Youthful exuberance lights up the stage in the Civic Theatre of Allentown production of "Spring Awakening," continuing through Oct. 27.

Civic Artistic Director William Sanders directs a cast of college and high school all-stars in what is a rock opera of tragic proportions and emotional triumph.

The on-stage, seven-piece orchestra, conducted by Music Director Justin Brehm, doesn't overpower excellent solo vocals and choral work.

While the singing soars, one of the most evocative scenes is the play's opening when Sanders judiciously has the cast wordlessly carry empty picture frames, circling and pausing, rendering each as a self-portrait.

While the musical, based on the 1891 play, "A Children's Tragedy" by German playwright Frank Wedekind, is set in a provincial town in Germany in the 1890s, the score is contemporary pop-rock, with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, replete with some songs, lyrics and content that might be a rude awakening for audiences.

Technical Director-Lighting Designer Will Morris utilizes a huge wooden fixture that hovers ominously and drops vertically and at an angle over an equally rough-hewn flat. There's also a U-shaped beam-like structure defining the minimalist production by Set Designer Jason Sherwood.

Morris, also the Costume Designer, has the young men attired in black jackets, white shirts and ties with pants or shorts and the women in quaint dresses mostly in browns and grays. Hair and wigs by Kim Danish augment the turn-of-the century costumes.

Nina Attinello, an Easton Area High School junior, in the lead female role of Wendla, has a crystalline voice, especially in the show's plaintive opener, "Mama Who Bore Me."

Michael Barthel, a Muhlenberg College senior, in the lead male role of Melchior, is powerful in "All That's Known."

Attinello and Barthel duet beautifully for "The Word of Your Body," a show highlight.

Alexander Michaels, a Muhlenberg College junior, as Moritz, tenderly sings "Don't Do Sadness," another show highlight.

Attinello, Barthel and Michaels take it to another level with the elegiac and moving "Those You've Known."

The company's choral work is resounding in the show closer, "The Song of Purple Summer."

Other outstanding vocalists and memorable actors include Bryan Dougherty (Hanschen), Muhlenberg College student; Morgan Reilly (Ilse), Muhlenberg College junior; Johnny Schaffer (Otto), Northampton Community College student; Tommy Walters (Ernst), Muhlenberg College freshman; Kayla Weinerman (Martha), Muhlenberg College senior; Will West (Georg), Lehigh University graduate student; Gabrielle Whitney (Anna), Muhlenberg College student; and Aria Sivick (Thea), Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts junior.

Also in the 19-member cast are Emma Anthony, Meredith Lipson, Andrea Schaffer, Robert Stinner and Davis Weaver.

The sole adults in the cast are adeptly, humorously and caustically played by Joann Wilchek Basist and Robert Torres.