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Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)
Encyclopedia
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical
about a fictional rock and roll
band fronted by an East German transgender
singer. The text is by John Cameron Mitchell
, and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Trask
. The musical premiered in 1998 and has been performed throughout the world in hundreds of stage productions.
The story draws on Mitchell's life as the son of a U.S. Army
Major General
who once commanded the U.S. sector of occupied West Berlin
. The character of Hedwig was originally inspired by a German divorced U.S. Army wife who was a Mitchell family babysitter and moonlighted as a prostitute at her Junction City, Kansas
trailer park home. The music is steeped in the androgynous 1970s glam rock
era of David Bowie
(who co-produced the Los Angeles
production of the show), as well as the work of John Lennon
and early punk godfathers Lou Reed
and Iggy Pop
.
The musical opened Off-Broadway
at the Jane Street Theater
on February 14, 1998. The theater was located in the ballroom of the Hotel Riverview, which once housed the surviving crew of the Titanic (a fact which figured in the original production). Originally directed and produced by Peter Askin, the play won a Village Voice Obie Award
and the Outer Critics Circle Award
for Best Off-Broadway Musical. The Off-Broadway production ran for two years, and was remounted with various casts by the original creative team in Boston
, Los Angeles, and London
.
They agreed the piece should be developed through band gigs in clubs rather than in a theater setting in order to preserve a rock energy. Mitchell was deeply influenced by Squeezebox's roster of drag performers who performed rock covers. The setlists of Hedwig's first gigs included many covers with lyrics rewritten by Mitchell to tell Hedwig's story: Fleetwood Mac
's "Oh Well", Television
's "See No Evil", Wreckless Eric
's "Whole Wide World", Yoko Ono
's "The Death of Samantha", Pere Ubu
's "Non-Alignment Pact", Cher
's "Half Breed", David Bowie
's "Boys Keep Swinging", Mott the Hoople
's "All the Young Dudes", and the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale". A German glam rendition of Debby Boone
's "You Light Up My Life
" once served as the musical's finale.
Mitchell's second gig was as fill-in host at Squeezebox on a bill featuring singer Deborah Harry
of Blondie
. It was for this occasion that Mike Potter
first designed Hedwig's trademark wig, which was initially constructed from toilet paper rolls wrapped with synthetic blond hair. Mitchell, Trask and the band Cheater (Jack Steeb, Chris Weilding, Dave McKinley and Scott Bilbrey) continued to workshop material at venues such as Fez Nightclub and Westbeth Theater Center for four years before premiering the completed musical Off-Broadway in 1998.
. The concept of the stage production is that the audience is watching the character Hedwig's musical act as she follows rockstar Tommy Gnosis's (much more successful) tour around the country. Occasionally Hedwig references Gnosis's concert which is playing in an adjoining venue.
Hedwig's band (including the character of Yitzhak) appears on stage for practically the entire duration of the musical, as does Hedwig herself.
Hedwig tells of Hansel, an East German "slip of a girlyboy" who loves philosophy and rock music, is stuck in East Berlin
until he meets Luther Robinson, a U.S. soldier. Luther falls in love with Hansel and the two decide to marry. This plan will allow Hansel to leave communist East Germany for the capitalist West. However, in order to be married, the couple must consist of a man and a woman. Hansel's mother, Hedwig, gives her child her name and passport and finds a doctor to perform a sex change
. The operation is botched, however, and her surgically constructed vagina heals closed, leaving Hansel – now Hedwig – with a dysfunctional one-inch mound of flesh between her legs, "with a scar running down it like a sideways grimace on an eyeless face."
Hedwig goes to live in Junction City, Kansas
as Luther's wife. On their first wedding anniversary, Luther leaves Hedwig for a man. That same day, it is announced that the Berlin Wall
has fallen and Germany
will reunite.
Hedwig recovers from the separation by forming a rock band composed of Korean-born Army wives, which she names "The Angry Inch". Hedwig befriends a shy and misunderstood Christian teenager Tommy Speck, with whom she writes some songs. Hedwig gives him the stage name "Tommy Gnosis
", but he later leaves her and goes on to become a wildly-successful rock star with the songs Hedwig wrote alone and with him. "Internationally ignored" Hedwig and her band the Angry Inch are forced to support themselves by playing coffee bars and strip mall dives.
The song "The Origin of Love", based on Aristophanes
' speech in Plato's Symposium, explains that three sexes of human beings once existed: "children of the sun" (man and man attached), "children of the earth" (woman and woman attached), and "children of the moon" (man and woman attached). Each were once round, two-headed, four-armed, and four-legged beings. Angry gods split these early humans in two, leaving the separated people with a lifelong yearning for their other half. Hedwig believes that Tommy is her soul mate and that she cannot be whole without him. She feels driven to either reunite with him or destroy him.
, former Brat Pack member Ally Sheedy
, Kevin Cahoon, Gene Dante, Rent
star Anthony Rapp
, stage/film actors Matt McGrath
and Nick Garrison, and Australian performer iOTA
. Other notable figures who have portrayed Hedwig include Donovan Leitch, Jr.
, the glam-rocker son of sixties folk-rock composer Donovan
.
In the summer of 2010, Hedwig and the Angry Inch went on stage in San Juan, Puerto Rico with actor Gil René playing the part of Hedwig and the band Simples Mortales doing all the live music. This version of Hedwig was completely translated to Spanish. Also, in the summer of 2010 the show was staged at the George Square Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland, as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show was produced by SJC Productions (www.sjcproductions.com) starring Steve Wickenden as Hedwig and Laura Mellor as Yitzhak.
In spring of 2011 English-language Prague theatre AKANDA staged Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Iron Curtain Club. Jeff Fritz as Hedwig and Uliana Elina as Yitzhak.
In July 2011, the show was staged at Bangkok University.
On August 2010 a Brazilian adaptation of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Hedwig e o centímetro enfurecido) premiered in Rio de Janeiro, with actors Paulo Vilhena and Pierre Baitelli playing Hedwig. This is the first adaptation where there are two actors simultaneously playing Hedwig onstage. The play was translated by Jonas Calmon Klabin and directed by Evandro Mesquita, with musical direction by Danilo Timm and Evandro Mesquita. Eline Porto played Yitzhak, Alexandre Griva on the drums, Fabrizio Iorio on the keyboards, Patrick Laplan on the bass, and Pedro Nogueira playing the guitar. The musical previews ran from August 10 to September 3, 2010 and the full show ran from September 15 to November 6, 2010, totaling 46 performances. The same production reopened in São Paulo on August 26, 2011 and ran until October 16, 2011, for a total of 25 performances, now with actors Pierre Baitelli and Felipe Carvalhido playing Hedwig. Eline Porto played Yitzhak, Diego Andrade on the drums, Fabrizio Iorio on the keyboards, Melvin Ribeiro on the bass, and Pedro Nogueira playing the guitar. Nominated for best actor (Pierre Baitelli) and best musical direction (Danilo Timm and Evandro Mesquita) at the Prêmio Shell de Teatro. Winner of best actor (Pierre Baitelli and nominated for best production (Oz), best director (Evandro Mesquita), and best actress (Eline Porto) at the Prêmio Arte Qualidade Brasil. Also, one nomination for best musical in a Brazilian adaptation for the Prêmio Contigo de Teatro.
of the musical.
and the Outer Critics Circle Award
for Best Off-Broadway Musical.
, a charity tribute album
which also included new material adding to the mythology of Hedwig. Performers included Frank Black
and The Breeders
. Slusarenko said that he fielded questions from Kim Deal
of The Breeders about Black, her former bandmate in The Pixies, with whom she'd had limited conversation since the band's breakup in 1993. They made contact soon after, and Pixies reunited the following spring. Other bands who participated in "Wig in a Box" were Yo La Tengo
featuring Yoko Ono
, Sleater-Kinney
featuring Fred Schneider
(of The B-52's
), Jonathan Richman
, Rufus Wainwright
, Polyphonic Spree, Spoon
, Imperial Teen
, Bob Mould
, Cyndi Lauper
with The Minus Five (featuring Peter Buck of R.E.M.
), The Bens (Ben Folds
, Ben Lee
and Ben Kweller
), They Might Be Giants
and Robyn Hitchcock
. Trask and Mitchell completed an unfinished Tommy Gnosis song (leftover from the musical's development days) called "Milford Lake" (sung by Mitchell) and included it. The CD also features comedian Stephen Colbert
reciting the spoken introduction to Tear Me Down
. The profits of this album benefitted The Hetrick-Martin Institute
, home of the Harvey Milk High School
, a New York City public school for gay
, lesbian
, bisexual, transgender
and questioning youth who have experienced discrimination and violence in other public schools or at home and are at risk of not completing their secondary education.
"Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig", a documentary about the making of the "Wig in a Box" benefit cd, profiled students from the Harvey Milk School. It was directed by Katherine Linton and produced by the Sundance Channel and is now available on DVD.
The gothic metal
band Type O Negative
covered "Angry Inch" on their 2003 album Life Is Killing Me
.
Meat Loaf
covered "Tear Me Down" that same year on his album Couldn't Have Said It Better
, modifying some of the lyrics (notably the spoken section about the Berlin Wall) so that the song is instead about Texas
and Meat Loaf's own life.
One of the bonus tracks of Damn Skippy, "Pirate In A Box" by Lemon Demon, is a parody of Wig In a Box.
Ben Jelen
covered Hedwig's version of "Wicked Little Town" on his 2004 album Give It All Away.
Future Kings of Spain
covered "Angry Inch" for the b-side of their 2003 single, "Hanging Around".
Dar Williams
, who is a college friend of composer Stephen Trask, covered "Midnight Radio" on her 2008 album Promised Land.
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
about a fictional rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band fronted by an East German transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
singer. The text is by John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell is an American writer, actor, and director. He is best known for his motion pictures Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus and Rabbit Hole.- Early life:...
, and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Trask
Stephen Trask
Stephen Trask is an American musician and composer, who graduated from Wesleyan University.He was the music director and house band member at the New York club Squeezebox, where he performed with stars such as Debbie Harry, Lene Lovich and Joey Ramone.Trask composed the music and lyrics for the...
. The musical premiered in 1998 and has been performed throughout the world in hundreds of stage productions.
The story draws on Mitchell's life as the son of a U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
who once commanded the U.S. sector of occupied West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. The character of Hedwig was originally inspired by a German divorced U.S. Army wife who was a Mitchell family babysitter and moonlighted as a prostitute at her Junction City, Kansas
Junction City, Kansas
Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,353. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby...
trailer park home. The music is steeped in the androgynous 1970s glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
era of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
(who co-produced the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
production of the show), as well as the work of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and early punk godfathers Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
and Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
.
The musical opened Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Jane Street Theater
Jane Street Theater
The Jane is a boutique hotel located at 505-507 West Street, with its main entrance at 113 Jane Street in the West Village section of the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City....
on February 14, 1998. The theater was located in the ballroom of the Hotel Riverview, which once housed the surviving crew of the Titanic (a fact which figured in the original production). Originally directed and produced by Peter Askin, the play won a Village Voice Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
and the Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for Best Off-Broadway Musical. The Off-Broadway production ran for two years, and was remounted with various casts by the original creative team in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Los Angeles, and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
History
The character of Hedwig was originally a supporting character in the piece. She was loosely inspired by a German female babysitter/prostitute who worked for Mitchell's family when he was a teenager in Junction City, Kansas. The character of Tommy, originally conceived as the main character, was based on Mitchell himself: both were gay, the sons of an Army general, deeply Roman Catholic and fascinated by mythology. Hedwig became the story's protagonist when Trask encouraged Mitchell to showcase their earliest material in 1994 at NYC's drag-punk club Squeezebox, where Trask headed the house band and Mitchell's boyfriend, Jack Steeb, played bass.They agreed the piece should be developed through band gigs in clubs rather than in a theater setting in order to preserve a rock energy. Mitchell was deeply influenced by Squeezebox's roster of drag performers who performed rock covers. The setlists of Hedwig's first gigs included many covers with lyrics rewritten by Mitchell to tell Hedwig's story: Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
's "Oh Well", Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
's "See No Evil", Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric
Wreckless Eric is an English rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time...
's "Whole Wide World", Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
's "The Death of Samantha", Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
's "Non-Alignment Pact", Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
's "Half Breed", David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Boys Keep Swinging", Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The Hoople...
's "All the Young Dudes", and the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale". A German glam rendition of Debby Boone
Debby Boone
Deborah Anne Boone is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life," which spent a then record ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year...
's "You Light Up My Life
You Light Up My Life (song)
Many artists have covered "You Light Up My Life" since 1977. The following year, Johnny Mathis recorded and named his album after the song. LeAnn Rimes released her version as a single in 1997, 20 years after Boone's version was released and on the same record label . Her version fared modestly...
" once served as the musical's finale.
Mitchell's second gig was as fill-in host at Squeezebox on a bill featuring singer Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
of Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
. It was for this occasion that Mike Potter
Mike Potter (makeup artist)
Mike Potter is the creator of the makeup looks and wigs for the off Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and subsequent film adaptation, in which he also has a small cameo. In 2002, Potter received a Phoenix Film Critics Society Award nomination for best makeup for his work on Hedwig. Potter...
first designed Hedwig's trademark wig, which was initially constructed from toilet paper rolls wrapped with synthetic blond hair. Mitchell, Trask and the band Cheater (Jack Steeb, Chris Weilding, Dave McKinley and Scott Bilbrey) continued to workshop material at venues such as Fez Nightclub and Westbeth Theater Center for four years before premiering the completed musical Off-Broadway in 1998.
Synopsis
The story is told by Hedwig directly to the audience in the form of an extended monologueMonologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
. The concept of the stage production is that the audience is watching the character Hedwig's musical act as she follows rockstar Tommy Gnosis's (much more successful) tour around the country. Occasionally Hedwig references Gnosis's concert which is playing in an adjoining venue.
Hedwig's band (including the character of Yitzhak) appears on stage for practically the entire duration of the musical, as does Hedwig herself.
Hedwig tells of Hansel, an East German "slip of a girlyboy" who loves philosophy and rock music, is stuck in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
until he meets Luther Robinson, a U.S. soldier. Luther falls in love with Hansel and the two decide to marry. This plan will allow Hansel to leave communist East Germany for the capitalist West. However, in order to be married, the couple must consist of a man and a woman. Hansel's mother, Hedwig, gives her child her name and passport and finds a doctor to perform a sex change
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
. The operation is botched, however, and her surgically constructed vagina heals closed, leaving Hansel – now Hedwig – with a dysfunctional one-inch mound of flesh between her legs, "with a scar running down it like a sideways grimace on an eyeless face."
Hedwig goes to live in Junction City, Kansas
Junction City, Kansas
Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,353. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby...
as Luther's wife. On their first wedding anniversary, Luther leaves Hedwig for a man. That same day, it is announced that the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
has fallen and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
will reunite.
Hedwig recovers from the separation by forming a rock band composed of Korean-born Army wives, which she names "The Angry Inch". Hedwig befriends a shy and misunderstood Christian teenager Tommy Speck, with whom she writes some songs. Hedwig gives him the stage name "Tommy Gnosis
Gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge . In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies 'spiritual knowledge' in the sense of mystical enlightenment.-Related...
", but he later leaves her and goes on to become a wildly-successful rock star with the songs Hedwig wrote alone and with him. "Internationally ignored" Hedwig and her band the Angry Inch are forced to support themselves by playing coffee bars and strip mall dives.
The song "The Origin of Love", based on Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' speech in Plato's Symposium, explains that three sexes of human beings once existed: "children of the sun" (man and man attached), "children of the earth" (woman and woman attached), and "children of the moon" (man and woman attached). Each were once round, two-headed, four-armed, and four-legged beings. Angry gods split these early humans in two, leaving the separated people with a lifelong yearning for their other half. Hedwig believes that Tommy is her soul mate and that she cannot be whole without him. She feels driven to either reunite with him or destroy him.
Songs
- "Tear Me DownTear Me DownTear Me Down is a song from the off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and subsequent film. It was composed by Stephen Trask, and performed by the characters Hedwig and Yitzhak . It is the show's opening number...
" - "The Origin of LoveThe Origin of Love"The Origin of Love" is a song from the stage show Hedwig and the Angry Inch and subsequent film written by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask. Stephen Trask wrote the song, which is based on a story from Plato's Symposium.-Origins:...
" - "Random Number Generation" (cast album only)
- "Sugar DaddySugar Daddy (1999 song)"Sugar Daddy" is a song from the off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and subsequent film. It was composed by Stephen Trask, and is performed in the musical by the characters Hedwig and Sgt...
" - "The Angry InchAngry InchThe Angry Inch is a song from the off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and its subsequent film adaptation. It was composed by Stephen Trask and performed by John Cameron Mitchell. The song details the botched sex-change operation that Hedwig got in order to marry an American soldier and...
" - "Wig in a BoxWig in a Box (song)Wig in a Box is a song from the off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and its subsequent film adaptation. It was composed by Stephen Trask and is performed in the musical by the character Hedwig and her band The Angry Inch.The titular wig in the box is the last present that Hedwig's...
" - "Wicked Little TownWicked Little Town"Wicked Little Town" is a song from the off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the subsequent film adaptation. Composed by Stephen Trask, the song is a poetic reflection on the doomed love between two of the characters, Hedwig and Tommy Gnosis.-Summary and context:The original song is...
" - "The Long GriftThe Long Grift"The Long Grift" is a song from the off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and its subsequent film adaptation. It was composed by Stephen Trask and performed by John Cameron Mitchell as the character Hedwig....
" - "Hedwig's Lament"
- "Exquisite Corpse"
- "Wicked Little Town (Reprise)Wicked Little Town"Wicked Little Town" is a song from the off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the subsequent film adaptation. Composed by Stephen Trask, the song is a poetic reflection on the doomed love between two of the characters, Hedwig and Tommy Gnosis.-Summary and context:The original song is...
" - "Midnight RadioMidnight RadioFor other uses of Midnight Radio please see the disambiguation page.Midnight Radio is a song from the off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and its subsequent film adaptation...
"
Productions
Actors who have played Hedwig onstage in the U.S. include the Tony award-winning actor Michael CerverisMichael Cerveris
Michael Cerveris is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including in several Stephen Sondheim musicals: Assassins, Sweeney Todd, Road Show, and Passion...
, former Brat Pack member Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy
Alexandra Elizabeth "Ally" Sheedy is an American film and stage actress, as well as the author of two books. She is best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.-Early life:...
, Kevin Cahoon, Gene Dante, Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
star Anthony Rapp
Anthony Rapp
Anthony Deane Rapp is an American stage and film actor and singer best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the role in the film version and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...
, stage/film actors Matt McGrath
Matt McGrath (actor)
Matt McGrath is an American actor.McGrath's film appearances include roles in The Notorious Bettie Page, Boys Don't Cry, The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, and The Impostors. On television, McGrath has appeared in episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Now and Again, and New York...
and Nick Garrison, and Australian performer iOTA
Iota (entertainer)
Iota is an ARIA nominated musician and a Helpmann Award winning actor.- Music :Iota's first album The Hip Bone Connection was released in 1999. This album was Iota labeled as an acoustic/blues/roots musician, a label he does not like. His second, Big Grandfather, was considered less accessible,...
. Other notable figures who have portrayed Hedwig include Donovan Leitch, Jr.
Donovan Leitch, Jr.
Donovan Jerome Leitch is an American actor. He is a member of the band Camp Freddy, and was a founding member of neo-glam group Nancy Boy along with Jason Nesmith...
, the glam-rocker son of sixties folk-rock composer Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
.
In the summer of 2010, Hedwig and the Angry Inch went on stage in San Juan, Puerto Rico with actor Gil René playing the part of Hedwig and the band Simples Mortales doing all the live music. This version of Hedwig was completely translated to Spanish. Also, in the summer of 2010 the show was staged at the George Square Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland, as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show was produced by SJC Productions (www.sjcproductions.com) starring Steve Wickenden as Hedwig and Laura Mellor as Yitzhak.
In spring of 2011 English-language Prague theatre AKANDA staged Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Iron Curtain Club. Jeff Fritz as Hedwig and Uliana Elina as Yitzhak.
In July 2011, the show was staged at Bangkok University.
On August 2010 a Brazilian adaptation of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Hedwig e o centímetro enfurecido) premiered in Rio de Janeiro, with actors Paulo Vilhena and Pierre Baitelli playing Hedwig. This is the first adaptation where there are two actors simultaneously playing Hedwig onstage. The play was translated by Jonas Calmon Klabin and directed by Evandro Mesquita, with musical direction by Danilo Timm and Evandro Mesquita. Eline Porto played Yitzhak, Alexandre Griva on the drums, Fabrizio Iorio on the keyboards, Patrick Laplan on the bass, and Pedro Nogueira playing the guitar. The musical previews ran from August 10 to September 3, 2010 and the full show ran from September 15 to November 6, 2010, totaling 46 performances. The same production reopened in São Paulo on August 26, 2011 and ran until October 16, 2011, for a total of 25 performances, now with actors Pierre Baitelli and Felipe Carvalhido playing Hedwig. Eline Porto played Yitzhak, Diego Andrade on the drums, Fabrizio Iorio on the keyboards, Melvin Ribeiro on the bass, and Pedro Nogueira playing the guitar. Nominated for best actor (Pierre Baitelli) and best musical direction (Danilo Timm and Evandro Mesquita) at the Prêmio Shell de Teatro. Winner of best actor (Pierre Baitelli and nominated for best production (Oz), best director (Evandro Mesquita), and best actress (Eline Porto) at the Prêmio Arte Qualidade Brasil. Also, one nomination for best musical in a Brazilian adaptation for the Prêmio Contigo de Teatro.
Adaptations
In 2000, John Cameron Mitchell adapted, directed and starred in a film adaptationHedwig and the Angry Inch (film)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film based on the stage musical of the same title about a fictional rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The film was adapted and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who also portrayed the title role...
of the musical.
Awards
The original production won a Village Voice Obie AwardObie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
and the Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for Best Off-Broadway Musical.
Fandom
Fans of the play and film refer to themselves as "Hedheads". In Korea and Japan, a number of teen idols and respected actors have played the role and generated a large number of young, female Hedheads.Recordings
- 1998 Original off-Broadway CastHedwig and the Angry Inch Original Cast AlbumHedwig and the Angry Inch is a 2001 American musical film based on the stage musical of the same title about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by an East German transgendered singer. Hedwig is portrayed by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Trask...
- 2000 Movie Soundtrack
- 2002 "Wig" Cleveland Public Theatre Cast
- 2003 Wig in a BoxWig in a BoxWig In A Box: Songs from & Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a charity tribute album featuring versions of songs from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch...
(tribute album) - 2004 UK Atrocity Tour cast
- 2005 Original Korean Cast
- 2005 Peruvian Cast (Hedwig Y la Pulgada Furiosa)
- 2006 Korean Cast
- 2006 Original Australian Cast
Song covers
In 2003, Chris Slusarenko's Off Records released an album called Wig in a BoxWig in a Box
Wig In A Box: Songs from & Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a charity tribute album featuring versions of songs from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch...
, a charity tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
which also included new material adding to the mythology of Hedwig. Performers included Frank Black
Frank Black
Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...
and The Breeders
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal , her twin sister Kelley Deal , Jose Medeles , Mando Lopez Todd the Fox...
. Slusarenko said that he fielded questions from Kim Deal
Kim Deal
Kimberley Ann Deal is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of the alternative rock band the Pixies and the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Breeders. Deal first joined the Pixies in January 1986 as the band's bassist, adopting the stage name Mrs...
of The Breeders about Black, her former bandmate in The Pixies, with whom she'd had limited conversation since the band's breakup in 1993. They made contact soon after, and Pixies reunited the following spring. Other bands who participated in "Wig in a Box" were Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
featuring Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
featuring Fred Schneider
Fred Schneider
Frederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well-known for his sprechgesang which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars.-Early life:Schneider was born in Newark,...
(of The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
), Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...
, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, Polyphonic Spree, Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
, Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen is a San Francisco-based indie pop group made up of Roddy Bottum primarily on guitar/vocals, Will Schwartz primarily on guitar/vocals, Lynn Truell primarily on drums and backing vocals, and Jone Stebbins primarily on bass and backing...
, Bob Mould
Bob Mould
Robert Arthur "Bob" Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.-Early life:...
, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
with The Minus Five (featuring Peter Buck of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
), The Bens (Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
, Ben Lee
Ben Lee
Benjamin Michael "Ben" Lee is an ARIA Award winning musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appeared as the protagonist in the Australian film The Rage in Placid Lake...
and Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life:Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas, where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town's first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to a much larger city,...
), They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
and Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
. Trask and Mitchell completed an unfinished Tommy Gnosis song (leftover from the musical's development days) called "Milford Lake" (sung by Mitchell) and included it. The CD also features comedian Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
reciting the spoken introduction to Tear Me Down
Tear Me Down
Tear Me Down is a song from the off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and subsequent film. It was composed by Stephen Trask, and performed by the characters Hedwig and Yitzhak . It is the show's opening number...
. The profits of this album benefitted The Hetrick-Martin Institute
Hetrick-Martin Institute
The Hetrick-Martin Institute is a New York City based non-profit organization devoted to serving the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth. The institute was founded in 1979 as the "Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth" by Dr. Emery Hetrick, a...
, home of the Harvey Milk High School
Harvey Milk High School
Harvey Milk High School is a public high school in the East Village of New York City designed for, though not limited to, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people, as well as those questioning their sexuality...
, a New York City public school for gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and questioning youth who have experienced discrimination and violence in other public schools or at home and are at risk of not completing their secondary education.
"Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig", a documentary about the making of the "Wig in a Box" benefit cd, profiled students from the Harvey Milk School. It was directed by Katherine Linton and produced by the Sundance Channel and is now available on DVD.
The gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
band Type O Negative
Type O Negative
Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
covered "Angry Inch" on their 2003 album Life Is Killing Me
Life Is Killing Me
Life Is Killing Me is the sixth album by Type O Negative. The title was originally going to be The Dream Is Dead, but was supposedly changed because it suggested that the band may finally be ending their union.-Overview:...
.
Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
covered "Tear Me Down" that same year on his album Couldn't Have Said It Better
Couldn't Have Said It Better
Couldn't Have Said It Better is a 2003 album by Meat Loaf.Only for the third time in his career, Meat Loaf released an album without any songs written by Jim Steinman...
, modifying some of the lyrics (notably the spoken section about the Berlin Wall) so that the song is instead about Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Meat Loaf's own life.
One of the bonus tracks of Damn Skippy, "Pirate In A Box" by Lemon Demon, is a parody of Wig In a Box.
Ben Jelen
Ben Jelen
Ben Jelen is a Scottish-born American singer-songwriter who plays the piano, violin, and guitar. He has lived in Scotland, England, Texas, New Jersey and New York. His career has been characterized by near-stardom, with his debut album, Give It All Away peaking at #113 on the Billboard 200 list...
covered Hedwig's version of "Wicked Little Town" on his 2004 album Give It All Away.
Future Kings of Spain
Future Kings of Spain
Future Kings of Spain were an Irish rock band, from Dublin.Future Kings of Spain on 28 September 2007 released their second album Nervousystem. Recorded in London and Malta with producer Ian Grimble , it was released in Ireland on the band's own label, What’s The Kim? and entered the Irish Albums...
covered "Angry Inch" for the b-side of their 2003 single, "Hanging Around".
Dar Williams
Dar Williams
Dar Williams is an American singer-songwriter specializing in pop folk.She is a frequent performer at folk festivals and has toured with such artists as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco, The Nields, Shawn Colvin, Girlyman, Joan Baez, and Catie Curtis.-Biography:Williams was born...
, who is a college friend of composer Stephen Trask, covered "Midnight Radio" on her 2008 album Promised Land.