An Actress as Hedwig
An Actress as Hedwig
#1An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:15am
Hi
Just wondering what peoples opinions are for an actress to play the role of Hedwig on Broadway. Is that too much of gimmick casting. I'm guessing it would also be difficult transforming into Tommy at the end.
It would need to be actress of a certain caliber. Any suggestions?
HedwigInch
Stand-by Joined: 6/25/15
#2An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:32am
I'd love a woman as Hedwig on Broadway. With the past 2 Hedwigs they changed their pattern of casting white men who are like at least 35 and up so I hope they will continue this trend. A woman could change things up even more.
Not sure I really have an actress in mind just yet though.
#3An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:44am
Ally Sheedy played Hedwig during its original Off-Broadway run.
I would not be surprised at all if they cast a woman for the Broadway run at some point.
#4An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:47am
Did Ally Sheedy's run not come to an end early due to bad reviews?
Updated On: 7/27/15 at 08:47 AM#5An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:50am
What? The original production?
It won an Obie and The Outer Critics Circle Award and ran for 857 performances.
brandonhardy.art
Swing Joined: 12/22/12
#6An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:51am
I don't know if they'd count on her to sell, but I would KILL to see Alice Ripley in the role.
#7An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:56am
"What? The original production?
It won an Obie and The Outer Critics Circle Award and ran for 857 performances."
No, obviously not the original production. Ally Sheedy's performance during the original run.
Thparkaly
Stand-by Joined: 9/11/12
#9An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 9:25am
From what I remember, Sheedy couldn't handle the negative press she was given and had some sort of breakdown.
An actress would be great, but it would have to be the right one. Everyone keeps saying Gaga, but while I can imagine her killing the role, her fanbase would overwhelm.
#10An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 9:29am
""What? The original production?
It won an Obie and The Outer Critics Circle Award and ran for 857 performances."
No, obviously not the original production. Ally Sheedy's performance during the original run.
"
Well not obviously because before you updated your message it read like you were referring to the entire production.
Here's a link you may find helpful:
#11An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 9:31am
If you're looking in the pop realm, I think Pink would be better than Gaga.
#12An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 9:36am
"From what I remember, Sheedy couldn't handle the negative press she was given and had some sort of breakdown."
I guess that's a creative way of putting it.
#13An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 9:57am
"If you're looking in the pop realm, I think Pink would be better than Gaga."
Suddenly I haven't wanted something so much in my life.
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#14An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 12:04pm
She's too old for it (although Hedwig is ageless) but I think Ute Lemper would be a killer Hedwig.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#15An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 12:38pm
She's almost the exact age Hedwig is. Everybody in the revival save for Mitchell were all too young.
#16An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 3:45pm
ALICE RIPLEY AND LENA HALL AS HEDWIG
actorsnonactors
Chorus Member Joined: 12/20/12
#17An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/27/15 at 7:20pm
Sorry, but it seems about as necessary to me as a male Mae West in Dirty Blonde. Meh.
#18An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:01am
I think Lena Hall would be a very popular choice for this... It would be interesting to see what she did with the role, plus her previous association with the revival could peak public interest.
#19An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:31am
Is there some sort of benefit to having a woman play Hedwig? I admit that I don't see any payoff here, only novelty.
Hedwig is a man with damaged genitalia who dresses in performative drag. He sings in a man's baritone range and exposes his (male) chest at the end. He isn't a woman, so where is the plus here?
#20An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 12:53pm
"He isn't a woman"
To quote Hedwig, right before Wig in a Box - "I am.....a woman"
#21An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 12:56pm
A woman is (or not long ago was) under serious consideration for this role, or at least was wanted. But the one I knew of was not a pop star or a musical theatre star. A more "prestige" female actor.
#22An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 1:07pm
"To quote Hedwig, right before Wig in a Box - "I am.....a woman""
And to quote Sally Durant Plummer, "In Buddy's eyes, I'm young, I'm beautiful."
To think that everything that emerges from a character's mouth is merely blatantly factual and true ignores the magic of the ambivalent (or the way characters either lie or can have blind spots about themselves).
#23An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 1:29pm
^ but Hedwig told me herself that she was a woman and that's all that counts.
Jamie Pierce
Leading Actor Joined: 5/11/04
#24An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 1:34pm
"A woman is (or not long ago was) under serious consideration for this role, or at least was wanted. But the one I knew of was not a pop star or a musical theatre star. A more "prestige" female actor. "
The first person that came to mind when I read this was Tilda Swinton.
#25An Actress as Hedwig
Posted: 7/28/15 at 1:36pm
"...but Hedwig told me herself that she was a woman and that's all that counts."
Well then, that's a horse of a different color.
Videos