George Abud and Lilli Cooper Join SPRING AWAKENING Off-Broadway Cast

Emmy Award winner George Abud and Tony Award nominee Lilli Cooper will join the previously announced principal cast of Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s Tony Award- and Olivier Award-winning musical, Spring Awakening, playing ‘The Adult Men’ and ‘The Adult Women,’ respectively. Cooper returns to Spring Awakening nearly two decades later after originating the role of ‘Martha’ in the musical’s original Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, where she made her Broadway debut at the age of 16. Performances for the musical begin Friday, November 27.

After being extended by popular demand through Sunday, April 4, 2027, general on sale for the new block of tickets begins today.

The revival is directed by Tony Award winner Danya Taymor, with choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall, and music supervision by Or Matias.

Abud and Cooper join the previously announced company including Jack Bateman as ‘Georg,’ Jada Simone Clark as ‘Thea,’ Leif Coomer as ‘Ernst,’ Ryo Kamibayashi as ‘Moritz,’ Ashlyn Maddox as ‘Wendla,’ Nando Morland as ‘Otto,’ Antonio Porciello as ‘Hanschen,’ Khadija Sankoh as ‘Martha,’ Grace Slear as ‘Anna,’ Tyler Jordan Wesley as ‘Melchior,’ and Amalia Yoo as ‘Ilse.’ Bateman and Porciello were among the cast members selected from the production’s open casting call in July, through which 2,532 performers were seen.

Alongside Taymor, Rowlson-Hall, and Matias, the creative team includes Christine Jones & Brett Banakis (Scenic Design), Kaye Voyce (Costume Designer), Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Design), Cody Spencer (Sound Design), Jeremy Chernick (Special Effects Designer), Cynthia Meng (Music Director/Conductor), David Lai (Music Coordinator), Ann James (Intimacy Coordinator)8888, Drew Leary (Fight Coordinator), C.A. Johnson (Creative Consultant), Miranda Cornell (Associate Director), Gigi Buffington (Voice & Text Coach), and The TRC Company / Xavier Rubiano, CSA and Peter Van Dam, CSA (Casting). Elizabeth Allen serves as the Production Stage Manager. Sean Gorski / Hudson Theatrical Associates serves as Production Manager with Jonathan Whitton / Seaview as General Manager.

This new production will bring Spring Awakening into an intimate Off-Broadway setting, returning the musical to the raw force and urgency of Frank Wedekind’s once-banned 1891 play. Feral, honest, compassionate, and unflinching, the production will explore the experience of young people caught between desire, repression, fear, and discovery — then and now.

Spring Awakening follows a group of late 19th century German adolescents as they explore teenage sexuality and repression through a contemporary rock score. The show debuted on Broadway in 2006 with future stars Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele and John Gallagher Jr., and was later revived in 2015 with Deaf West Theatre directed by Michael Arden.

Spring Awakening at Studio Seaview is produced by Seaview, Mickey Liddell & Pete Shilaimon, Creative Partners Productions, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, Dominick Laruffa Jr., Kate Cannova, Cohen-Gutterman Productions, DJD Productions, Federman Jenen, Sami Horneff, Deanna Knudsen, Alex Levy, Lloyd Tichio Productions, Roth-Manella Productions, and Tom Tuft.

Biographies

George Abud is an Arab-American actor. He won the 2026 Helen Hayes Award for his role as ‘Richard Nixon’ in The Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical. Film: Caught Stealing opposite Austin Butler & Bad Bunny (dir. Darren Aronofsky). Broadway: ‘Marinetti’ in Lempicka (dir. Rachel Chavkin); The Band’s Visit starring Katrina Lenk & Tony Shalhoub (Daytime Emmy Award, OBC Recording); The Visit starring Chita Rivera & Roger Rees (OBC Recording). George has created roles in a dozen Off-Broadway productions, including ‘Nerd Face’ in Emojiland (Drama Desk nom.) and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui opposite Raúl Esparza (Classic Stage Company). Georgeabud.com