Most college students might question the relevance of a 19th-century German play to their everyday lives. Yet “Spring Awakening,” the modernized musical version of the 1891 Frank Wedekind play, examines one of the most pressing topics among us – sexual desire. “Spring Awakening” connects the taboos of its era to those of our generation.

The musical focuses on a group of adolescents struggling with sexual desires that they do not understand and that their parents refuse to explain. The group includes examples covering a wide range of sexual experiences. Wendla is a young girl who simply wants to know the answer to the age-old question: Where do babies come from? Moritz is plagued by dreams of women’s legs and wants to understand why he is having them. Two boys discover their love for each other, and two girls reveal that their fathers have been sexually abusive. Melchior, the atheist who seems to know everything from his books, realizes that his books are not enough – he needs to experience passion for himself. Although all of their experiences are exceedingly different, everyone in the group is united by a common need to feel something, whether it is pain, love or sadness.

The Northwestern production of “Spring Awakening” captures the scandalous yet innocent essence of the original production. The seemingly minimalist set makes transitions between scenes extremely smooth but has subtle complex elements, such as the moving floor panels and wooden beams. The interesting choice to place the adult characters offstage provides a physical and metaphorical disconnect between the adolescents and the adults. This technique is extremely effective during the first act, but it falls short in the second when the actress playing Wendla, Jessica Kahkoska, is frequently left alone on stage and unable to interact directly with anyone.

Although the cast certainly has some strong individual leads – for instance, Alex Nee as Melchior and Max Cove as Moritz – the most compelling numbers were full company. Every member of the cast has a powerful voice, and when brought together, their voices resonate, creating an exceptional performance. Furthermore, the emotional, natural choreography for numbers such as “The Bitch of Living” and “Totally Fucked” brings a high level of energy to the musical.

“Spring Awakening” runs until Feb. 26 in the Ethel M. Barber Theater. With performances sold out for the first two nights, make sure to get your tickets before they are gone!

-Megan Bounds