Lea Michele is remembering Duncan Sheik, the late composer of Spring Awakening, with a tribute that reaches back to the earliest days of her connection to the musical that helped bring her to major prominence on Broadway.
In an Instagram Story post this afternoon, Michele wrote that she first encountered Sheik’s music as a teenager preparing for what would become a defining stage role.
“I met Duncan when I was 14 years old,” Michele wrote. “I listened to a demo on tape of him singing songs from Spring Awakening outside of my middle school before my first audition.”
She continued, “I’m at a loss for words. This one hurts and does not seem real. Thank you for everything you gave us. And for the time we had together. Sending all my love and prayers now to Nora, Ines, and Duncan’s family.”
Sheik died Thursday, September 17, at a hospital in Manhattan of cardiac arrest. He was 56.
A Broadway bond that began early
Michele’s tribute reflects a professional relationship that began long before Spring Awakening became a Broadway success. She was cast in early workshops of the musical, which was written by Sheik and Steven Sater, and appeared as Wendla Bergmann, the lead female character.
Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher Jr. were all largely unknown at the time they followed the show from its Off Broadway premiere in 2006 at the Atlantic Theater Company to Broadway’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre later that same year.
The production became a significant launch point for its young cast. Michele, after her television success on Glee, later returned to Broadway in Funny Girl and Chess. Groff went on to star in Company and Just In Time, while Gallagher’s Broadway credits would include American Idiot, Jerusalem, Long Day’s Journey Into Night and, most recently, Swept Away.
Spring Awakening also became a major awards presence. The Broadway production earned 11 Tony Award nominations and won Best Musical, Best Book for Sater, Best Original Score for Sheik and Sater, Best Director for Michael Mayer and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Gallagher.
The original Broadway cast album, featuring Michele, Groff and Gallagher, won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
A new revival is on the way
Sheik’s death comes as Spring Awakening is also preparing for a major new revival. Producers Seaview recently announced an engagement at the Off Broadway venue Studio Seaview, directed by Danya Taymor, with previews scheduled to begin November 27 ahead of an official opening on December 17.
The new cast is described as consisting largely of young newcomers. Amalia Yoo, who drew considerable attention and critical acclaim when she made her Broadway debut last year in the Tony-nominated play John Proctor Is the Villain, is set to play Ilse.
For Michele, Sheik’s passing is personal as well as professional. Her message returned not to awards or later acclaim, but to the moment before her first audition: a 14-year-old listening outside her middle school to a tape of Sheik singing the songs that would help shape the next chapter of her life.