What's your theory on Tommy Gnosis (obvious Hedwig spoilers)

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 10:34am

is he Hedwig's alter ego/other personality? Or is he really the kid described in the show?

From the Musical I get one feeling, but from the movie it plays out the other way for me.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 11:03am

They are two different people.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 11:05am

This^.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 11:42am

I'm confused that this is a question. I think it's pretty clear they're two different people.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 11:48am

Two

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 11:53am

this is a question that many people have, so CLEARLY it isn't CLEAR.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:07pm

The only thing that isn't clear about the piece for me is the the final sequence of the last four songs, which blurs time, place, and character.

Otherwise, the separation of Hedwig and Tommy is distinct (in the show, the presence of the concert outside; in the film, the physical presence of Tommy in the world).

Updated On: 6/13/14 at 12:07 PM

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:07pm

Thank you, Jane.

We've seen this 3 times (last month in NYC, many years ago at the old ICA in Boston, and a semi-pro production about 3 years ago), plus the movie, and my wife and I disagree on this question.

Any analysis deeper than "it's pretty clear" would be appreciated.

Kad: Your reply came while I was typing the above. I totally agree that the movie leaves little question that they are separate people. But I can't quite figure out in the stage performance if the sounds through the open door are real or if they are in Hedwig's head. And Hedwig appearing as Tommy at the end adds to the confusion.


Updated On: 6/13/14 at 12:07 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:11pm

The revival has Yitzhak open the stage door to deliberately have the sounds of the concert enter the theatre.

Not to mention the presence of the projected images of Hedwig in a tabloid in relation to Tommy (which I believe is noted in the script, unlike having Yitzhak open the door which is a staging decision by Mayer).

Updated On: 6/13/14 at 12:11 PM

[jnb9872]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:14pm

The last sequence plays more like an impressionist sequence; Hedwig runs off and either re-emerges as Tommy or disappears and the actor playing Hedwig doubles as Tommy. It's not clear to me that the show, as written and produced, makes its intention obvious. It deliberately blurs that line, and so one is asked to reckon what to make of that sequence. Is it a mental breakdown for Hedwig/Tommy where trauma is exorcised onstage? Is the convention of Hedwig's one-night-only concert dismantled and we in the audience are transported to Tommy's cocnert outside? Has Hedwig left our theatre and Tommy entered, in a daze of self-discovery?

There are many possible interpretations to me, and while the most logical ones involve Tommy and Hedwig being distinct individuals, I can see how one could interpret it otherwise, as written and produced.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:14pm

Hedwig doesn't appear as Tommy, the actor playing Hedwig appears as Tommy. Just like Yitzhak being played by a woman, this is just another very theatrical aspect of the show.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:16pm

jnb: That pretty much wraps up the discussions we've had here as to what it all means, that some of it is up to us to decide.

Thank you for your insights.

[haterobics]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:17pm

Just because they are two distinct people in the movie doesn't really mean anything. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were both distinct people in Fight Club.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 12:20pm

I actually think the ending is more ambiguous in the film, with the strange, abyssal dreamscape in which Tommy sings "Wicked Little Town," followed by the all-white Bilgewater.

Edit: In the film, they are two distinct people who each are acknowledged by other people and the world around them.

Updated On: 6/13/14 at 12:20 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 1:03pm

My take has always been that this is not Tommy but Hedwig's manifestation of true identity at the end. Hedwig was their own person until Luther conned him into being more "female". Meeting Tommy and writing for him was an extension of Hedwig's self. Hedwig saw their self in Tommy too. So at the end I feel like Hedwig sheds a lot of the exterior and becomes Hansel again.

[themonkeybananaking]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 1:40pm

^ This, is what I thought as well, while watching the current Broadway production.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 2:31pm

Bettyboy, that's how I read it as well. Thanks for being so articulate.

[Diamonds3]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 3:14pm

Ok so this is off-topic but I don't want to start a whine thread over it, but... (stupid question I know) how does Hedwig pee? Or did only the sex-hole of her vagina close? LMAO sorry I've wanted to ask for a long time

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 3:16pm

I feel like Hansel struggled with gender expression after the botched surgery and being left by Luther. At the end Hedwig realizes that they can express themselves however they choose regardless of what is between their legs. Which accounts for John Cameron Mitchell walking outside naked in the film-no more fear or shame. Total acceptance.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 3:19pm

My take has always been that this is not Tommy but Hedwig's manifestation of true identity at the end. Hedwig was their own person until Luther conned him into being more "female". Meeting Tommy and writing for him was an extension of Hedwig's self. Hedwig saw their self in Tommy too. So at the end I feel like Hedwig sheds a lot of the exterior and becomes Hansel again.


This is pretty much what I thought when I saw the show for the first time (last month). And I'd never seen the movie either, and only vaguely knew the plot.

My impression was that Hedwig never identified as a woman, but had for so long presented as female to match what the surgery had intended to do -- and by the end of the show, they realize they don't have to anymore.

[Alix]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 3:31pm

Mostly agree with all of this (definitely think Hedwig and Tommy are two different people), but I have another question I've been thinking about lately: Why does Hedwig have Tommy's silver cross on his forehead during "Midnight Radio"? I realize in the stage show this could just be a practical thing, since the cross was already on the actor's forehead for "Wicked Little Town" (though I don't think it would be too hard to find a discreet way to wipe the makeup off). But JCM is wearing the cross in that scene in the movie, too, and obviously that was a purposeful choice. I never understood this, since I always thought it was Hedwig singing that song at the end, but I reread the script a few days ago (largely because I was curious about some of the stage directions), and there it says very clearly that Tommy sings "Wicked Little Town," and then Hedwig/Tommy sings "Midnight Radio." Thoughts?

Updated On: 6/13/14 at 03:31 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 4:46pm

Don't forget that Hedwig and Tommy wrote that music together. They may not be the other half to each other, but that music is their love child. It was also Hedwig who gave Tommy the silver cross symbol. Maybe Hedwig is reclaiming her half of the creation. Hedwig was looking for someone to complete her, but in the end Hedwig realizes that Hedwig is already complete...Tommy did have a huge impact though. It's time to take what Hedwig learned from Tommy, accept it as a new part of Hedwig, and go out into the world again, reborn.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 4:55pm

I love this thread! it shows that the story is left to interpretation. Purposely.

My own inference is that in the stage show, there are still two separate people, but we never see Tommy. After Wicked little Town reprise, I believe that the reason we see Hedwig stripped of his drag and the appearance of the cross, indicates that Tommy indeed was the other half and now Hedwig is whole, with the blending of both.

In the film, I think it's clear that there are two different people, and the blending of them was apparent in the scene with the hand mirror.

[Alix]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 4:58pm

Interesting, Jane! I've always taken the ending the way Effed does...I think Hedwig is accepting that he does not need Tommy or anyone else to be complete. But that "Hedwig/Tommy" note in the script really threw me. It seems like the suggestion would be that the two characters actually have become one person by the end of the show, but that is just never the message I took from it.

(I still don't see why Hedwig would want to wear the cross, though. It was his invention, but he invented it for Tommy...it's specific to Tommy's experiences growing up and his stage persona. I don't see why Hedwig would want to reclaim it.)

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/13/14 at 5:04pm

Alix, the Tommy/Hedwig note is only mentioned once, immediately after the Wicked Little Town Reprise. Then the stage directions go back to just Hedwig.

I DO think they become "blended", but not literally the same person. We are all changed forever by the relationships we have. There will always be a part of Tommy in Hedwig, and vice versa. The silver cross is a symbol of that to me. Hedwig is taking what she learned, accepting it as a part of her, and starting a new chapter. And she isn't so angry.