The Toronto Theatre Review: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

By Ross

Anyone who has read my blog from the beginning knows that my love of the rock musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is timeless and without bounds. I saw it about three (or maybe four) times back in the mid-to-late 1990s when it played at the formerly rundown Jane Street Theatre. It was one of the most exciting theatrical moments off-Broadway, running for over two years starting in 1998 and winning the Obie Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical. I saw it numerous times. Took every visiting friend to see it, time and time again. I was mesmerized by it, especially seeing it with the original Hedwig, the magnificently talented performer/writer John Cameron Mitchell, and the phenomenal Miriam Shor as Yitzhak, backed up by the composer and musical star Stephen Trask (This Ain’t No Disco).

I do feel eternally blessed to report that I was there, seated in that broken down theatre/SRO hotel off-Broadway back in the day, and also equally blessed to have seen Neil Patrick Harris star in the Broadway production, winning a 2015 Tony Award for his portrayal of Hedwig when he ‘graced’ the Belasco Theatre stage with his car-wash skirt and high heeled shoes. The brilliant revival got the full professional treatment it deserved from director Michael Mayer with musical staging by Spencer Liff, and the phenomenal (and Tony Award-winning) Lena Hall as Yitzhak, Hedwig’s husband. It was an tawdry motherload of riches, and I was so happy to be there for it.

So it didn’t take much pressure or nagging when the press representatives for Bowtie Productions reached out about their Toronto production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch now playing at Theatre Passe Muraille‘s Mainspace for a quick, short run (9/1-7). I was thrilled, and couldn’t wait for another roll around with the “internationally ignored song stylist” from the Eastern Block. So there I was, having a nice cool beverage and waiting for that captivating, 4th wall-smashing, gender-bending rock musical to be introduced and roar onto that stage.

The sparsely curated space of Theatre Passe Muraille is definitely the perfectly tuned-in venue to house this earth-shattering rock show with the determined electric drag queen, Jessie James/James Petrasunias as its star.  It’s a cult pop-culture phenomenon, this show and character, and as performed with glitter and edge by Jessie James, the show finds its complicated heart in pretty much all the right places, even in comparison. Throwing kisses and an open smile from up above, the show dives into the rock and roll formula with gusto, unpacking the initial tale of anger and resentment with a determined, although sometimes off-balance gusto. With the role of Yitzhak being performed pretty perfectly by the powerfully voiced Luca McPhee (Thaumatrope’s Alice By Heart), the music and the reframing pulled me right back into its powerfully immersive world with a vengeance, and a relished the return of those songs into my needy head.

The production, directed and choreographed with a somewhat scattered drag queen relevance by Meredith Shedden (Bowties’ Fun Home), finds its footing fairly solidly on that wide-open stage, with production management by Ian Kowalski (Bowtie’s Falsettos), technical direction by Matt Hallworth (Fringe Festival’s Shakespeare’s Ghostbusters), set/props/asst projection design by Quynh Diep (Fringe Festival’s Rooted), and lighting design by Niall Durcan (New Voices’ Hereafter). The production holds our attention, even if the lead’s nerves sometimes allowed Hedwig to get ahead of herself, from time to time, and delivers an energy that we can’t deny. Nor would we want to.

There’s an out-of-place sitting room set up over in the corner that doesn’t really keep us fully inside the rock and roll energy of the concert setting. It becomes a bit of an unneeded nuisance and distraction as the show tries to engage with it almost too literally. Clamoring up and down those few steps, the framing competes for our attention and causes tie-ups and kinks to be formed when none of it is really needed. A stronger embrace of the true essence and environment of the rockstar show and the story it is telling would have served this musical a bit better, but it would require some sharper choreography and focus on Hedwig’s body language and movement to keep us fully tuned in and engaged.

Regardless, the music, beautifully recreated by keys/music director Ethan Rotenberg (Shifting Ground’s Merrily We Roll Along), is forever electric, and the look is basically solid and very Hedwig chic, with captivatingly unique wigs designed colorfully by Brandon Darcel (KJK’s Legally Blonde) and clever costuming by Irene Ly (Partous’ Insert Clown Here) – although I truly missed the backhanded, red stain on Hedwig’s fur. The singing isn’t as esthetically solid as I had hoped. It ricochets about the room, unbalanced and erratic at times, thanks to the unbalanced sound design by Parker Merlihan. James sometimes seemed to need a few moments to discover the core and emotional weave in a song, only finding Hedwig’s emotional space halfway through. James is obviously a huge fan of the music and songs, and in the more tender and quiet moments, their register is well formed and heartbreaking, but the anger within the more punk rock moments feels uncomfortably forced and somewhat unfocused.

The lyrics, which are as important as the melodies, are sometimes muddy or lost within the more angry, harder punk rock moments and some of the wickedly funny pieces fail to fully shine through the haze. But the love of the piece lives strong inside James’s heart and soul, and I imagine their performance will only get bigger, stronger, and tighter over the week of performances coming, needing a sharper focus and diction over the clearer-voiced McPhee and their Yitzhak.

Trying to capitalize on the mighty Hedwig growl, the piece attempts to utilize every inch of that incredible score and hilariously heartfelt book. Although a bit too smiley and open from the get-go, the production displays a caring and engaging formulation of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s explosive rock musical. There are moments of pure glittery magic, particularly due to the strong projected visuals by Alex Grozdanis (Que(e)ries? Festival’s VELVETHEAD), that bring forth the relevance and wit of the origins of love and the rise (and fall) of our beloved Hedwig.

The Angry Inch band is brought to wailing life by the talented team of Rotenberg on keys, Michael Ippolito on bass, Steven John Dale on guitar, and Nazariy Zymbovych on percussion, raising the roof and the level of engagement to the rafters. The landmark and groundbreaking musical is definitely deserving of this rock ‘n’ roll incarnation, and worthy of another listen as Hedwig tells her journey from an Eastern Berlin stove sound amplifier to a trailer park in Kansas. It’s a brilliantly emotional story about searching for your other half, and finding self-acceptance and connection in the end by those that are surprisingly already around you.

The show’s strength, as always, lives in that balance; finding the cleverness and strength of character, while never losing the essence of the emotional story and the music enmeshed within. Hedwig is not the happiest of songbirds, and the anger that exists inside her pain (and pleasure) needs a bit more space to grow and be dealt with, making the final softening a more powerful reframing than what exists within Bowtie‘s production so far. It needed a bit more in the end to feel organic, but I truly believe it’s only going to get better as the week goes on. Its heart is in the right place, making it a shame it’s only running at Theatre Passe Muraille until September 7th, 2024. No one can tear her down. Beyond a tight schedule.