Le Femme on….Hedwig on Broadway

"Bucket list" is not one of my favorite terms.  I find it silly. But I find the idea behind it decidedly un-silly  Some of my dreams I am pretty sure will happen; I will go on an African Safari someday and go in a hot air balloon.  But some of them are more unlikely: I will probably never attend the Oscars or own an apartment in Paris or live in London.  Recently, I looked over at K and said, "it sounds corny, but this was a dream come true".  And you know what, he didn't even make fun of me because he knew I was right.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is my favorite movie, and I have written about it on this blog before.  But before it was a movie, it was an off-Broadway play.  And so, when it was announced that Hedwig was coming to Broadway, K and I debated about going.  But, Neil Patrick Harris was going to be Hedwig, and although I love NPH, I couldn't justify the cost to see him because I knew I might feel disappointed.  John Cameron Mitchell, the originator of the role and the star of the movie was, is, and will always be, my Hedwig.  Michael C. Hall was playing Hedwig when K and I were in New York in November.   Six Feet Under is possibly my favorite television show ever.  But again, my worlds were colliding.  I didn't know if I could see David Fisher as Hedwig.  So we didn't go see the show.  I wasn't sure if I would regret it or not.  And then, late last year,  it was announced that JCM himself would be reviving the role, and I knew that I would do anything to see him, including selling a kidney or one of my dogs to get there (sorry guys).  Luckily, K agreed and we were on our way at the end of February.

We arrived on Thursday, but we wouldn't see the show until Saturday, and so I made multiple pilgrimages to the Belasco Theatre before the show.  The first was to make sure we could find it easily; the second was because I wanted to see it at night; and the third was embarrassingly for K to take pictures of me in front of it.  But eventually, Saturday night rolled around and we were ready.

The Belasco is small, with only about 1,000 seats.  And they were tiny and uncomfortable, but as  we settled into our seats, my excitement started to grow.  I looked at the program, the unmistakable yellow Playbill marquee across the top, and I wanted to pinch myself.  I had never seen a Broadway show, and here I was about to see my first show, my favorite show.  And then at 7:00 p.m. on the dot, on February 28, 2015, the lights went down.  I wish I could explain what I felt when John Cameron Mitchell was lifted onto the stage in a glittery costume resembling a religious icon, that wicked Hedwig smile, unmistakably lighting up his face.  I could feel my own cheeks stinging with the size of my smile.

Hedwig is essentially a one man/woman show.  The story is simple: Hedwig, a wannabe rock star who was jilted by her young, recently discovered rock star and lover, Tommy Gnosis, is playing a one night only engagement.  See, Hedwig wrote all of Tommy's hits, and Tommy is playing the last night of his tour next door.  So Hedwig is going to throw him some major shade and share the story of how she created him.  But she's also going to tell us the story of her life.  We learn that Hedwig is the victim of a botched sex change operation that she didn't want in the first place (hence the Angry Inch).  In order to marry her American G.I. lover, Hansel, the boy Hedwig was, had to undergo a sex change operation to escape Germany.  After ending up in Junction City, Kansas, she meets a young boy, Tommy, and tries to start over and starts writing music and creating songs with him.  Hedwig thinks she may have found happiness, her other half, the person to complete her.  And once Tommy leaves her, she takes out all her anger on her new husband, Yitzhak, her backup singer who craves the spotlight she just won't give up. 

The infamous Carwash.

Hedwig basically involves John Cameron Mitchell, as Hedwig, talking to the audience, sharing Hedwig's story, interspersed with performances with Hedwig's band, The Angry Inch.  The show lives and dies with the lead.  And JCM did not disappoint; he was engaging and funny and melancholy.  The week before he had been out with a bum leg and had to perform in a leg brace.  That meant that he couldn't dance as energetically as I was expecting and he couldn't give an audience member the infamous "car wash".  A Car Wash is when Hedwig leaps of stage and puts his crotch in the face of an unsuspecting audience member (see the above GIF).  But the leg brace actually added something interesting to his performance.  Hedwig added a story about how she was attacked by Michael C. Hall (who had replaced JCM during his absence) which everyone in the audience loved.  Yitzhak (Lena Hall) also brought Hedwig a crate to rest her leg on and every time she would move she would yell "Crate!"  It added another layer to the incredibly one sided and abusive relationship between Hedwig and Yitzhak and some surprising poignancy.  Mitchell's voice was strong and beautiful. The songs sounded exactly how I expected but he still surprised me with his performance.  He sounded like Hedwig, slightly androgynous, Broadway, punk rock all mixed into one.  He was unfailingly enthusiastic and heartbreaking.  The story is one I know so well but he brought it to life for me all over again.  In the movie I saw Hedwig's bitterness at Tommy for leaving her, but in his performance I saw the earth shattering tragedy of Hedwig's life.

Although I knew what to expect from JCM, I didn't know what to expect the show to look like.  When Hedwig was originally staged off Broadway, I believe it was just him and the band with minimal sets.  One of the aspects that makes the film so incredible is how cinematic he made the story, how varied the sets and were and how kinetic the energy was.  At the Belasco, we walked in and saw a bizarre looking set, an old car was in the middle of the stage, seemingly crashed or ruined.  A middle eastern city made up the backdrop.  Of course, there was the drum kit and instruments for the band, but I was definitely confused.  As we sat in our seats, we had an additional playbill sitting in our seats, "The Hurt Locker: The Musical".  WTF?  As we learned within minutes of Hedwig taking the stage, the conceit was that this musical had closed and she had one night at the theatre to tell her story with the old sets still intact.  Bizarre, but completely fitting with the charm of Hedwig.  In the film, during the amazing "The Origin of Love", gorgeous and evocative animation is seen, illustrating the story being told.  You could imagine my delight when, as this song began, a mesh, screen came down over the stage, and different, but equally beautiful animation began.  You could still see Hedwig still the see through screen and JCM would gesture or interact with the animation.  It was magical.

The last twenty minutes of Hedwig the film is a kinetic, overwhelming, non stop musical number.  Hedwig, having finally achieved some fame, or infamy, begins performing a sad song in a nightclub ("Hedwig's Lament"), that morphs into an aggressive punk song ("Exquisite Corpse"), that then morphs into her breaking down and running out of the club.  The door to that club leads to Tommy's concert where he sings to her which then leads to a gorgeous white room where Hedwig, out of drag, sings a final farewell.  It is so difficult to explain what Hedwig on Broadway did during this sequence but I will try.  The film uses certain techniques to disorient the viewer during the "Exquisite Corpse" part of the song, such as split screen, animation and strobe lights.  When the production at the Belasco did the same thing, projecting animation and split screens behind the stage and having absolutely insane amount of strobe lights, I began to have the strangest sensation.  I suddenly felt like I was in my favorite movie.  Like, I was a participant in this world that I loved.  When Hedwig began the final, amazing song, "Midnight Radio",  I realized my heart was pounding and I had been holding my breath.  I had thought I would burst into tears the moment I saw JCM come on stage but instead I couldn't stop grinning.  But in that moment, listening to the last, gorgeous anthem, knowing this experience was over, this once in a lifetime dream, I have to admit, I started to cry.  And I was so happy.

After leaving the theatre, I felt euphoric, elated, and excited.  We walked out of the theatre and through Time Square, which is usually a nightmare with the bright lights and terrifying people in costumes.  I felt like I was flatting through it, and the lights seemed celebratory instead of gaudy.  It was one of the most perfect nights of my life and I was so happy to have K by my side.  Its not everyday you have a dream come true.  Now, to work on that African safari….

Julie