All In Productions' 'Hedwig and The Angry Inch' Highlights the Tragedy Behind the Glitter

×

Expand

facebook.com/allinproductionsmke

Despite its enduring popularity, John Cameron Mitchell’s 1998 cult musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch is rarely staged locally, in part for practical reasons: It’s a bear to cast. The show’s nonbinary title character is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding roles in musical theater, requiring a performer who excels not only in drama, but also drag, stand-up comedy and glam rock. And as if the task of carrying nearly the entire show weren’t enough, they have to do it while donning high-heeled boots and a tricky German accent.

It’s a daunting challenge, but with the right lead the show is a riot, and All In Productions has found a natural in Brett Sweeney, a Skylight Music Theatre alum who sells not only the laughs but also the trauma behind every tawdry remark. Backed by a band outfitted like Guitar Hero avatars, including a drummer made up like Guy Fieri imagined as a ghoul from a J-horror film, Hedwig shares her story from a stage far smaller than the one she feels is rightfully hers. A “slip of a girlyboy” whose complex gender identity is further complicated by a botched sex reassignment surgery, the remnants of which she christened her band after, she stumbles into 15 minutes of fame after a scandal involving her famous ex.

Lydia Rose Eiche is excellent in a nearly dialogue-free role as Hedwig’s mistreated husband and backup singer Yitzhak, a performer who, like Hedwig, is boxed in from being her true self. In a minimum of words and stage time, the production tells a secondary story as tragic as the primary one. The show also benefits from far better songs than the average rock musical, including a pair of rippers (“The Origin of Love” and “Midnight Radio”) as alive and electric as the David Bowie classics that inspired them.

Through Sept. 15 at Next Act Theatre. For tickets, visit allin-mke.com.