Archive · 19 Sep 2026
Lea Michele Mourns Spring Awakening Composer Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik was a singer-songwriter who helped create the musical Spring Awakening.
Lea Michele met him when she was 14 years old.
She first heard songs from the musical on a demo tape before auditioning.
Michele later played Wendla, one of the musical’s main characters.
Sheik died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Manhattan at age 56.
Michele wrote that his death felt unreal and thanked him for what he gave them.
The original musical became successful on Broadway and won several Tony Awards.
A new production is planned to open Off Broadway later this year.
Lea Michele paid tribute to Duncan Sheik after his death, saying the loss “does not seem real.”
Michele recalled meeting Sheik at age 14 and hearing his Spring Awakening demos before her first audition.
She appeared as Wendla Bergmann in early workshops and the original Broadway production of Spring Awakening.
Sheik died of cardiac arrest at a Manhattan hospital on Thursday, September 17, at age 56.
A new Spring Awakening revival directed by Danya Taymor is scheduled to begin previews Off Broadway on November 27.
- Who
- Lea Michele paid tribute to Duncan Sheik, the composer of Spring Awakening.
- What
- Michele remembered Sheik and their work together after his death.
- When
- She posted the tribute after Sheik died on Thursday, September 17; the article says she wrote it the following day.
- Where
- Michele shared the tribute in an Instagram Story; Sheik died at a hospital in Manhattan.
- Why
- Sheik died of cardiac arrest, prompting Michele to remember their relationship and his contributions to Spring Awakening.
- Duncan Sheik's age
- 56
- Cause of death
- Cardiac arrest
- Place of death
- A hospital in Manhattan
- Michele's age when she met Sheik
- 14
- Original Broadway musical
- Spring Awakening
- Original Broadway premiere
- 2006 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
- Upcoming revival previews
- November 27 at Studio Seaview