Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Belasco Theatre

August 11, 2015

Photo courtesy of Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and theAngry Inch is a visually enthralling revival of the John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask 1998 rock musical.  It takes its audience on a painful journey through separation and sacrifice to self-acceptance and unification.  Presently Taye Diggs is gracing the stage at the Belasco Theatre with a starkly honest interpretation of the title character that will stun and captivate you.

The premise of the show is that Hedwig is performing for one night only on the Broadway stage with her band, The Angry Itch.  She tells the story of her life, which began in Berlin, when the wall split a culture down the middle.  After her father, a US Army Major General abandons them, her mother tells her the story of love.  The song, “The Origin of Love” is choreographed with stunning projections and declares how love split in two, and our purpose is to find the other half and reunite with it.  Her mother is the one who arranges her brutally botched sex change to help Hedwig escape East Germany by marrying an American soldier.  The journey of abandonment continues in a trailer park in Kansas.  The image of the wall, which is present on the set throughout the show, and the representation of the wigs as persona and identification are poetic and striking.

Taye Diggs as Hedwig
Photo courtesy of Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Taye Digg’s Hedwig is tall, bold, brassy, and as hurtful as she is wounded.  His characterization is mature, detached, and indignant.  The character’s humor is angry and projected on those closest to her.  Mr. Diggs nails every song and hooks you into following him deeply into the reality of Hedwig’s veiled need.  Rebecca Naomi Jones is fierce as Hedwig’s husband Yitzhak.  Throughout the show her character retreats from every confrontation with Hedwig.  In the end she rises like the phoenix when finally set free. 

The show is harsh, brash and cold.  More importantly, it contains a powerful message of love and self-acceptance.  It has a strong relevance to a teenage audience, and a large following to prove it.  Taye Diggs will be starring until October 11.  He is worth seeing in this role.

Domenick Danza