‘Spring Awakening’ Original Broadway Cast Reunites in HBO Documentary ‘Those You’ve Known’

Over fifteen years ago, two young stage actors, Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele, starred together in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening, which would go on to win eight Tony Awards in 2006. In the course of a few short years, Michele would become the star of Glee and Scream Queens, and Groff would gain popularity for his role as King George in Hamilton, and would later star as Holden Ford in Mindhunter, and voice Kristoff in the Frozen films. It was Spring Awakening that helped kick off their careers, though, and now the two will be featured in Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known, a documentary that features the musical’s original cast and creative team as they prepare for a reunion performance of the show.

Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known reunites Groff and Michele with their former co-stars, including John Gallagher Jr., Lauren Pritchard, Lilli Cooper, and Skylar Astin, as well as with the show’s original Broadway director Michael Mayer; lyricist and playwright Steven Sater; score composer Duncan Sheik; and lead producers Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman. The special will be one-part behind-the-scenes documentary featuring new interviews and archival video and photos of the cast from 2006, and one-part concert film, shot during a November 2021 reunion show that benefited The Actor’s Fund.

The musical, based on the German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind, is set in late 19th-century Germany and features a coming-of-age romance between teenagers Wendla and Melchior, the roles originated by Michele and Groff. In the HBO special, the actors reprise the roles for one more show-stopping performance and they, along with the rest of the cast, reminisce about the show’s trajectory from theater workshops to Off-Broadway to the Tony Award-winner.

Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known will premiere on HBO on May 3 at 9PM ET/PT and will be available to stream on HBO Max.