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[title]Fifteen years after starring in “Despertar de Primavera”, Fernando Dente returns to the show that marked his career, this time as director. By his side, Tomás Wicz brings Moritz to life, one of the most lovable (and tragic) characters in the musical. The new production runs at Teatro El Nacional (Corrientes 960), with confirmed performances on August 27 and September 10 — get your tickets here. In this intimate conversation, Dente and Wicz reflect on adolescence, art, and the wounds that, when sung, can begin to heal.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW JULI NAIR CALVO DID WITH TOMÁS WICZ ON GLUP! BY TIME OUT
Returning to Spring Awakening had been on Fer’s mind for a long time. “When I starred in it, it had a profound impact on me, and I always knew I would want to direct it someday. This version came from a question: What if the characters were born into a broken world? They’re not falling from paradise; they’re trying to survive in a distorted system. From there came the whole dystopian, brutalist aesthetic — almost as if they were survivors of something they didn’t choose. I wanted the stage to be a closed box where violence bounces around, and every body inside has something to say.”
"This version came from a question: What if the characters were born into a broken world?" (FD)
While Dente approaches the show as a director, Tomás Wicz recalls his first encounter with Spring Awakening: “I saw it during my adolescence, and it blew my mind. I identified deeply with that feeling of being overwhelmed, not knowing where to go with what you feel. Returning now, having gone through my own crises, with different tools and questions, allows me to embrace that memory and transform it. It’s a reunion with myself.”
"This show is a reunion with myself" (TW)
Years ago, when it premiered on Broadway, the show was provocative — a scandal. In 2025, it acts as a mirror. “Today it no longer works just as a critique, but as a kind of collective ritual. The audience doesn’t watch from the outside: they go through it. There’s something healing in seeing it, as if touching that pain, singing it, sharing it, helps transform it,” says Fer.
The production not only aims to reframe the work, but also the way it’s made. That’s why the auditions were open: over 5,000 people auditioned. “We felt the only way to make this show was to return to the root: trust in desire. I wanted to meet people who really felt they belonged there. We found talent, yes, but also stories, perspectives, people who had something to say through the show. That’s what moved me the most.”
Among those thousands of applicants was Tomás. But fate intervened: “At first, I wasn’t selected for the role of Moritz. But then everything fell into place so I could be in it. It was almost miraculous. This character has always challenged me since I first saw the show as a teenager. I could say he’s my favorite character in my favorite musical. Being able to play him now is an enormous gift.”
Working with a young cast was central to the challenge. “With a lot of listening and respect,” clarifies Dente. “For me, the director’s role isn’t to mold people, but to open spaces. I wanted them to feel safe, cared for, and also challenged. We did a lot of group work, workshops, and trials. The most beautiful thing was seeing them become a real community. On stage, you can feel it: there are no individualities, only a collective body.”
"For me, the director’s role isn’t to mold people, but to open spaces" (FD)
The process also brought him back to scenes that marked him as an actor. “Especially those I once struggled to face directly. Some moments in the show echo my own story: desire, guilt, fear, loss. In 2010, I experienced them intensely from the inside. Today, I direct them from a different place, but with the same truth. Sometimes, during rehearsals, I would get emotional without intending to. Because the text still beats. Because now I understand things I couldn’t before.”
"Some moments in the show echo my own story" (FD)
On the other side, Tomás fully embraced a Moritz that breathes contemporary life. “Fer invited us to look at the characters without solemnity, with raw humanity, as if they were real kids today. Moritz is lost, clumsy, highly sensitive, and unintentionally funny. He’s not a pure victim: he’s someone who desires, confuses himself, explodes. I wanted him to be hard to categorize.”
The tension between Moritz and Melchior was also reframed: “It was Fer’s pursuit from the beginning, and I thought it was brilliant. We wanted the tension between them to feel ambiguous, without needing to explain it. Moritz’s repression is very painful, and I think this version, with this perspective, makes it even more complex.”
For Fer, the show is everything. “It’s a work that has chosen me more than once. In 2010, it changed my life. It taught me to act, to trust, to surrender. Today, it teaches me to let go, to support others, to build from a different place. It’s not an individual story: it’s a shared memory. And I feel that the way I can thank theater for all it has given me is by directing this version with who I am today.”
"In 2010, the show changed my life. Today, it teaches me to let go" (FD)
Tomás experiences it as a synthesis of his journey. “Musical theater was my first love. As a kid, I dreamed of doing this, and now returning from a different place, with more experience, feels like closing a circle. It allows me to unite everything I love: acting, singing, dancing, and telling a story fully. It’s a fascinating genre that continues to surprise me with its possibilities as I grow.”
And if any young person sees themselves in Moritz (which they will), Wicz doesn’t hesitate to advise: “Know that you’re not alone. You’re not broken. Everything you feel, even if it seems overwhelming, makes sense. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s worth staying to see how the story unfolds.”