Mixing the antiquated aesthetic of its source material (Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play of the same name, which was frequently banned in both Germany and America for its no holds barred look at youth) with folk-tinged alternative rock numbers, Spring Awakening updates the original play’s themes of sexual discovery, anti-establishment frustrations, child abuse, and the crushing guilt of religion for contemporary audiences. The result is an intimate and universally identifiable depiction of the battlefield that is puberty. Much more convincingly than Sofia Coppola’s similarly anachronistic Marie Antoinette, the play flattens its mix of stylings from the past and the present into a seamless continuum of heightened teenage angst that feels universal.

Hideaki Anno’s classic anime series “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” which deals with similar themes (albeit, in an entirely different context) is what first came to mind as an accurate point of comparison for Spring Awakening. On the surface, they share little in common: “Evangelion” is an epic sci-fi soap opera about a timid junior high student who’s chosen to pilot an enormous fighting machine. Along the way, he copes with a callous, domineering father, his terrifying sexual compulsions, and the internal pressures of adolescence. Giant robot battles and dazzling Broadway choreography aside, both “Evangelion” and Spring Awakening go where few contemporary tales of teen life go, addressing heavy philosophical issues, sexual confusion, and alienation from societal mores— all under the pretext of a pop culture spectacle.