Anonymous
Posted November 25, 2001
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is one of the best musicals to come by in a long time. The soundtrack is amazing, and the storyline-even better. I've seen it a few times already, it needs to come back, the movie comes out soon, here's the book-just, go see it before you buy the book, experience the magick, before you read about it. It's just worth it!
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Posted August 22, 2001
I've seen the off-Broadway version of Hedwig two times before it's close (and I'll have to disagree with what one person said about Matt McGrath's peformance--I thought he had zero talent as far as singing goes and he was a great actor, but there was too much 'dead air' in his jokes. It needed to be quicker. He made the show DRAG!) Kevin Cahoon, besides JCM, is the best Hedwig ever. But, I'll talk about the book now. I think the book is fabulous because you get to know a lot about the character that you won't get to know in the film version. There is so much left out about Yitzak, Hedwig's ex-drag queen husband and backup singer. I love it because JCM encourages people to put on their own productions of Hedwig--if I wrote Hedwig, I'd be very selfish with the character and tell everyone NOT to even TRY to perform it! I will be putting on my own production of the show because the story resonates with me so much. The songs, penned by the remarkable Stephen Trask, are gut-wrenching, the story is sad, but Hedwig's wit helps you laugh at situations that one would normally find crushing to the human spirit. Hedwig is a survivor. Not only did he give up a very important part of himself (not his penis, but part of his soul) when he married Luther the American GI, but he constantly sold himself out for love and every time, got rejected. He has been demolished and demolished and still rebuilds himself every time, stronger with each revision. The movie reflects that perfectly I think. I first saw Hedwig on the Rosie O'Donnell show, 2 months before the original album was released. I waited until a month after its release to see the show and after I did, I was mesmorized. And I was elated when I heard it was being released as a book, and then as a movie! And another soundtrack! And a fragrance is coming soon, too! There's Hedwig abound! One thing I would like to mention before I close is that I keep seeing Hedwig being referred to as THE NEW ROCKY HORROR, and I will have to violently disagree. Rocky Horror was all camp, no soul. All tranvestites and no core. Hedwig has something there. There is a deep message. The message is not about the makeup and wigs, it's about completion, it's about coming to terms with who you are and knowing that if you can't love yourself, no one else will. It's about self-discovery, and in finding yourself, how you happen to discover the thread that is the human existence and how that makes you whole. That's my take on it, anyway. But it just makes me furious to have Hedwig and Rocky Horror even mentioned in the same paragraph. People--the only similarity is that men are wearing makeup. THAT'S IT! Hedwig will outlast Rocky Horror in my heart and in the hearts of the masses of people who understand just what JCM and Stephen Trask meant when they created this marvellous show. Thank you both. I will forever be changed because of this.
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Posted August 6, 2000
Hedwig was my emotional comfort food when I first arrived in New York having moved some 2000 miles across the country. I was summoned by forces beyond me to see the off-Broadway show 11 times in 8 months (having seen 3 actors perform the role of Ms. Hedwig and John Cameron Mitchell himself sing Hedwig's swan song on closing night) before its run came to an end this past April. The truth is that Hedwig's journey to self-reincarnation is something that is innate in all of us--a fine line we ride everyday in the duality of our individual existences. The unconventional hero(ine) wins our hearts in this honest and inspiring look into our own souls.
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Posted April 12, 2000
I saw 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' and was completely spellbound. Of course, Matt McGrath, whom I saw as Hedwig, was absolutely superb, but the words he spoke were so brash and uncensored that they somehow became touching and profound. Hedwig briefed us on her life (from a he to a she--- well, almost), and how through her struggles and battles, she became who she is. And the audience must then think of what Hedwig means to them; how does one accept her? The vulnerability beneath Hedwig's attitude created a genuine pureness, nearly unattainable for anyone who claims they are happy with who they are. Hedwig didn't do so, she was honest and her words were heartfelt; yet she never failed to add a lewd comment to make us laugh. I am in awe of this remarkable script by John Cameron Mitchell (the play's original Hedwig) and encourage everyone to read it. I am also saddened that the play has closed, but Hedwig's words live on!
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