We Don’t Have to Forget

by Kyle Hughes

Spring Awakening has made three significant appearances in my life. The musical opened on Broadway then toured to the Winspear in Dallas in the spring of my senior year of high school. I was 17, and I needed this show. Finally, someone understood all of this frustration and desire ricocheting through me. My drama teacher, who was only a few years older than me, told me she really didn’t get the show. She found it self-indulgent, too inward. How could she not see the importance of this piece? Those teenage actors sang straight to me! 

Flash forward three years. Now, I’m playing “Thea” in a production of Spring Awakening at the University of Virginia, having a freaking blast. If you’ve never gotten to scream “You’re fucked, alright!” to a crowd full of professors and sorority sisters, I highly recommend the experience. Still, the meaning had started to fade… I no longer felt trapped in my prep school uniform, itching to escape the pink walls of my childhood bedroom. I was free, now. So I started to forget.

Today, I’m playing all five Adult Women in Spring Awakening at Theatre Three, led brilliantly by Emily Gray, J. Austin Eyer, and Vicky Nooe. From our first rehearsal, it was clear that this production would honor the voices of children. The creative team has ensured that our work addresses the needs of all young people. Emily spoke early and often about the lack of sex education in our state. Transphobia and a ban on reproductive rights hold a fearsome cloud over the future. I have come to adore the UT Arlington students in our Spring Awakening company. They deserve to enter the world safely and with great hope!

On Sunday, a dear friend came to see the show. Judy was a volunteer with my church youth group. She essentially ran the joint. Freshly retired, she attended every Wednesday night pizza hang and chaperoned every mission trip. Not only was she a consistent presence in this community, she was a safe and inviting ear. Judy and I talked about everything. I could ask her any question without judgement. She was the most honest (and fun!) adult in my life, and she made me feel sane in those turbulent high school years.

After the musical, I met Judy and her husband outside of the Theatre Three lobby. She let out a deep sigh. “Wow,” she said, “What a disservice we do to young people. We feel tortured as teens, then we grow up and forget.” I saw Vicky Nooe, our Music Director, in the parking lot shortly after this conversation. I repeated Judy’s words and gushed to Vicky about how essential Judy was in my teen years. Vicky said, “So, she’s one of the ones who didn’t forget.”

I want to pass on the goodness Judy poured into me. I want to “Listen to what’s in the heart of a child.” (Which is my sung line in the show, so I must sneak it in). To the young people I’m working with at Theatre Three and to all the teens in my life, I want to say I won’t forget. But I think the message is really this: Thank you for helping me remember.

P.S. I wanted to get Judy’s permission before submitting this blog post, and this is the response I received:

Of course, I am okay with it. You have touched my passion and seen the beauty that exists in every youth. Their angst in one thing is matched by their openness to new ideas in another. My very favorite thing about youth is that even with all that angst, the world has not yet made them cynical. Perhaps it is the cynicism that makes them forget when they become adults. GO for it! You still make my heart sing!