It's a given that all teenagers are basically awkward sacks of hormones, careening through the later years of their second decade with unstoppable urges to smooch or grope something, anything. It's also pretty much a fact that by the time teenagers become adults and have kids of their own, they have somehow forgotten how terrifying, lonely, and challenging those years can be. As a society, we remain uncomfortable with and inadequate at talking to kids about the realities of life and especially sex, even when those kids need our guidance the most.

That's the major point of "Spring Awakening," the Tony Award-winning musical currently on stage at the Auditorium Theatre. The fact that its source material was written more than 100 years ago, and that the themes are as relevant today as they were in the 1890's, underscores the fact that this has been a problem since the first mother freaked out when the first teen started getting all hormonal back in the Stone Age. There's a sad irony to the fact that when Frank Wedekind first wrote the original drama of the same name back in 1891, it was banned from the stage and wasn't performed in full for nearly 100 years. The themes of sexual self-discovery, suicide, teen pregnancy, and even incest were so horrifying to the masses that it was deemed better to not acknowledge them at all. Which, as the play makes brutally clear, is maybe not the best way to handle things.

The crippling side effects of puritanical views on sex is the major driving force for the new version of the play, adapted in 2006 by author Steven Sater and pop musician Duncan Sheik. The pair (along with producer Tom Hulce and director Michael Mayer) opted to keep the story set in late 19th-century Germany, with the characters struggling to grow up in an oppressive Lutheran society. (Trust me when I say it's all just as applicable to modern life; ask Sarah and Bristol Palin how that whole abstinence-only education thing worked out.) The twist is that the music by Sheik is decidedly contemporary, modern folk-rock anthems and ballads loaded with insightful, poetic lyrics. The blending of the two styles - drab pre-Industrial Germany with vibrant, evocative modern song - can be jarring at first. But thanks to the smart direction and brilliant lighting and set design, it highlights the musical-theater tradition of characters escaping through song. It's only when the various teens pour their hearts (and loins) out with the on-stage band that their dreary, button-downed existences explode into dazzling color and energy. It's this unconventional marriage of styles that raises a show with a somewhat predictable plot into meaningful, contemporary art.

Although "Spring Awakening" follows the struggle of roughly a dozen young townspeople, it focuses mostly on the complicated relationship between sweet, inquisitive Wendla (Christy Altomare) and dreamy, too-bright-for-his-own-good Melchior (Jake Epstein). The two childhood friends get reacquainted as teens and fall in love with a speed that seems to happen only in movies and plays - say, like, Romeo and Juliet (and that comparison is intentional; the two couples have more in common than just a whirlwind romance). But to the playwrights' credit, their courtship is much more emotionally complex and realistic than most of literature's star-crossed lovers. When Melchior's good-intentioned free thinking comes back to bite him in the ass, and their fumbling intimacy leads to predictably big problems for Wendla, the play gets very dark very fast. But it maintains an aura of hope for the future that, with any luck, will someday come to pass. (Maybe in another 100 years?)

Even with the increasingly grim events unfolding on stage, the show maintains an unyielding forward momentum, and that's thanks in large part to the great musical numbers by Duncan Sheik. I ask you, how do you not love a play that features a feel-good song called "Totally Fucked"? I was already a fan of some of the show's more upbeat songs, like "Bitch of Living" and "My Junk," before ever seeing the production. They're catchy, layered gems that could arguably find a home on contemporary pop radio. But Sheik is equally strong in his slow, sensual ballads, like "The Word of Your Body" or "Touch Me." Really, there's hardly a bad song in the show.

Of course, it helps to have a fantastic cast bringing the songs and words to life. Altomare and Epstein lead a great group of young actors (and older ones - Angela Reed and John Wojda do excellent work bringing to life a variety of adult roles in the play). The tiny Altomare has a piercing, haunting soprano voice, and even her most difficult melodic passes seem totally effortless. Epstein is commanding in his lower register and slides through his many falsetto portions with expert precision. Other stand-outs include Taylor Trensch, who balances terror, rage, anxiety, and despair as poor, doomed Moritz; "Canadian Idol" star Steffi D as sweet-voiced outcast Ilse; and Andy Mientus, who capitalizes on every moment of the fairly minor character of Hanschen to deliver some of the night's funniest, sexiest moments.

It should be noted that "Spring Awakening" is not for everyone. Had the group of older women sitting next to me been wearing pearls, they would have been clutching them during intermission, immediately following a somewhat graphic on-stage sex scene. I thought it kind of hilarious, because again, the message of the piece was playing out all over in real life. We have ALL been where the kids in the play are, bare-assed and bare-breasted. And yet as adults, some of us still cover our faces in shame when confronted with even basic human sexuality. It's fascinating, and somewhat dispiriting. But at least we're talking about it, which is a step in the right direction.

A final note: part of the sparse-but-thoughtful set design is two sets of risers on either side of the main portion of the stage. While most of the characters sit on them when not in a scene, bearing witness to the proceedings, they are also home to a couple of dozen seats for the audience. We're talking better-than-front-row seats here - these people are LITERALLY in the middle of the play, sitting side-by-side with the cast. I was so covetous of the lucky few sitting in the stage seats, which were offered up to ticket holders a few weeks ago via RBTL's website and Facebook. Those seats are sold out now, but I bet that's a once-in-a-lifetime experience right there.

Oh, and one more thing: If you enjoyed the songs and performers, Anthony Lee Medina (Otto) and Sarah Hunt (Martha) will be hosting a Broadway cabaret at MuCCC this Thursday, February 11, at 10:30 p.m. For details check here.

"Spring Awakening"

By the Rochester Broadway Theatre League

Through February 14

Wednesday-Thursday 7:30 p.m., Friday 8 p.m., Saturday 2 & 8 p.m., Sunday 2 & 7 p.m.

$30-$57 | 232-1900, rbtl.org.