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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>‘Hedwig’ gives an inch
but takes a mile<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Times </I>papers
9/10/09</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">On stage at local
theaters near you are productions of <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Annie</I>, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Fiddler on the Roof</I>, and <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Man of La Mancha</I>. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If conventional musical theatre is not
your thing and traditional playhouses are not your venue of choice, a metal
folding chair awaits you at <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Hedwig and
the Angry Inch</I>, currently in production at the intimate Hi Fi Concert Club
in Lakewood.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Written by John
Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, the one-act <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Hedwig and the Angry Inch</I> is about a
sexually ambiguous </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">East
German "slip of a girlyboy" who escapes communism prior to the fall of the
Berlin Wall.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To do so, Hansel
changes his name to Hedwig and changes his gender through mutilating surgery
that proves to be only partially successful.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>S/he ends up lost in a middle-America
trailer park, more broke and broken than before. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Now
a lead singer in a glamour rock band, the psychologically and physically scarred
Hedwig tells his/her story to those who will listen.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">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.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This left all humans feeling incomplete,
yearning and forever searching for their missing halves.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Hedwig is the dysfunctional poster child
for this great divide, which makes for riveting theater.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Hedwig
and the Angry Inch</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The band Vanity Crash
provides the on-stage musical accompaniment.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Mr.
Folino is a force to be reckoned with.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Having wowed local audiences in such testosterone-drenched performances
as the Beast in <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Beauty and the Beast</I>,
Folino proves equally capable of donning Belle’s attire and carrying off the
role.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">But
being Hedwig demands more than looking good in a dress and platinum wig.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Despite the few moments when the narrative falters and lines built for
laughs fall short, Mr. Folino most certainly delivers the goods.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So does Ms. Garrigan, who has nearly no
dialogue but is a significant presence throughout the
production.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">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. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He
has an incredible voice. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Vanity Crash provides superb
backup, particularly in the soft peddled “Wig in a Box” and the hard rocking
“Tear Me Down.” <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Lighting,
complements of Kristina Ferencie, adds the right touch of glamour drama to the
show.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Sound design by Nick Koesters
was less successful on opening night, occasionally allowing loud guitar licks to
mute lyrics.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Clearly,
</SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Hedwig and the Angry
Inch</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">is
not your mother’s musical, unless your mother has an Adam’s apple.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The show runs on the near west side
until October 3.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Tickets are $20
and can be </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #2d2d2d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">purchased
at the door or online at <A href=""><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.HedwigCleveland.com</FONT></A></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
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style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
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