I can't imagine it.

My buddy Hanschen, from the bathroom: Have you prayed tonight, Desdemona

WHAT DO YOU MEAANNNN LESS FUNNY

[yououghtaknow]

Break a leg at the audition!!! Which role do you want/which do you think you’ll get

thank you!!!!! i am Manifesting moritz but i would genuinely be happy with any role at all <3 i'm also gonna be genuinely happy if i don't get in because i can still see the show!!!!!

i genuinely think i have a pretty good shot at moritz (his vocal stuff is all in my range and in my vocal style, i can absolutely act the part, and i have enough dance training to pass a movement call) but i'm trying not to get my hopes up because i want to be Realistic, you know???

actually wait, here's a ranking of all the roles in order of how much i want them:

moritz (my number one boy. just like me fr. my perfect typecast)

georg (i'm just obsessed with the touch me solo. also his verse in my junk slaps)

melchior (i am a part of the trans!melchior agenda and i Get him)

ilse (visibly genderqueer ilse would be so fucking fun to me)

hanschen (every monologue he has Eats and i would have FUN)

martha (the dark i know well my beloved. my hair is way too short though)

thea (he's SUCH A RADICAL!!!!!!!!!!!)

ernst (little gayboy with boring things to do. love him though)

otto (it's Just belting tbh.)

anna (she gets Nothing. ali stroker slayed though)

wendla get a seperate little thing because as much as i would want to play her (and i think do a pretty good job because she is my ultimate blorbo from this show), i would Not be comfortable with her usual type of onstage nudity. if they changed it, her vocal stuff is still too high for me, but a guy can dream. also i would much prefer to have a male role in this show because of my current gender situation but i want to be Open to Anything because i would kill to be in this silly little show i love so much <3

[feelssogoodinmyarms]

lmao not s*ter pretending to be pro-hernst

[dodgefred]

while i am expelling rage i am so sorry but spallam is literally the worst ship name i have ever heard in my entire life and from this point forward all of my posts will be tagged with alifred until that becomes the popular ship name because i can’t emotionally deal with the name spallam existing

[daggersandarrows]

idk i'm just fucking feeling a lot of trans pain rn. when i came out five years ago i was adamant about Living My Truth, Everywhere. i wore pronoun pins. i had my hair really short. i actually kept up on vocal exercises. i was binding all the fucking time.

and what happened was either strangers assumed i was a cis man, or the people in my life who were supposed to be accepting just passive aggressively reminded me at every goddamn turn that, secretly, they knew i was just a little girl. when i caught my roommate and both of our suitemates talking about me behind my back and misgendering me the whole time, none of them could understand why i was so upset about that part. "we call you what you want to your face, what's the issue?".

i was in a "very inclusive" community theater where i was cast as benvolio. the director looked me over critically and told me i'd have to think of, and play, benvolio as the much younger cousin--"about 14 or so" because "nobody's going to believe you're a man". mercutio was played by a cis woman who was a few inches taller than me.

same theater, different director, when i auditioned for jane eyre i put "any" under part desired. the director pulled me aside and told me she knew i was experienced and that i'd had a great audition and that i was selling myself short not to jot down a few lead parts in that section. so i did. i watched her face fall as she saw that i'd written down all male parts. i was promptly relegated to ensemble.

when i auditioned for spring awakening i was dead set on playing moritz, or, at the very least, hanschen. i told both the director and the assistant director, who were both personal friends, that i was really sick of playing either young innocent boys or bitchy girls. i wanted a serious, angsty male role or nothing. i got cast as ernst. because "nobody's going to believe you as hanschen and we want a man of color in moritz's role, it's so rare that we get moc auditioning!" NOT ONCE DID THEY THINK THAT PERHAPS I COUNTED AS A MAN OF COLOR. people i was fully fucking out to who considered themselves extremely progressive.

i got so goddamn fucking tired of fighting i got so TIRED of doubling down so incredibly hard on a cis male presentation. i got so fucking tired of correcting strangers.

and now i'm spending every day of my life getting misgendered by strangers. every job i've held for the last three years, at least one coworker that i saw on a daily basis would misgender me behind and in front of my back. "allies". people who had no trouble gendering binary trans people correctly. friends.

idfk i'm just so goddamn tired. there is no passing as a nonbinary person. there is no getting taken seriously. there is no winning.

I am so fucking tired of not passing and like yeah there's a reason I stopped putting in the effort bc it was fucking exhausting 24/7 and it was terrifying but like I am just so goddamn tired

[nowletemhearitloudandclear]

wendla bergmann is a hufflepuff

moritz stiefel is a gryffindor(?)

hanschen rilow is a slytherin

and melchior gabor is a shithead

[arqueete]

Spring Awakening Broadway: Where Are They Now? (Part 2)

It's been 18 years since Spring Awakening opened on Broadway. In part 1 I looked up what the original cast members are doing today, and here in part 2 I'll be looking at all of the actors who joined the cast after the show opened.

Kyle Riabko Melchior

Went straight from the Broadway production to the first national tour. Later starred in Hair on Broadway and Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined (pictured) in the West End. He is currently composing music for children's television through a production company called Can-Land Music that he founded with his wife.

Hunter Parrish Melchior

Appeared on Broadway again in Godspell but has otherwise largely stuck to TV roles, most recently in The Other Black Girl (pictured.)

Alexandra Socha Wendla, Ensemble (u/s Wendla, Anna, Martha, Thea)

Returned to Broadway in Brighton Beach Memoirs and Head Over Heels. Is currently starring in the Broadway production of Wicked (pictured.)

Blake Bashoff Moritz

Went straight from Broadway to the first national tour. After that, he moved away from acting and now lives on a farm.

Emma Hunton Ilse

Was in Next to Normal on Broadway and the national tour, as well as the national tour of Wicked. She is currently on TV in Good Trouble (pictured.)

Drew Tyler Bell Hanschen

Continued in his longtime role on The Bold and the Beautiful (pictured) until 2010. Since then, he doesn't appear to be acting and it's not clear what he's been doing since.

Matt Doyle Hanschen, Ensemble (u/s Melchior, Hanschen, Ernst, Otto, Georg)

Later briefly played Melchior in the first national tour. Has returned to Broadway several times in shows like War Horse and The Book of Mormon, and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a musical for his performance in Company in 2022 (pictured.) He has also released solo albums. He most recently starred in Sinatra: The Musical.

Blake Daniel Ernst

Has had a few acting roles since, most recently in the movie Dicks: The Musical.

Andrew Durand Georg (u/s Moritz)

Has appeared in several other Broadway shows including Head Over Heels and Shucked (pictured.) He is currently in Dead Outlaw off-Broadway.

Gabriel Violett Otto

Appeared as a contestant on The Voice in 2016 (pictured.)

Amanda Castanos Martha

Had a handful of appearances at theater festivals and on TV shows like Blue Bloods (pictured), but doesn't seem to be doing any acting in recent years.

Caitlin Kinnunen Thea

Returned to Broadway in The Bridges of Madison County and was nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her role in The Prom (pictured) in 2014. She recently appeared in The Magnificent Seven off-Broadway.

Emily Kinney Anna (u/s Wendla)

Appeared on stage again in the national tour of August: Osage County but since then has been doing a lot of TV, most notably on The Walking Dead (pictured.) She has also released several albums as a singer-songwriter.

Kate Burton Adult Women

She continues to have an extensive film and television career, with notable roles on shows like Grey's Anatomy and Scandal (pictured), for which she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She returned to Broadway in 2017 in the play Present Laughter.

Kristine Nielsen Adult Women

Has since been nominated for the Best Lead Actress in a Play Tony in 2013 for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2019 for Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus. She most recently appeared in the TV show The Gilded Age (pictured.)

Ken Marks Adult Men

Has appeared again on Broadway in shows like Spider-man: Turn off the Dark and most recently in Take Me Out (pictured.) He is currently in Dead Outlaw off-Broadway.

Glenn Fleshler Adult Men

Has returned to Broadway in shows like Guys and Dolls and Death of a Salesman. He also has extensive credits in movies like Joker and TV shows like Billions (pictured.)

Tony Carlin (u/s Adult Men)

Returned to Broadway over a dozen times since, as well as off-Broadway in shows like The Trial of an American President (pictured.) He most recently appeared in Days of Wine and Roses.

Eryn Murman Anna, Ensemble (u/s Wendla, Ilse, Anna, Martha, Thea)

Has done some regional theater, including playing Wendla in San Jose Rep's production of Spring Awakening (pictured) before later marrying the actor playing Melchior, with whom she started the band 5j Barrow. She now also works as a massage therapist.

Jenna Ushkowitz Ensemble (u/s Anna, Martha, Thea)

Notably appeared on the TV show Glee. She returned to Broadway in Waitress (pictured) and has won two Tony Awards as a producer.

Alice Lee Ensemble (u/s Wendla, Ilse, Anna, Thea)

Notably appeared in the off-Broadway production of Heathers (pictured.) Competed in the reality singing competition Rising Star. She has had TV roles on shows like Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and most recently did voice acting for My Adventures with Superman.

Jesse Swenson Ensemble (u/s Melchior, Hanschen, Otto, Georg)

Returned to Broadway in The Addams Family. He has now moved way from acting to become a writer and filmmaker.

Matt Shingledecker Ensemble (u/s Melchior, Hanschen, Ernst, Otto, Georg)

Went straight to the first national tour as Georg. Since then, he's appeared on Broadway again in West Side Story and on the national tours of shows like Wicked and Les Miserables (pictured.) He is currently performing in the musical The Wedding Banquet in Taiwain.

Morgan Karr Ensemble (u/s Moritz, Hanschen, Ernst, Otto, Georg)

Now a successful indie pop musician performing under the name Morgxn.

Zach Reiner-Harris Ensemble (u/s Moritz, Hanschen, Ernst, Otto, Georg)

Seems to have moved away from acting but still makes appearances as a musician.

[lucascarter]

spring awakening instagram au  → melchior gabor.

[spirngakawening]

Hanschen calling Ernst sentimental in a condescending way

Hanschen calling Ernst sentimental in a teasing way

Hanschen calling Ernst sentimental in a gentle, attentive, adoring way because hE IS NOT IMMUNE TO THE PATHOS. HE IS SENTIMENTAL FOR HIS SENTIMENTALIST THEY ARE IN LOVE

[totallytrucked]

not to keep making spring awakening rants but. when an actor says a particular character is "n*zi-like" or is "a future n*zi"... you do realize these are CHILDREN in like 1892??? you're saying that about a child... also the characters don't know about n*zis yet? it's eight teen ninety two? the fucking 20th century? no one knew!! just ignore the fucking n*zis and play the character like they're from 1892 it's not that hard oh my god

also since the character in this post is hanschen. WHAT DOES HE DO??? THAT IS N*ZI-LIKE??? HE'S FUCKING FOURTEEN oh my god

[moritzstiefelwiki]

One of the things I sometimes think about in regards to spring awakening is it's the only fandom I've been in where a character can be called something dumb like milk boy and I gotta ask "which one"