Hedwig and the Angry Inch — Page 2

I saw Hedwig at the Jane twice, both with JCM and was amazed by his performance and the show as a whole. It was the first time that I walked out of a show and wished I was a performer.

The movie is excellent though too. JCM and Michael Pitt were fabulous!

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I LOVE Hedwig. I think the movie is one of the best stage- to- screen musical adaptions out there. I did a paper about Hedwig and the Angry Inch last semester...

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Hedwig is probably the most amazing show ever. (see avatar) John's writing is at par with any writer who masters symbolism and metephor as a theatrical tool in the world of the piece. Stephen's songs are nothing but completely innovative and amazing. I am proud to have played hedwig twice, working with John and Fabio Toblini, who remade the Jane Street costumes for the production i was in in 2003. Seeing hedwig live is an amazing experience, as Damon Introbartolo(BARE) told me, watching Hedwig is like being in the presence of something unearthy..something devine. He is right. I have had to pleasure to travel to see Hedwig. May I take a moment to compare and contrast Hedwigs.

While John's Hedwig is irreplaceable as he is the creator, I simply marvel at Michael Cerverais' take on the role. There is eomthing about Michael as an actor period. You can't take your eyes off of him. He sucks you into the world. He captures the 'love the front of me' scene more so than any other hedwig ive ever seen.
Cahoon's hedwig is raw, edgy and completely unlike a woman. He is an amazing hedwig because he doesnt at all look like a woman, and is completely jarring. His voice is amazing, and perhaps my favorite 2nd favorite Hedwig vocally.
McGrath has a magic to playing Hedwig as he is so extremely consise and has extreme amounts of calculation and craft to his every move.
I have to say, that as much as I did not like the direction of Rapp's Hedwig- he had something amazing about him. The director i feel totally missed the end of the show, but still the production had some amazing noteworthy moments. First of all, may I say, that Rapp sings the score beautifully. You would think the score written for him, thats how good he is. Acting wise, of all the hedwig's ive ever seen, he is the most transparrent in relation to himself. No matter how good an actor, every person brings a bit of themself to the role. NOT RAPP. He managed to create a character that completely hid his own personality. I could not find him on stage. Even after knowning him, he manages to leave his body as hedwig takes over.
David Colbert- whom does indeed strike an amazing resemblance to JCM was an AMAZING hedwig. There was something about his slightness that made him so very vunerable, that was just really creapy. LOVED him.

Nick Garrison is another great hedwig as he does things that just makes my hair stand on edges.

Another great hedwig was constantine who is currently on american idol. He was an AMAZING hedwig... he sounded a bit like gwen stefani at moments, he sang the score so wonderfully. Not to mention his band, probably rocked the most out of the score.

The show itself, surpasses the movie beyond description. Although the movie is amazing, John did something with the stage show that is truely magical. The most amazing moments spent in the theatre ever. I have even inked myself with a Hedwig Tattoo in 2001.

Hedwig was rumored to return to knitting factory but we had to pull it, unfortunitly john didnt quite want hedwig to return just yet....but, it will probably return in the future thank god!

I am very excited as I'll be playing hedwig again this summer in Provincetown. We're gonna be there all summer. :) Check us out as we have a realy fun new look at Hedwig. There are some clips up of Hedwig 2003. (Ignore the voice overs it was done with a poor mic...) You'll be able to see a bit of You Light Up My Life that we threw in the show to bring it back to its roots.
www.GetHedwig.com

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Updated On: 3/3/05 at 03:43 AM

I enjoy some of the songs......the show is very rocky and sometimes country and is certainly not everyone's cup of tea.......I suggest you see it on video prior to spending to see it live:)

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I didnt like Rapp the first time I saw him in the Role. I saw him five times total, but after taking a week off of going to see it, I came back and saw the show from the very last row of the theatre(which hartford stage is a huge theatre) and I saw a totally different show. It was much more amazing. It was clear that the director directed it for the back row- but he still missed the ending. BIG TIME. I however, think the band was good, but RAPP's voice was amazing.

Constantine was Hedwig in 2000 I think. He was good. His acting was a little bland, but vocally, he was great...perhaps it was his band- which was the best hedwig band ive ever heard.

WISHIHADATONY-where did you see the show? Did you have a bad experience seeing it live?

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No, I totally see it, too, Musicman.

We were there during JCM's last stint as well. Totally amazing !!! Going to see "Hedwig" at the Jane was an EXPERIENCE. The theater... the repeat customers... it was incredible. Miss it terribly !

musicman, when my friend first saw the movie, he immediately said JCM looked like Rachel Griffiths!

I love this thread....

Indeed. At the back of Movieline when they do the stars crossing, like which 2 stars could be the parents of another...Dana Carvey and Juliet Stevenson were chosen for JCM.

Movie soundtrack or cast recording? And Why?

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Movie soundtrack or cast recording? And Why?

Get both. Certain songs have better renditions on one or the other recording. For example, I like "Angry Inch" better on on the OOBCR, but I like "Wicked Little Town" better on the movie soundtrack. The movie soundtrack also has some new songs by Stephen Trask that are not in the live show; however, what I find strange about the movie soundtrack is that the tracks aren't in show order.

Generally, the movie soundtrack has a more polished, studio sound than the OOBCR, which is very raw -- like an independent record.

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What a cool thread!

Getting back to the original question...(does this count as thread jacking?!). I've enjoyed John's work for years, ever since I saw him in THE SECRET GARDEN(I'm actually singing WICK for an audition on Monday). When I saw Hedwig at The Jane Street...I left the theatre awe-struck by every second of material presented, not only from John but from the entire cast. Although a work of complete fiction, I believed Hedwig...I felt her struggle and actually felt sympathy(what's that?!), and at some points...empathy. It was if a light had come on in my head(hed?). When the movie came out, I was a bit jarred because it didn't have (as much) of an edge. It was odd seeing a (basically) one man show turned into a full-blown casted movie. I still thought it was a good translation, and saw it 3 times in one week. But still, it didn't have the power or emotion that I experienced live. But then again, the nature of film has a tendency to be, arguably, less emotional. I mean, who can beat getting "car-washed" live!

Since the movie came out, there's been an explosion of Hedwig productions all over the world. I've seen 3 different productions of the show, all different in their incarnations. Some good, some lacking in talent, but overall I haven't seen anything that adds up to what I initially experienced. Have I been spoiled?

And speaking of the soundtracks, I think they're all good in their own right. I bought Ben Jelen's CD last year because he covered Wicked Little Town. I didn't care how good or bad it was, I just wanted to support the mainstream exposure to Hedwig. His take on the song isn't bad at all...

This brings me to a discussion point. Is it possible for an actor to effectively translate the character of Hedwig without doing an impersonation of John Cameron Mitchell? There are so many iconic images that are associated with Hedwig...the hair, the costume(s), the makeup, the voice...that JCM and the original crew put into place. Many of the smaller scale productions I've seen have tried to replicate what they've seen John do. I don't think this is necessarily bad, and granted, my exposure to live Hedwig performances has been limited, so my opinions are limited as well. The only performance that I've seen that really shook things up was Anthony's. He did a great job making the role his own, and I loved the new look and slightly more aggresive take on the role.

Toggling through my iPod now to get some 'Hed'...

Take Care,
John

Thanks for posting those dates Mimi! Really made my day. I'm totally gonna see it in Boston at the end of March.I'm simply in love with the score and story of Hedwig. This would be my first time seeing it live, so I'm sure it will be an amazing treat!