JT Stipp (Photo by Diana Kaufmann Photography)
Reviewed by Joel Beers
Garage Theatre
Through August 3
Hedwig and the Angry Inch didn’t need its 2014 Broadway run and subsequent national tour to be hailed, as Rolling Stone’s David Fricke put it, as “the first rock musical that truly rocks.” Its Obie Award-winning Off-Broadway run from 1998-2000 was ample proof that Stephen Trasks’s score possessed legit rock cred. Its 10 songs drew from styles ranging from hard rock and punk to arena rock and torch ballads, underscoring perhaps rock’s greatest strength: its ability to assimilate so many musical genres.
But Hedwig’s popularity, as evidenced by the 11 countries where it was produced, including 2,300 productions in South Korea alone before it hit Broadway, and the legion of fans so devoted that they have become known as Hed-heads, is due to the heart, soul and mangled penis of this show. That would be Hedwig, the main character in this two-character play, the flamboyant, sarcastic, trashy, bitchy, achingly vulnerable genderqueer and drag-wearing front person of the glam rock band, the Angry Inch. Saddled with a lifetime of trauma, grappling with gender and self-identity issues, their on-stage persona is the source of their power and their biggest obstacle to self-discovery. With a heart so big that it breaks like the San Andreas Fault, Hedwig is as psychologically complicated, ridiculously over the top, beautifully flawed and as real a character as ever to have a musical built around.
But even with that killer score and a character whose story resonates with so many on multiple levels, the number of times that story has been told in the story-making capital of the world is surprisingly low. Based on an arduous search of newspaper archives and various theater websites, from the first Los Angeles production of Hedwig in 1999 through the end of 2023, fewer than 10 productions were mounted in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including the national tour at the Pantages and two week-long engagements at the Roxy Theater. That means only seven theaters have produced their own version.
But that number will increase 72 percent this year, as five productions join the club. In January, Hedwig was the opening production for Chance Theatre in Anaheim’s 2024 season; and last week a production at Season 10 Stage Productions closed at the Actors Company. Another production opens October 10 at the Long Beach Playhouse.
Why the relative paucity for 24 years and the relative torrent this year? More than likely the “torrent” is just coincidence, but a possible explanation for the earlier dearth of productions might be gauged by the production of Hedwig now ongoing the Garage Theater in Long Beach. In sum: although Hedwig is a great character with an exceptional story, that story isn’t told that well.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with this staging. It’s not the flashiest, but the Garage hasn’t lasted 25 years by relying on razzle-dazzle. It tends to pick challenging or off-beat plays that say something in unconventional ways and its aesthetic is grounded in clearly articulating that.
The space is also well suited for Hedwig, as it is intimate and a bit rough around the edges; and one of the show’s conceits is that the audience has gathered to hear a concert by Hedwig and the band, and it’s not exactly ready to headline the Hollywood Bowl.
But that conceit only lasts for about five minutes. That’s about how long the opening number, the high-energy “Tear it Down” lasts. It’s an explosive guitar, riff-laden show topper that compares Hedwig to the Berlin Wall they grew up in the shadow of, and touches on themes that course throughout: resiliency, defiance and transformation. It also establishes early that JT Shipp has the vocal chops and commanding presence any Hedwig needs.
But then we hit the first of two rough patches. The concert stops and we get two lengthy monologues in which Hedwig relays growing up lonely and isolated in East Berlin as a boy named Hansel. There is essential information here, as well as humor, and Shipp does a good job of conveying both; also, the fractious chemistry between Hedwig and their husband/bandmate Yitzhak (played by the other actor in the play, the tremendously voiced Alyssa Felix Garcia) is clear. But it still feels like a great deal of exposition that tells instead of shows, and what makes Hedwig Hedwig is when it shows. And that comes via the songs.
Things finally start cooking about a half hour in, when we learn how the Angry Inch got its name, how Hansel became Hedwig, why he became a she, and why she started wearing those fabulous wigs and costumes. The pace and intensity pick up, the stakes are heightened, the songs flow into each other seamlessly (including the impossibly infectious “Wig in a Box” and the impossibly perfect “Wicked Little Town”). Not a word, lyric or moment is wasted.
And then, rough patch two. After the play’s most emotionally intense moment, when Tommy, the missing half of Hedwig that she’s been waiting for all her life, freaks when discovering his angry inch and Hedwig freaks right back (Shipp somehow managing to sound heartbroken and pleading in the same moment as he is incensed and vicious) a bunch of stuff happens super quick
- Hedwig bolts the stage;
- Yitzhak finally gets his own solo, but it’s already been sung twice;
- Yitzhak discovers Hedwig off-stage having some alone time;
- Hedwig offers Yitzhak a metaphorical olive branch;
- Yitzhak spits on Hedwig;
- Hedwig experiences spontaneous depression and sings what sounds like a funeral dirge;
- Hedwig experiences a spontaneous and violent emotional breakdown where she assaults and batters herself and strips to her undies while blasting through the aggressive “Exquisite Corpse,” a song with hash fragmented lyrics and a tumultuous musical arrangement that reflects his inner chaos and rage.
And to top it off (I had to read the script to figure this one out) Hedwig transforms into Tommy, who is now a megastar based on songs he stole from Hedwig, and now it’s his concert and he reprises “Wicked Little Town” which leads Hedwig to a spiritual breakthrough.
It’s a lot to process but then in your head you hear what sounds like nine pianos striking an e major chord simultaneously and you know you’ve peaked and the ocean is still as glass and you are primed to feel what may be the finest anthem to ever close a musical, “Midnight Radio.” And while it may be Hedwig’s moment of liberation, you’re the one shining like the brightest star.
The Garage Theater 251 E. 7th St., Long Beach; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm; thru Aug. 3. https://ci.ovationtix.com/553/production/1199036 Running time: approximately 80 minutes with no intermission
