Spring 1998. This is one of the strongest Broadway seasons in recent memory, with The Lion King, Ragtime, and the new revival of Cabaret. But you’ve been hearing murmurs that the coolest new show in town is actually playing in the ballroom of an old hotel in the West Village. So you’re checking out Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The venue feels more like a grungy club than a theater, with a mostly bare stage save for a band and their instruments. A character named Yitzhak, played by a woman in male drag, kicks off the show by announcing “Ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not—Hedwig!” Enter Hedwig, in an incredible wig with two large curls reaching up on either side of the head like some sort of laurel leaves, proclaiming “Don’t you know me? I’m the new Berlin Wall! Try and tear me down!” before launching into a punk rock opening number. As the practically one-person show proceeds, Hedwig talks candidly with the audience in between musical performances that range from angry rock to philosophical ballads based on Plato to rockabilly. The performance is occasionally interrupted when Hedwig opens the theater’s back door, taking in muffled strains of a nearby Tommy Gnosis concert. (Gnosis is a famous rock star who is also Hedwig’s former lover and collaborator). Hedwig’s stories cover her childhood as Hansel in occupied East Berlin. As a young adult, Hansel meets an American GI who encourages Hansel to start wearing women’s clothes and then go through surgery so the couple could marry and move to Kansas as husband and wife. The “sex change operation was botched,” and a year after moving to America, Luther leaves Hedwig just as the Berlin Wall comes down. Rather than dwelling on the notion that had she waited a year she would have been free to leave Berlin without resorting to drastic measures, Hedwig looks into her wardrobe and creates a new radically independent and individual persona (“Wig in a Box”).
This isn’t the first show on this list created for a specific performer—but it is the first show on this list created BY that specific performer. Actor John Cameron Mitchell developed the character of Hedwig through gigs at drag clubs, drawing in part from his own experiences and acquaintances met growing up as a military kid in West Germany, and imbuing it with his distinctive queer sensibility. The performances initially featured existing songs with original lyrics before band leader Stephen Trask wrote an original score for the piece. What could have been a bit of a novelty, banking on the shock value of its primary plot points, opened off-Broadway as a rich, insightful, and moving treatise on love and identity. It was a one-of-a-kind marriage between performer and bespoke material, with so much of its success riding on Mitchell’s ability to build rapport and empathy with the audience. Surely it would close when Mitchell was worn out and needed to stop, right? But then Michael Cerveris took over, he proved not only could the show work with a different performer, it was in fact one helluva part for a serious actor. The original production saw a number of Hedwigs—including Ally Sheedy!—before closing. By that point it also had a dedicated fan base—Hedheads—and was a venerable indie icon. It has since been performed all over the world, adapted into a movie, and glowed up for a Broadway run.
Most writers would score the moment “Wig in a Box” dramatizes—Hedwig’s self actualization—with a soaring ballad, along the lines of “The Impossible Dream” or “This is the Moment.” But “Wig…” sits in between the show’s most provocative (and, up the that point, angriest) song, “Angry Inch,” and the show’s tender emotional centerpiece, “Wicked Little Town.” Adding a big ballad in the mix would be emotionally exhausting for an audience, but a purely comedic number would put audiences through whiplash strong enough to support a generation of personal injury lawyers. Trask and Mitchell avoid these fates by crafting a song that starts off as a reflective ballad, segues into a jaunty up-tempo version of that same melody, transitions to a hard rock bridge, returns to the jaunty section inviting the audience to sing along, and culminates in Hedwig’s declaration of her new identity as “Miss punk rock star of stage and screen” with a final rock chorus.
Recommended Recording: ”Wig in a Box” Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2000 Film Soundtrack)
By all rights, Hedwig… should have made a terrible movie. So much of the original production’s success rested on the relationship built with performer and audience in real time, in an event that genuinely felt like it was happening right in front of you. What good would the literalism of cinema do? But John Cameron Mitchell apparently knew the story and relationships would be compelling even in a different format, and adapted it for screen taking responsibility for direction and the screenplay. The result is one of the absolute all time best stage-to-screen adaptations. Seeing Hedwig perform in a restaurant next to a salad bar, getting a glimpse at the logistical reality of traveling with her little band, and getting to watch the Tommy Gnosis relationship play out all added to what already existed in the play. (As did the creation of a new character—Hedwig’s agent, played by Andrea Martin.) The music—much of which was captured live during filming—is perfectly executed with Mitchell’s performance even richer and more nuanced than it was Off-Broadway. DVD/BluRay extras include a great documentary about the show’s development.
Alternate Performances
Hedwig and the Angry Inch has received ~ 22 cast recordings, including Japanese, Peruvian, Australian, and Israli casts. South Korea deserves a special shoutout for producing 9 different recordings! Hedwig… also has the exceedingly rare distinction of generating a Cleveland Cast recording! Alan Cumming and Norbert Leo Butz have each recorded covers of “Wig in a Box.” Folk singer Dar Williams, who went to college with Stephen Trask, has a lovely cover of Hedwig’s swan song, “Midnight Radio.” Rachel Bay Jones has a fantastic bluegrass cover of “Wicked Little Town.”Riverdale has a bonkers Hedwig episode that, among other wild developments, builds to a scene where the entire high school comes to the principal’s office in full Hedwig regalia.
1998 Original Off-Broadway Cast - The recording that launched a thousand Hedheads. It particularly gained traction as a more mature follow-up for RENT fans—AP RENT, as it were.
Wig in a Box: Songs From and Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2003) - While not quite as rare as getting a Cleveland cast recording, Hedwig… is one of the few shows that inspired a celebrity tribute album. Normally such treatment is reserved for shows like West Side Story and Hamilton. It’s a testament to the strong and deeply personal connections fans—and other artists—have with the show. The Polyphonic Spree, a “chorale indie band” that I can’t help but imagine as The New Main Street Singers from A Mighty Wind despite knowing it’s a very different vibe, takes on “Wig in a Box” with a fun arrangement. The album raised money for The Hetirick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School. There’s a documentary about the album’s production and the cause it supports. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s available on Kanopy.
2014 Broadway Cast - Neil Patrick Harris Hed-lined this unexpected Broadway premier. Michael Mayer brilliantly directed the production that managed to scale the show up without losing its edge. They added a clever framing device to justify a venue much more glamorous than Hedwig’s typical gigs: they are purportedly performing on the set of a musical version of The Hurt Locker that closed at intermission. It was supposed to be a limited run, ending whenever NPH had to get back to How I Met Your Mother. But it was such a resounding success that it ran a year-and-a-half with a parade of replacements that would make Hello, Dolly! jealous: Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall, Darren Criss, and Taye Diggs all played limited stints, as did John Cameron Mitchell in a triumphant return to the role. Diggs was not well received, and the production closed during his reign, but I will believe until my dying day that Jonathan Groff would have been called in had it run longer. Lena Hall (aided by some slight revisions to the role) made a star turn out of Yitzhak, and played Hedwig for select performances at the first stop on the national tour. She released an EP featuring her renditions of Hedwig… songs.
Is it Covered by The Rat Pack, Audra McDonald, or Glee?
Audra McDonald made her Broadway debut in The Secret Garden, where John Cameron Mitchell played Dickon. She was busy winning a Tony for Ragtime when Hedwig… debuted off-Broadway, and she was busy winning a Tony for Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill when Hedwig… played Broadway. But there are pictures of Audra with Stephen Trask and Mitchell at a Tony event in 2014. Mitchell also had a guest spot on Audra’s TV series, The Good Fight.
Glee - Darren Criss played Hedwig… on Broadway and the LA stop of the national tour. Glee never performed any songs from the show, but it comes up in season 4 episode 4 (“The Break Up”) when Unique (Alex Newell) says, “Unique wants to do Hedwig…,” to which Tina responds, “Tina wants to do Flower Drum Song.”
In the Wings
The next song to drop will be our halfway point—No. 50! A few things to ponder until then:
I’m embarrassed to admit that, despite 25 years of listening, I never really understood what Hedwig was saying when she sings “some LaVern Baker.” Like I literally didn’t know what words Hedwig sang, nor had I heard of LaVern Baker. But look her up—she’s a big deal! And it makes complete sense to me that “Tweedle Dee” would be one of Hedwig’s go-to hype songs.
I saw the national tour with understudy Mason Alexander Park (going on for only their 2nd time), and it remains one of the best performances I have ever seen. Check out this compilation of clips from their performances.
John Cameron Mitchell just launched a tour to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, presenting a screening followed by some in-person discussion/Q&A. It may be coming to a city near you!
https://www.hedwig25.com/
Catch up with all the songs to date!
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