Kickstarter Complete or Not, Spring Awakening Would Have Performed at the Tony Awards

The cast of Deaf West’s Spring Awakening will officially perform on Broadway’s biggest night—a decision made before the Tony-nominated revival's Kickstarter campaign reached its goal. The Tony Awards made the announcement three days before the June 11 deadline for fans to donate to (and effectively alleviate the cost of) the performance; within hours of the confirmation, the Kickstarter received a $35,000 spike and surpassed its $200,000 target.

The Kickstarter campaign launched on May 24. At that time, the production tweeted, “Spring Awakening has a chance to perform on the Tony Awards, but we need your help!” Incentives to donate included signed merchandise, private meet-and-greets with cast members and original compositions.

Producer Ken Davenport confirmed to Broadway.com that the crowd-sourced $200,000—which the show would only receive once the goal had been met in its entirety—"covers the cost of everything." This includes travels expenses for members of the cast, rehearsals and recovering design elements from storage. A Tony Awards spokesperson said a small stipend is offered to each nominated show to assist with the expenses involved with the telecast. The spokesperson did not specify the amount of the stipend.

Spring Awakening producers had to decide if they wanted to accept their performance slot before the Kickstarter’s June 11 deadline, though neither Davenport nor representatives for the Tony Awards would comment on the exact date required by the broadcast.

Shortly after the launch of the campaign, Deaf West Artistic Director DJ Kurs stated to Broadway.com, “We will proceed on the assumption that our Kickstarter will be successful.” On June 6, Kurs released a video on Spring Awakening’s YouTube channel in which he explained that the cast would reassemble in New York this week. “We’ll have rehearsals and get ready for the big night.”

At noon on June 8, the Kickstarter campaign had raised just over $165,000. Whether or not the goal had been met, fans would have been able to tune in on June 12 to watch the acclaimed production, which included a cast of both deaf and hearing performers.