John Cameron Mitchell stars on Broadway in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, Mitchell and Stephen Trask's landmark American musical, directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening). Heartbreaking and wickedly funny, this raucously entertaining show has inspired a generation.
Brilliantly innovative and raucously entertaining, Hedwig has inspired a generation. The show was called "the Best Rock Musical Ever" by Rolling Stone and "the most exciting rock score written for the theatre since, oh, ever," by Time Magazine.
Winner of the 2014 Best Musical Revival Tony Award.
Just how edgy can Hedwig remain on the Great White Way? There is, after all, a bit of cognitive dissonance in a supposed outcast selling out a giant theater filled with fans screaming, 'I love you, Neil!' While director Michael Mayer's tricked-out production abandons the show's seedy origins, there's still a satirical edge that reflects the more upscale venue...Purists may balk at Harris' punk-lite vocals on Trask's infectiously rockin' score -- he's less Iggy, more pop -- and his threats to 'cut you, bitch' come off with more of a wink than actual menace. But in a bravura performance, the actor proves the perfect instrument for Hedwig's transition into world-class superstardom. He's honed his showmanship on four Tony Awards gigs, of course. But he's looser here, and lewder, more spontaneous and quick on his pumps. A-
Audiences flocking to this 95-minute entertainment, with book by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, may not think they have signed up for the first session of an undergraduate philosophy seminar. They have come to see Harris, a major American television star owing to How I Met Your Mother, give glam rock a workout. But the evening, even with the longueurs of its storytelling, manages to make us think about not just gender-based aspects of love but also the cold war, cheap American pop music, and the price of fame...A veteran not only of sitcoms but also of gender-bending stage shows such as Rent and Cabaret, Harris is ideally experienced to deliver Hedwig's low jokes as well as its rock 'n' roll kick-outs and tearful ballads.
Videos