Hedwig Previews- Page 12

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 12:19am

^^^ Hoorah! A source I trust completely.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 12:33am

This material connected with me in ways that I am still unpacking, and I am still buzzed. And the perf I saw was the FIRST PREVIEW. God, I can't wait to see this again.

[~~tiny3~~]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 2:39am

...and PJ probably has an opening nite PLaybill, too!.. (just kidding!).
Yes, PJ has exquisite taste in everything artistic.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 7:58am

You mean where it says at the top of the page "OPENING NIGHT: APRIL 22, 2014"?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 11:40am

NPH said on GMA that he didn't want an understudy and clearly doesn't have one, but isn't it required by Equity for him to have an u/s??

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 12:01pm

For those who are hoping for a repeat of the transgressive quality the event had on Jane Street in 1998, this is a very different thing. Even Jane Street itself is no longer transgressive, and they have inserted references to the events on Jane Street and why this performance is taking place at the Belasco Theater.

He definitely commands the material in "Wig in a Box" and "Origin of Love," but I was most affected by his "Wicked Little Town."

But there is something distinctly challenging and transgressive happening with Neil Patrick Harris playing this role in 2014. Very different, but definitely in our face.

The theater is filled with fans of How I Met Your Mother, primarily young, primarily straight. They are already used to seeing an out gay man (with a husband and two kids) playing a straight man. That in itself is transgressive, if not to the people watching the show, at least to the generation that came before them.

Then they walk into Hedwig. The gay man who plays a straight man enters in a dress and a wig. It's outlandish but not cartoonish. Then he begins to unravel the story and explain the "angry inch." This makes people just as uncomfortable in 2014 as it did in 1998. The story is not sugar-coated.

What makes it 2014-transgressive is that NPH's TV audience has to take Hedwig's problems and emotions seriously. It's definitely different from Jane Street, 1998. But if you love the material and you like watching talented actors stretch and test themselves, it's a must-see.

Updated On: 4/17/14 at 12:01 PM

[center]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 1:49pm

"What makes it 2014-transgressive is that NPH's TV audience has to take Hedwig's problems and emotions seriously."

Yes, absolutely. And he pulls it off in part because he has them eating out of his hands from the hilarity and ostentation of the front half of the show, which I think creates potential emotional vulnerability for those who might not be as open to the intensity of the final sequences.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 2:06pm

PJ, did they change the title from Wicked Little Town to Dirty Little Town?

[center]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 2:25pm

No song title change.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 4:13pm

Sorry that was my mistake. Fixed now.

Jane--I hope you get to see this. It has been remounted with the same love for the underlying material that you feel. Ultimately, I think it will make you feel wonderful.

Updated On: 4/17/14 at 04:13 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 4:43pm

PJ I have my tickets for the 30th. Reading comments from so many people who fell in love with the show and can't wait to see it again reminds me of myself. Once I saw the show, I never left the theater. I hope I love it as much now. I'm going with another Jane St. house manager so it should be fun for both of us.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 5:25pm

I think you may both come away feeling that you've recovered a little bit of your youths, even if just for 90 minutes.

That score!

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 9:28pm

That score was nominated for a grammy, or some award that year.

[~~tiny3~~]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 9:34pm

NPH is juicier than Jane's pizza.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/17/14 at 9:45pm

Oh yeah?? I'll be the judge of that! (on the 30th. remember!)

[South Florida]

Posted: 4/18/14 at 4:25pm

My step daughter brought us the movie almost 10 years ago. I didn't watch it for months, thinking drag queens, rock and roll, not my thing. After watching it once, I had to watch it over and over. The story still confuses me somewhat, but the music by Trask is some of the best music recorded in the last 20 years, if not the best. Can't wait.

[center]

Posted: 4/18/14 at 5:35pm

Thought people interested in Hedwig might like to know that NPH, John Cameron Mitchell, and Stephen Trask are doing a TimesTalk about the show on May 20th at CUNY Grad Center. Tickets are $40 (but ended up being closer to $50 w/fees). More info: http://timestalks.com/detail-event.php?event=neil_patrick_harris_john_cameron_mitchell_stephen_trask

[Marlothom]

Posted: 4/18/14 at 10:36pm

Saw this tonight, 4th row centre - expensive but so worth it! This was phenomenal - so a Boston production a decade ago, and a big fan of the original recording and movie soundtrack. I was impressed by NPH's vocal - saw him in Assassins and didn't think he'd have the chops but he was ridiculous. I wish more people would rock out. Also, really impressed by Lena Hall. Found a Hurt Locker playbill, too!

[gstrus2]

Posted: 4/20/14 at 11:55am

Saw the 8pm show last night (They had odd 2pm and 8pm shows yesterday), and LOVED it! I have never seen the movie or the original off-broadway run, so it was all new to me. At the beginning I was afraid, because I didn't hear Hedwig during "Tear Me Down" because the band was drowning her out, but it got better. I hear perfectly the rest of the night. Amazing performances by NPH and Lena, I hope they both get recognized come Tony time. I sat in Row E of the balcony, and thought the view was fine. I could not see when he went in the audience, but that was only .1% of the show, so it was fine. I also found a Hurt Locker: the Musical playbill staring Bobby Cannavale on my seat, and that made me chuckle.
After the show I got to the stagedoor and was near the front of the barricades, and the man said he would only sign playbills and no posed pictures. He came out at around 10:30, and did infact sign playbills and also posters if he saw them. He told many people no selfies, but he did take one with me, which I was ecstatic about because I LOVE NPH!
This was one of my favorite shows this season, and if you can get tickets, I highly recommend you do.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/20/14 at 3:45pm

" At the beginning I was afraid, because I didn't hear Hedwig during "Tear Me Down" because the band was drowning her out, but it got better. "

lol, for some reason the band always drowns out Tear Me Down. Even knowing the show so well, I can't make out what she's singing!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/20/14 at 4:03pm

"I suggest you go back and read sciencegirl's edit in which she explains her final comment about the show. You managed the Jane Street Theatre and saw everyone who played Hedwig in the original production. Great. You have strong feelings about the show. Great. On the other hand, from the time the Broadway production was announced you have been casting doubts. You objected to it being done on Broadway. You objected to NPH as Hedwig. You have the right to your opinion. The problem I have is your comments make you sound like a fangirl."

While I agree to some extent, Director, having someone describe past performance's of this has been valuable to me, since I didn't know anything about it before last Month.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/20/14 at 4:18pm

"The problem I have is your comments make you sound like a fangirl."

Yes, as you said, that is a problem that YOU have. And no, I won't be going back to read anything.

and thank you Sutton, I think.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/20/14 at 4:51pm

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 4/20/14 at 7:32pm

I'm SO jealous! I want one of those HURT LOCKER Playbills!!! That is HILARIOUS!!!

[center]

Posted: 4/20/14 at 10:29pm

The Hurt Locker playbills are hilarious! Somebody had a seriously good time writing all the copy inside … and the ad on the back. :)