Lea Michele, Matt Pinfield, ‘Pose’ Co-Creator Steven Canals Remember ‘Spring Awakening’ Composer Duncan Sheik: “Does Not Seem Real”

Duncan Sheik at the Museum of Broadway's one-year anniversary celebration in 2023. Rob Kim/Getty Images

Spring Awakening star Lea Michele, MTV alum Matt Pinfield and Pose co-creator Steven Canals are among those remembering Duncan Sheik after the singer-songwriter died Thursday of organ failure. He was 56.

Michele shared a photo of herself with Sheik on her Instagram story and recalled meeting him years before Spring Awakening‘s 2006 Broadway debut, in which she starred alongside Jonathan Groff.

“I met Duncan when I was 14 years old. I listened to a demo on tape of him singing songs from Spring Awakening outside of my middle school before my first audition,” she wrote. “I am at a loss for words. This one hurts and does not seem real. Thank you for everything you gave us. And for the time we had together. Sending all my love and prayers now to Nora, Ines and Duncan’s family.”

'Spring Awakening' Composer Duncan Sheik Dies at 56

Duncan Sheik attends the premiere of 'Spring Awakening: Those You've Known' at Florence Gould Hall on April 25, 2022 in New York City.

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Pinfield recalled being on the Grammy board of governors with Sheik and meeting the singer-songwriter who had a hit with the Grammy-nominated 1996 single “Barely Breathing” when Pinfield worked in MTV’s music department.

“We sang songs by the band Japan,” he wrote on Instagram Friday. “I couldn’t believe he knew their early records; that’s how our friendship started back then.”

Sheik released nine studio albums, with other well-known songs including “She Runs Away,” from his self-titled 1996 debut, and “On a High” from his 2002 album Daylight.

Canals was among those remembering Sheik’s broader catalog on social media on Friday.

“Duncan Sheik was so much more than Barely Breathing & Spring Awakening. I loved his pop/rock music,” the writer-producer wrote on X. “His third album, Phantom Moon, released my sophomore year of college got me through an emotional period. Thank you, sir, for the music and the calm. May you rest peacefully.”

Spring Awakening, based on the 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind about teenagers discovering their sexuality, won Tonys for best orchestration, best original score and best musical and a Grammy for best musical theater album. It’s set for an off-Broadway revival in 2027.

Sheik wrote the music, with Steven Sater providing lyrics.

Read on to see what else the entertainment industry is saying about Sheik.

We are saddened by the loss of SAG-AFTRA recording artist member Duncan Sheik. A singer, songwriter and composer, Duncan touched audiences through music and theater, from 'Barely Breathing' to 'Spring Awakening.' #SagAftraMember since 1998 https://t.co/NcN6anfWut
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) September 18, 2026