If you're into great music and comedy, Hedwig is the show for you to see. This show is about Hedwig, a German performer, and how his transformation from man to woman didn't go as expected, leaving him with an "angry inch". The audience is able to see how it was affected the character in a very comedic, yet vulnerable way. The revival has housed many stars to play the role of Hedwig, and has several more lined up to pass the theoretical Hedwig torch. However, I saw Tony winner (and Marymount Manhattan alumni) Andrew Rannells who I thought was absolutely incredible.
Walking into the theatre you're already entertained. There's music blasting in the theatre. One of my friends had told me previously that the music playing was from the show. If she hadn't told me, I would've never known. The thing about Hedwig is that the music doesn't follow the classic "musical theatre" sound. It very much resembles a lot of classic rock. It puts you in the right state of mind for the show.
I sat in the very last row (poor college student=cheap tickets), but I had a great seat. I was able to see every single detail on the stage. The only thing that I was unable to witness was when Hedwig went off the stage during "Sugar Daddy" and interacted with the audience. I could see it to a certain extent if I really bent over, but after a while it gets a little annoying. But it's okay because he's not offstage for such a large amount of time. However, I only knew what happened when he went offstage because one of my friends had seen the show several times before. Therefore, I don't know would've felt if I was totally clueless as to what was going on.
One thing that I must say negatively about the show is that the sound was a bit overbearing. Sometimes it was hard to hear what the actors were singing or what they were saying because the band was just so loud. I'm not sure if that was because I was in the last row and the speakers were there or if it was a general issue, but it did obstruct my experience a tad. Not much, but it was a big issue. I still enjoyed the performance, though.
Something about the show that the actor that plays Hedwig ultimately plays two roles- the protagonist and the antagonist. Granted, you don't see him as the antagonist much and only really hear him, but that is another challenge for the actor- creating an invisible character. I don't want to spoil much about the show because it is one that I would suggest you see, but there is another concert being performed by the antagonist at the Belasco theatre (might sound peculiar, but you have to see it to believe it I guess!). Andrew Rannells did an extraordinary job of creating an invisible character that had so much affect on him. As an actor, sometimes the most important characters in the show are the ones you don't see or hear. You have to imagine them and create an entire story for them as well as your relationship with them. I believed every moment of Rannell's story.
Enough about Andrew Rannells, let's talk about Lena Hall. First of all, wow. Her character's progression was incredible. I was so surprised at how things turned out between Hedwig and Yitzhak. Anyways, Lena Hall did an incredible job of understanding the role of Yitzhak and how the character impacted Hedwig. In a way, Yitzhak was very much the motivation for Hedwig. Albeit he was his trusty assistant, Yitzhak made Hedwig determined to perform in fear that Hedwig would turn out like Yitzhak in the end. Without Yitzhak, Hedwig would be nowhere. I thought of Yitzhak, symbolically, as the wig on top of the protagonists head.
Overall, I really enjoyed Hedwig and I would recommend it to anyone. It's relatively family friendly and will definitely make you both laugh and cry. It's another type of theatre that makes you feel something powerful, which is extremely important to me when seeing a show. I'm looking forward to seeing the next couple of Hedwigs rock the show!
5 out of 5 rikdastars
Until next time!
-Rikki
No comments:
Post a Comment