By Elise C. Barnett-Curran
The story of Hedwig and the Angry Itch, now playing at Midvale Main Street Theatre is a sorrowful one told with so much humor and finesse that, since 1994 at NYC’s drag-punk club Squeezebox, it has been engaging and delighting fans the world over. MMST’s Hedwig and the Angry Itch is every bit as entertaining as any professional take on this story. Hedwig hails from East Berlin and a time wherein the wall still existed and the only escape was to rest one’s head in the oven listening to American rock gods or lie in a trash heap hoping for a faint whiff of the new McDonald’s just beyond the wall. An American soldier flatters and seduces Hedwig (originally named Hansel), promising them an escape from communist East Berlin via a marriage license, but in order to do this, Hansel must be a biological female. Hansel undergoes sex reassignment surgery but it is botched, hence the titular “Angry Inch” which they explain in an explicit song of the same title. Hedwig and their band is following the nationwide tour of Tommy Gnosis, a “rock god” to whom Hedwig gave all their knowledge along with their heart.
The show at Midvale Main Street Theater is double-cast, so I will speak to the one I saw. Bryce Lloyd Fueston’sHedwig is bitter, bold, and lovely, his expressions of PTSD coming out in bursts of aggression and sardonicism that could have made his portrayal unlikable, but was so gracefully done that one felt familiarity toward Hedwig. Even in Hedwig’s abuse of their husband Yitzhak (Laura Elise Chapman), Fuestonfound ways to layer in humor and humanity for a colorful complexity that sang out just as beautifully as his musical numbers. Fueston’s morose sweetness shines through, building toward the end until it burst forth in tear-inducing plaintiveness. The final song, “Midnight Radio” packs a punch helped along by a gentle, nuanced performance.
Yitzhak is a character every bit as pitiable as Hedwig, and though he doesn’t have as many moments or pieces of dialogue, his presence is felt in the story. Chapman utilizes her face in a wonderful way, displaying Yitzahk’s sorrow, anger, malice, and compassion without words in a tour de force performance. During Yitzahk’s big moment when he finally gets a solo, Chapman pulls the audience along with her, finishing “The Long Grift” with an expression of disbelief that the audience would cheer for her that was completely honest. Yitzhak receives a gift from Hedwig—as much as from herself—at the end, and the moment is nothing short of triumphant. Chapman had everyone in the audience lifting up their hands in celebration with her.
One of the greatest aspects of the show is the lighting design by Ryan Fallis. It is a true rock show experience with every color of the rainbow utilized in bold fashion and specials like strobe lights affecting the emotionality of certain pieces, particularly during the song “Exquisite Corpse.” Gorgeous animation during “The Origin of Love” floods the top part of the stage, delivering depth and meaning that pairs perfectly with Fallis’s deft lighting.
I appreciated the dialect coaching by Dianna Graham. As a dialect coach and a bit of a snob myself, accents are deeply important to me and can simply wreck an otherwise well-executed show. Hedwig’s accent, while not perfect, is consistent, which is sometimes more important. I liked Yitzahk’s accent a great deal, noticing the specific achievement of pharyngeal fricatives inherent in Eastern European dialects.
I have been in love with Hedwig and the Angry Inch since I saw the 2001 movie starring the play’s author, John Cameron Mitchell. The story is touching and funny and smart, and the music is simply sublime. There are adult themes in Hedwig, but I think the tale is for everyone who seeks education and edification.
Midvale Main Street Theater presents Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a musical by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask.
Midvale Main Street Theater found at 7711 S Main St, Midvale, UT 84047
Contact: 801-208-0435
October 11-13, 17-20. Weekend nights 7:30PM, Sundays 5:00 PM, two Saturday late shows 10:30 PM
Tickets: $16
Midvale Main Street Theater Facebook page
Hedwig and the Angry Inch Facebook event
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