Review: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at Smithtown Performing Arts Center

The Smithtown Performing Arts Center, in partnership with Artists in Spotlight, is hosting a three-night special production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” with its opening this past Saturday, and subsequent shows on Thursday, July 30 and Saturday, Aug. 1.

A definitive avant-garde musical borne from a daring film of the same name, “Hedwig” is a journey of a dreamer East German whose brutal traumas (including a botched gender re-assignment surgery that results in her remaining “angry inch”) take on a profound, hilarious, heart-breaking and earnest appeal to the human condition that love can manifest no matter the lack of resources.

Director Ronnie Green’s vision for the highly-emotional odyssey of Hedwig and her supportive but resentful husband, Yitzhak, and band featured an abundant earnestness and tenderness that paralleled beautifully with the harder rock accompanying the sensitive lyrics. Especially in “The Origin of Love,” Green’s direction created the coffee-house moment of synergy that Hedwig describes in a recollection of her early public performances.

Also serving as costumer, Green’s Yitzak dressed in a mash-up of a Hell’s Angel gay bar and the Yitzak’s glorious return to Pam Anderson in the end was fabulous. And of course, Hedwig’s blonde rendition tour gave us the spectacle that encapsulates the character’s wishes and gifts.

Lighting Designer and Lighting Programmer, Dr. Nicholas Cariello and Lucas Pitello developed an earthy and atmospheric aura throughout the performance with punctuated spotlights that functioned the way an abrupt chord change would. Managing to keep Hedwig central, the lighting design was sophisticated enough not to overwhelm Hedwig’s on-stage presence and instead highlight her more delicate finger movement and hair sagas.

The band, comprised of talented, dedicated and intuitive musicians whose sound built the intricacies of Hedwig’s story, included: Shiloh Bennett, Bill Dwyer, Greg Franz, Jared Grossman, Dominick Napoli, Mike O’Shea, Chris Russo, Sean Ryan, and Joey Sheehan.

Jess Ader-Ferretti as Yitzhak communed with the curmudgeonly and devoted partner of Hedwig that is often the brunt of her jokes. The seething resentment of his situation is part of every breath Ader-Ferretti took and managed an adorable, but meaty, sourpuss face throughout. Contrasting the aging biker outfit was Ader-Ferretti’s angelic and powerful voice whose strength made even the simplest songs (the “colored girls’” do-do-do-do-do) poignant and hilariously painful. **SPOILER ALERT** Ader-Ferretti in regal drag (that was the midnight version of Britney Spears’s “Like a Virgin” outfit in 2003) at the finale was turned into such a magnanimous and sought after happy ending for the character.

Steven Charles as our grand lady, Hedwig Schmidt, was a tour de force in this role. From the regal entrance into the theater clad in shimmering butterfly fabric, Charles was transformed into one of the most unique characters ever written.

The accent work alone was enough to make the 90-minute show still thrilling if it were performed in the dark.

 The Germans, often known for dead-pan delivery with a dash of portentous baritone, are generally not considered a peppy or whimsical group, but Charles managed to concoct a German accent that was as light and snowy as a Scandinavian one and girly as a Barbie Girl, while still being easily identified as German. In addition, the Barry White voice for Hedwig’s impression of the American G.I. that led her to the angry inch situation, was a fantastic switch from heady Hedwig. And Charles’s Tommy Gnosis was an awkward California jock who sounded like a wannabe surfer, if only he didn’t live in the landlocked northern part of the state.

The power of Charles’s singing voice, that ran the gamut from soft and tender like “The Origin of Love,” to 80s power rock opera like “Angry Inch,” was incredibly versatile and high-energy throughout the performance.

In the most poignant sequence, Charles strips down the comforting accoutrements that have served as battle armor for Hedwig’s deep agony, like her wig and platform boots, to reveal a blossomed love of self.

With a limited run, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” will be donating  a portion of the ticket sales to offset a local artist’s costs of cancer treatments, along with any additional donations made.

**The performance is intended for an adult audience and contains adult language and descriptions of trauma, including gender/sexuality slurs, body dysmorphia and implied child abuse**

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