Pulling the Wig Down from the Shelf Again

John Cameron Mitchell as 'Hedwig'

After Jeffrey, I was feeling a little down. I'd had some potentially bad news about someone for whom I care very much; I had no theatrical projects on the immediate horizon; I had gained back a few of the 16 pounds I'd lost doing Hairspray and I was about to turn another year older with little to show for it. 

So I went looking for something to lift my spirits a bit and ended up listening to the soundtrack to the movie version of John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I never got to see the original  stage production, but I absolutely adored the movie (which I reviewed for PhillyOut.com). There is something about Hedwig's eternal optimism despite her many setbacks that is inspiring, to say the least. I loved every one of Stephen Trask's songs (especially "The Origin of Love"); was overjoyed to see the amazingly talented Andrea Martin as Hedwig's manager; adored Mitchell's performance and became of fan of the massively underrated Miriam Shor (late of ABC's ridiculous soap "GCB" and CBS's aborted summer sizzler "Swingtown") all at the same time. I am, by the way, determined to direct a production of Hedwig... someday.

Anyway, Kevin Sessums (author of "A Southern Sissy") has blogged that Mitchell and Trask are currently hard at work on a stage sequel! Talk about synchronicity. Mitchell, who also wrote and directed the sexually explicit Shortbus, is quoted as saying about the new show, “We spend so much of our early lives trying to figure out who we really are... And we spend the rest of our lives preparing ourselves to let it go.” Personally, I can't wait to see what's happened to Hedwig since we last saw her. Hopefully, the stage sequel will warrant a film sequel, as well.

Here are few of my favorite numbers from the movie (watch for Shor in stubbled male drag):

Long live Hedwig!


More, anon.
Prospero