Shiek 1; Frazen zip.

“The dexterity [Franzen] displays in simultaneously riding our coattails and stabbing us in the back certainly proves him quite the limber ‘populist.’ Though his apparent conflation of Chloë Sevigny and Avril Lavigne drew a chuckle, it serves less as a critique of the musical than as evidence that, very much like all the adult characters in Spring Awakening, Mr. Franzen is hopelessly out of touch, mired in his own self-interest, and just doesn’t get it. His confusion about pop culture aside, I’m delighted it’s now a matter of public record that not only is Franzen a world-class curmudgeon, but he’s a baldly opportunistic one at that.”

That's Duncan Shiek's letter to the editors of New York Magazine, in response to author Jonathan Frazen's lambasting of Spring Awakening. New York couldn't resist going to Frazen for a response quote, and here's the best he could do:

“It is Mr. Sheik’s and Mr. Sater’s production that is riding on the coattails of Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening. Whether the musical also stabs the play in the back is up to theatergoers to decide.”

That's all you got, Frazen? Sorry, Creme La Douche, you lose. Shiek 1; Frazen zip.

For the record,

Fuck Jonathan Frazen. Even if he hated the Spring Awakening musical, why does he have to publish his senseless vitriol in the introduction to his own new adaptation? As the Post hints, the desire to publish a new adaptation is pretty obviously rooted in the musical's massive success. I think the whole thing is really embarassing for Frazen, and some of his comments seem to indicate that he just doesn't get the theatrical medium at all. For example:

The hand-wringing young Moritz Steifel, whom Wedekind had kill himself over a bad report card, is transformed, in the musical version, into a punk rocker of such talent and charisma that it's unimaginable that a report card could depress him.

Umm... looks like Frazen missed the memo about Spring Awakening's songs being metaphorical expressions of the characters' inner emotions. It's not like Moritz was debating, "hmm, should I kill myself, or follow this punk rock thing and join a band??" What a douchey imbecile.

Also, doesn't he kinda look like director Jonathan Silverstein's evil twin?



And if there's any doubt about dude's douchetasticness, read a bit of what he had to say about turning down Oprah's book club.