HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH “Todd Schaefer shows
off an amazing voice in this confessional concert piece, which features a
kick-ass band and great cross-gender supporting work from Stephanie Brown.”
– Deanna Jent, Riverfront Times “Hedwig
and the Angry Inch is a challenging piece of theater, to audiences and to
the St. Louis theater community as well… the sort of theatre St. Louisans
should be exposed to.” – Joe Pollack, KWMU-FM “Mr.
Schaefer's [Hedwig] gains the edge by having the stamp of a Scott Miller
production: clearly thought-out; artistically consistent; and faithful to
playwright Cameron Mitchell's intent.. The
New Line/WAPP version gives us a Hedwig whose gifts are also indisputable –
and whose past, present, and future are even richer, thanks to greater artistic
virtuosity.” – Richard Green, KDHX-FM “The
book by John Cameron Mitchell and the music and lyrics by Stephen Trask are so
intellectually and musically compelling that a first viewing creates an appetite
for a second. One interpretation sparks interest in another.” – Gerry
Kowarsky, St. Louis Post Dispatch
With music and lyrics by Stephen Trask and a book by John Cameron Mitchell (who originated the title role), Hedwig and the Angry Inch first opened off off Broadway at the Westbeth Theatre Center in February 1997. The show then moved off Broadway to the newly christened Jane Street Theatre on Valentine’s Day 1998. It ran for 857 performances and won the Obie Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for best off Broadway musical. The New York Times said, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch brings theatre alive with the pounding sounds of rock and the funny sad voicing of a painful past. It is also an adult, thought-provoking musical about the quest for individuality.” Time magazine called the music “the most exciting hard rock score written for the theatre since, oh, ever,” and called the show itself “a poignant mediation on loneliness, gender confusion, and the Platonic notion that sex is the effort to reconnect two halves of one ideal being.” The Village Voice called it “the absolutely fabulous glam rock musical.” A rabid fan base rose up around the show, dubbed Hed Heads. David Bowie and Madonna came to see it. New Line Cinema bought the screen rights and released it in July 2001, the midst of the movie musical rebirth. The film won the Audience Award and the Directing Award at Sundance. New Line's Hedwig
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Want to explore more? We recommend: The script and vocal selections for Hedwig Director Scott Miller's background notes on the show The DVD, videotape, and soundtrack of the film version Two excellent Hedwig websites, The Staging Area, Hedwig in a Box, and also a British fan site The origins of "Exquisite Corpse" Hedwig's influences -- the official Marlene Dietrich website, The Ziggy Stardust Companion Website, and another Ziggy Stardust site, and also the official Iggy Pop website The Transsexuality website, and also Yahoo's directory of sites for and about transgendered people A Biased History of Glam Rock, and an article on glam rock from Wikipedia -- also a Glam Rock Compilation DVD Hedwig's Divas -- Patti Smith, Tina Turner, Yoko Ono, Aretha Franklin, Nona Hendryx, and the iconic Nico |
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