[NEohioPAL] Review of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

[Bob Abelman]

'Hedwig' gives an inch but takes a mile

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the Times papers 9/10/09

 

On stage at local theaters near you are productions of Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, and Man of La Mancha.  If conventional musical theatre is not your thing and traditional playhouses are not your venue of choice, a metal folding chair awaits you at Hedwig and the Angry Inch, currently in production at the intimate Hi Fi Concert Club in Lakewood.  

 

Written by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, the one-act Hedwig and the Angry Inch is about a sexually ambiguous East German "slip of a girlyboy" who escapes communism prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.  To do so, Hansel changes his name to Hedwig and changes his gender through mutilating surgery that proves to be only partially successful.  S/he ends up lost in a middle-America trailer park, more broke and broken than before.   

 

Now a lead singer in a glamour rock band, the psychologically and physically scarred Hedwig tells his/her story to those who will listen.  S/he does this through a personal monologue woven into a live concert, with musical numbers that range from twisted torch songs to melodic ballads and head-banging, ear-ringing rock anthems.

 

This is a singularly unique and thought-provoking entertainment, and not just because our hero is a self-induced heroine or the production is more like a performance piece.

 

At the heart of this show is the song "The Origin of Love," which is grounded in ancient Greek mythology that suggests that the human race started as two-headed, four-armed and four-legged creatures that were split in half by angry gods.  This left all humans feeling incomplete, yearning and forever searching for their missing halves.  Hedwig is the dysfunctional poster child for this great divide, which makes for riveting theater.

 

Hedwig and the Angry Inch made its debut in a New York City rock and roll drag bar, premiered Off-Broadway in 1998 and, eight years ago, was performed at the Cleveland Public Theatre. Returning members of the CPT production are Dan Folino as Hedwig, Dennis Yurich as the musical director and lead guitarist, and Alison Garrigan as the show's director and costumer, as well as Hedwig's backup singer and significant other.  The band Vanity Crash provides the on-stage musical accompaniment.

 

Mr. Folino is a force to be reckoned with.  Having wowed local audiences in such testosterone-drenched performances as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, Folino proves equally capable of donning Belle's attire and carrying off the role.  

 

But being Hedwig demands more than looking good in a dress and platinum wig.  It requires audacity, vulnerability and the acting chops to expose one's soul on stage so the character's pathos can convincingly seep through to the audience.  Despite the few moments when the narrative falters and lines built for laughs fall short, Mr. Folino most certainly delivers the goods.  So does Ms. Garrigan, who has nearly no dialogue but is a significant presence throughout the production.

 

Singing songs rooted in the androgynous glam rock of the 1970s, Mr. Folino masterfully channels the likes of David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop and offers a richly textured musical performance.  He has an incredible voice.   Vanity Crash provides superb backup, particularly in the soft peddled "Wig in a Box" and the hard rocking "Tear Me Down."  Lighting, complements of Kristina Ferencie, adds the right touch of glamour drama to the show.  Sound design by Nick Koesters was less successful on opening night, occasionally allowing loud guitar licks to mute lyrics.

 

Clearly, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is not your mother's musical, unless your mother has an Adam's apple.  The show runs on the near west side until October 3.  Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door or online at www.HedwigCleveland.com.

 

 
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