By Carleton Atwater
This isn’t your average rags-to-riches story: botched sex change operations, musical theft and drag queens each play a crucial role in the course of Hedwig’s history in the hit off-Broadway musical, “Hedwig and The Angry Inch.”
The Cambridge Family YMCA is currently hosting a local production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The show is directed by Dawn Davis, and stars Adam T. Rosencrance as Hedwig and Melissa Kaplan as Yitzhak, Hedwig’s husband, a former drag queen.
Since its debut in 1998, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” has steadily gained fame and awards. Written by John Cam-eron Mitchell, the play follows the life story of Hedwig, an “internationally ignored song stylist.” The play is presented as a concert with Hedwig and her backing band, The Angry Inch.
Through the series of monologues by Hedwig the audience learns how a “slip of a girly boy from Communist East Berlin” named Hansel, became Hedwig, a transsexual musician unsuccessfully trying to make it in America.
The songs from the show, written by Stephen Trask, display a remarkable level of diversity. From pop to rockabilly to punk. No two songs are in the same musical style. Each style has clearly been selected to fit the mood and theme of the song.
Rosencrance, as Hedwig, gives a spirited performance. The singing, while not technically brilliant, does an adequate job of conveying the varied emotions in the show’s many songs.
Musical director and drummer Perry James has a long history with the show and his experience with the material is evident. James played drums on the soundtrack to the 2001 movie adaptation of the play, as well as the original Boston and San Francisco productions.
“The Angry Inch” is composed of James, Jared Wilayto, Justin Ballard, William Whitney and Bryan Bales.
“The band is unbelievable,” Kaplan said.
With the show’s gender-bending characters and growing cult of fans, known as “Hed-heads,” many are quick to compare the play with another famous musical-turned-movie, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
While there are many similarities between the two works at first glance, they are clearly very different plays. Both works are full of humor and campy fun, but “Hedwig” also successfully deals with many serious issues that “Rocky Horror” does not even consider.
“I suppose in some ways they are similar because they are about being outrageous and doing as you wish,” said Mollie Mackenzie, a sophomore theater major. “‘Hedwig’ has a much clearer message about being happy with yourself and loving yourself to become whole. ‘Rocky Horror’ is a little more tongue in cheek.”
Kaplan also disagrees with the many comparisons between the plays.
“Other than a transsexual character there are no other similarities. ‘Rocky Horror’ is campy, ‘Hedwig’ is serious.
