Set in late 19th-century Germany, the musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of adolescent sexuality.

Following its conception in the late 1990s and various workshops, concerts, rewrites and its Off-Broadway debut, the original Broadway production of Spring Awakening opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006.

Its cast included Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, and John Gallagher Jr. while its creative team comprised director Michael Mayer and choreographer Bill T. Jones.

Wendla Bergmann, an adolescent in late 19th-century Germany, laments that her mother gave her "no way to handle things" and has not taught her the lessons she is meant to know as a young woman ("Mama Who Bore Me").

The other young girls in town – Martha, Thea, Anna and Ilse – appear to be similarly naïve and are upset about the lack of knowledge presented to them ("Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise)").

Moritz, Melchior and the other boys – Ernst, Hänschen, Otto and Georg – share their own sexually frustrated thoughts and desires ("The Bitch of Living").

Moritz, who is not comfortable talking about the subject with Melchior, requests that he give him the information in the form of an essay, complete with illustrations.

Moritz has eagerly digested the essay that Melchior prepared for him, but complains that his new knowledge has only made his dreams even more vivid and torturous.

Meanwhile, at school, Moritz sneaks a look at his test results and is thrilled to learn that he has passed his midterm examinations, and tells the other boys.

The other girls are horrified to hear this, but Martha makes them promise not to tell anyone, lest she end up like Ilse, a friend from childhood who now wanders homeless and aimless after her similarly abusive parents kicked her out of the house ("The Dark I Know Well").

Ilse, who it is implied has feelings for Moritz, tells him she has found refuge at an artists' colony, and they reminisce in some childhood memories and "remarkable times".

Realizing that Ilse was his last chance to escape the fate he's set out for himself, Moritz quickly changes his mind and calls after her, but it is too late – she is gone.

At Moritz's funeral, each of the children drops a flower into his grave as Melchior laments the passing of his friend while touching on the factors that led to his death, including the way his parents treated him ("Left Behind").

Back at school, the schoolmaster and teacher feel the need to call attention away from Moritz, whose death was a direct result of their actions.

Meanwhile, Melchior's parents argue about their son's fate; his mother does not believe that the essay he wrote for Moritz is sufficient reason to send him away to reform school.

Led by Ilse, everyone assembles onstage now (in some stagings, wearing modern clothes) to sing about how although the adults may still call the shots with their uptight views, they will not last forever, and the seeds are already being planted for a new, open-minded, informed generation ("The Song of Purple Summer").

A reprise of "Touch Me," sung by Melchior, appeared in "Whispering" during the Chicago, Vienna, London runs, was added to the tour, and is part of the amateur rental materials.

Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik had originally intended for Melchior actually to rape Wendla at the end of "I Believe," but decided to change that plot because he wanted the scene to be more loving between the two characters.

[14] Decca Broadway released the original cast recording on December 12, 2006, which won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2008.

[15] The guitar on which Sheik composed songs for Spring Awakening was included in the 2008 exhibition "Writing to Character: Songwriters & the Tony Awards" at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

[16] A U.S. national tour (with one stop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) opened on August 15, 2008 at The Balboa Theatre in San Diego, California.

When it transferred to the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills from May to June 2015, Mientus and original Broadway cast swing Krysta Rodriguez played Ilse.

[citation needed] The production transferred to Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre with the same cast, except the addition of Marlee Matlin, Camryn Manheim, Patrick Page, and Russell Harvard in the adult roles.

[33] Directed by Rupert Goold, choreographed by Lynne Page and designed by Miriam Buether, it was led by Laurie Kynaston as Melchior, Amara Okereke as Wendla and Stuart Thompson as Moritz.

[41] An English-language production opened in Valletta, Malta at the St. James Cavalier Theatre on April 17, 2009, directed by Wesley Ellul, choreographed by Fiona Barthet and featured Davide Tucci as Georg and Daniel Casingena as Otto.

[43] A Brazilian production in Rio de Janeiro ran with the title O Despertar da Primavera from August 21, 2009 to January 31, 2010.

[26] A Philippine production opened in Manila in the Carlos P. Roumolo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, on September 25 and ran until the October 17, 2009.

[46] An Argentine production with the Spanish title Despertar de Primavera – Un Musical Diferente opened in Buenos Aires on March 19, 2010.

[50][51] In the television series 90210, the first few episodes contain the school and some of the characters as they prepare, and eventually perform in Spring Awakening, though in reality the amateur production rights were not available at the time.

[54] On May 3, 2022, HBO released a documentary film entitled Spring Awakening: Those You've Known, which showcases the 15-year reunion of the original company that was held in November 2021 to benefit the Actors Fund.