Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig and the Angry Inch began life in the late 90s as an off-Broadway musical. Written by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, this story about a transsexual rock-star chasing her ex-lover across country quickly gained a cult following, resulting in a big-screen adaptation in 2001, directed by and starring Mitchell. Several years later, Australian audiences now have the chance to see this edgy, glam rock musical live and the result is nothing short of amazing.
Hedwig is chasing after her ex, Tommy Gnosis, because the worldwide pop sensation stole all of his songs from her. Along the way Hedwig's life is revealed: her humble beginnings in East Berlin, her marriage to an American soldier, her botched sex change operation, her new life in America and her relationship with Tommy.
What makes the show remarkable is its intimacy as Hedwig shares her life in this part rock concert, part confessional. The audience is drawn into becoming a part of her world, sharing her highs and lows in a masterful piece of theatrical writing. If only more shows could be as well crafted.
Musically, Stephen Trask has created a score that sticks primarily to rock, blasting it out at the audience through a large stack of speakers (it is meant to be a concert after all) while still managing to maintain a balance with the inclusion of light-hearted numbers like Wig in a Box and Sugar Daddy or a beautiful ballad like Origin of Love.
One note though, this show is loud and due to the confines of the theatre some seats are pretty close to the speakers (some audience members had earplugs) but for every hard rock number (Tear me Down, a song that featured on Meat Loaf's album, Couldn't Have Said It Better) there is a quieter, more plaintive track like Midnight Radio, so you needn't worry about experiencing a full-on 90 minute assault on your ear drums.
The centrepiece of this production is a jaw-dropping performance from iOTA as Hedwig. He is phenomenal. On stage for the entire show, he sings, dances, gyrates and lays his heart on the line in one of the musical theatre performances of recent times (a deserved winner of the Sydney Theatre Reviewers Award for Best Performance in a Musical). iOTA is ably supported by Saskia Smith who plays Yitzhak, Hedwig's long suffering husband/sidekick, and the rest of his band, the Angry Inch. The set, which is little more than a broken brick wall and some debris, works well as do the costumes which are functional, forgoing glitz for simple realism, this certainly isn't a drag show.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is not to be missed. Although it sadly won't get the public attention of the larger musicals, given its subject matter, lack of a million-dollar budget and current venue (the Tom Mann is at best a glorified school hall which - Hedwig points out - looks as if it was designed by someone with an obsession with white Toblerones) it is one of the best productions on a Sydney stage in a long time.
