The Umbrella Performing Arts Presents HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH

The award-winning Umbrella Performing Arts continues its 2018-19 season with the rollicking rock musical, Hedwig & the Angry Inch.

This groundbreaking smash by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask tells the story of "internationally ignored song stylist" Hedwig Schmidt, a fourth-wall smashing, East German rock 'n' roll goddess who also happens to be the victim of a botched sex-change operation.

Outrageous and unexpectedly hilarious, the story is dazzlingly performed in the form of a rock gig/stand-up comedy routine backed by the hard-rocking band "The Angry Inch."

It's a rocking ride, funny, touching, and, despite its quirky and singular protagonist ultimately relatable inspiring to anyone who has felt life gave them an inch when they deserved a mile...

In short: Everyone.

"Everyone is a misfit and a loser - or they have felt that way," said writer John Cameron Mitchell in a 2016 interview discussing the show's longevity and cult status. "Everyone is fighting a battle, and Hedwig's battle is particularly hard. But she laughs at it, and that makes it a communal thing. That resonates, especially in this cyber, anti-empathy moment that the industrialized world is in right now."

"I think the most common positive effect I hear," he said, "is that the show is so specific about someone who is so unique that it creates space in people's lives to find themselves."

The show earned an Obie for its Off-Broadway version, as well as multiple awards for its hit film adaptation. Starring Kirk Vanda, directed by Julia Deter and produced by Brian Boruta, it is being presented for the first time in Concord by The Umbrella Performing Arts, which won 11 DASH Awards for Theatrical Achievement last season.

More About Director Julia Deter

HEDWIG marks Julia's return to The Umbrella, having previously directed Singin' in the Rain, The Rocky Horror Show, and Ragtime, for which she won both Best Director and Best Musical. Other credits include The Secret Garden for Concord Players, and she earned 2016-17 DASH award nominations for Best Direction (Musical) and Best Choreography for Shrek The Musical with The Wellesley Players.

More About Kirk Vanda

Kirk returns to The Umbrella for his second production, having previously appeared as Karl the Giant in The Umbrella's DASH Award-winning Best Musical, Big Fish. Other New England credits include The Addams Family in Hamilton, Avenue Q in Newburyport, Little Shop of Horrors and Cabaret in Marblehead, and most recently as Clifford in Deathtrap at Providence's Barker Playhouse.

More About Producer Brian Boruta

As Director of Performing Arts for The Umbrella, Brian Boruta has pioneered its quest to produce Bold, Daring, and Innovative theatre. Since 2012, his productions have amassed over 100 award nominations including Best Production nods for Equus, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Red, Angels in America - Millennium Approaches, and Bonnie and Clyde, and DASH Award and won dozens of other DASH Awards.

More About The Umbrella Performing Arts

The Umbrella Performing Arts part of the expansive Umbrella Community Arts Center (formerly Emerson Umbrella), a multifunction 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization founded in 1983 in Concord, MA. The fast-growing theater company earned 31 DASH Theater Award nominations last season, winning in 11 categories, including Best Lead Actor, Best Ensemble Performance (Play and Musical), Best Musical Direction, Best Director (Musical), and Best Production (Play and Musical). Its 2017-2018 season is being staged in its temporary space at The Umbrella Annex during the construction of a new, multi-theater Performing Arts wing at the Umbrella's 40 Stow Street arts complex.

WHEN
January 18 - February 9, 2019 [Complete Schedule]

WHERE
The Umbrella Annex, 57 Old Rd. to Nine Acre Corner (ORNAC), Concord, MA 01742

Tickets $19/$27.50/$32.50

Discounts for seniors, students and military families are available. Groups of 10 - 14 save 10%; groups of 15 and up save 15%. Contact the Box Office for more details.

TICKETS CONTACT

http://theumbrellaarts.org/theater | info@theumbrellaarts.org | 978-371-0820

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