http://hedwigbroadway.com/
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
This past Saturday night, February 21st (at 10:00pm I might add!) I went to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch for my second time. However this time it was with Michael C. Hall instead of Tony-winning Neil Patrick Harris. As a side note, John Cameron Mitchell (the original and co-creator of Hedwig) is the current Hedwig, but he injured himself recently and MCH jumped back in for one week. The show must go on and I applaud MCH!!!
I'm not quite sure where to begin because for those of you who have never seen Hedwig, it's kind of impossible to really understand. I've seen it twice now and I'm not even sure I know what happened. As a quick summary, Hedwig is a German transgender rockstar with a one night only concert at the Belasco theatre with her band The Angry Inch. The night consists of a rock concert that chronicles her life with lots of comedy and depression.
I want to jump right in to comparing Neil to Michael, because I think they tell two very different stories and it was such a different experience. When I saw Hedwig with Neil, it was the Neil show. He came on stage and completely owned the entire theatre, audience included. We all watched in awe and hung on every word, boot kick, and toss of the wig. We were all under his spell and whatever he wanted us to believe, we did. I walked away from that night not really connecting to the story or even the music. I just remembered Neil.
When Michael C. Hall first came on stage it was immediately different. There was this lack of confidence and huge desire to have audience approval. And I mean this in a good way. There was a very honest vulnerability and sense of damage that felt very real. And I don't know if Michael is just a better singer than Neil, but I really connected to the music this time. I wanted to get up and dance! I really listened to her story, and even though Hedwig uses so much comedy to cover up the pain, we could all see through it.
The show doesn't really have an ending. I didn't notice with Neil, but with Michael it felt like such a jarring and uncertain ending. The last song, "Midnight Radio" has Hedwig and Yitzhak (Lena Hall with her incredible voice) singing and repeating "lift up your hands" to audience and many did. We lifted our hands like we were in church and we wanted to believe. But with the high of church/music/theatre/love/whatever works for you, comes the fall. I left the theatre feeling a little empty and alone.
I still don't understand how this show came to Broadway and how it's still there. As the NY Times said about The Lion King, "there is simply nothing else like it." If you go see Hedwig, I don't think you'll ever see anything like it again.
Hedwig's wish throughout her dark and painful journey was to find love, her other half. I think she would be happy if her show caused just a little more love in the world, but that's not an easy job to do.
Who should see this show:
How to get tickets:
This past Saturday night, February 21st (at 10:00pm I might add!) I went to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch for my second time. However this time it was with Michael C. Hall instead of Tony-winning Neil Patrick Harris. As a side note, John Cameron Mitchell (the original and co-creator of Hedwig) is the current Hedwig, but he injured himself recently and MCH jumped back in for one week. The show must go on and I applaud MCH!!!
I'm not quite sure where to begin because for those of you who have never seen Hedwig, it's kind of impossible to really understand. I've seen it twice now and I'm not even sure I know what happened. As a quick summary, Hedwig is a German transgender rockstar with a one night only concert at the Belasco theatre with her band The Angry Inch. The night consists of a rock concert that chronicles her life with lots of comedy and depression.
I want to jump right in to comparing Neil to Michael, because I think they tell two very different stories and it was such a different experience. When I saw Hedwig with Neil, it was the Neil show. He came on stage and completely owned the entire theatre, audience included. We all watched in awe and hung on every word, boot kick, and toss of the wig. We were all under his spell and whatever he wanted us to believe, we did. I walked away from that night not really connecting to the story or even the music. I just remembered Neil.
When Michael C. Hall first came on stage it was immediately different. There was this lack of confidence and huge desire to have audience approval. And I mean this in a good way. There was a very honest vulnerability and sense of damage that felt very real. And I don't know if Michael is just a better singer than Neil, but I really connected to the music this time. I wanted to get up and dance! I really listened to her story, and even though Hedwig uses so much comedy to cover up the pain, we could all see through it.
The show doesn't really have an ending. I didn't notice with Neil, but with Michael it felt like such a jarring and uncertain ending. The last song, "Midnight Radio" has Hedwig and Yitzhak (Lena Hall with her incredible voice) singing and repeating "lift up your hands" to audience and many did. We lifted our hands like we were in church and we wanted to believe. But with the high of church/music/theatre/love/whatever works for you, comes the fall. I left the theatre feeling a little empty and alone.
I still don't understand how this show came to Broadway and how it's still there. As the NY Times said about The Lion King, "there is simply nothing else like it." If you go see Hedwig, I don't think you'll ever see anything like it again.
Hedwig's wish throughout her dark and painful journey was to find love, her other half. I think she would be happy if her show caused just a little more love in the world, but that's not an easy job to do.
Who should see this show:
- Non-Broadway people who love rock
- If you love who is playing Hedwig (Darren Criss is up after JCM)
- If you're looking for something different that will shake up what you think Broadway is about
How to get tickets:
- $49 balcony seats through telecharge
- tix4students.com
- Lottery rush for $37, drawn 2 hours before performance
- $29 standing room only seats on sold-out days