Review: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at New Conservatory Theatre Center

This production is a touch bittersweet – it’s NCTC Founder Ed Decker’s last programed show after passing the baton to new Artistic Director Ben Villegas Randle. His choice to present Hedwig is extremely prescient in a time where sexual identity is being both vilified and explored. San Francisco is ground zero for challenging boundaries and moving towards a fluidity in sexual  norms. Hedwig, which premiered in 1998, was a groundbreaking vision of sexual reassignment and gay love, turned into a brilliant 2001 film. It’s been a staple of LGBTQIA+ theatres since, and I’ve seen many SF productions over the years. Stephen Trasks’ score is transcendent, both gritty in your face rock and thoughtful anthems that stand the test of time.

NCTC is utilizing two actors who will alternate the lead roles of Hedwig and his manservant, bandmate and husband Yitzhak. Local icon trixxie carr and Samuel del Rosario share the leads in this two-hander version. Director Chris Morrell has decided to present the show as a staged rock concert with a hard-working band helmed by musical director Jake Gale. For the first of two opening nights I saw trixxie as Hedwig and Samuel as Yitzhak.

It’s not the first time a cis female has played the androgynous Hedwig, further blurring the lines of sexual identities. Afterall, Hedwig starts out as Hansel, a gay East German teenager who chooses sex reassignment surgery to escape his drab existence. Hedwig, now posing as a woman with a botched surgery leaving him with the titular “angry inch,” finds his new life in America falling apart when his husband abandons him and he takes a job babysitting an army general’s young son Tommy.

Hedwig mentors Tommy in music, the songs flowing from their strange romance. Tommy will go on to steal the songs and become a rock god. Hedwig is bitter, angry, and hurt, following Tommy’s tour while singing in cheesy chain food restaurants. The play, narrated by Hedwig, is about finding one’s other half, a divine soulmate meant to complete one’s identity. Sadly, Hedwig is on the losing end.

Whoever plays Hedwig must be both strong vocally and emotionally tough and vulnerable simultaneously. trixxie carr handles both well, although her obviously female presentation on display through Chris Steele’s wild costuming, defies any sense of androgyny. She looks like the woman Hedwig never became. She shines on the soft ballads “The Origin of Love” and “Wicked Little Town” and manages Hedwig’s cheeky dialogue that endears the character to the gay audiences.

Morrell has updated some locale references to San Francisco which is fun, and Hedwig fans always enjoy hearing Trasks smart score. As a two-hander, the story loses some nuance and relies heavily on Hedwig’s exposition which is a lot to ask of an actor. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is always a delight with its unique plot of misfits and losers that is both existential and sexually gritty.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch continues through June 14th. Tickets available at http://www.nctcsf.org/  or by calling the box office at 415-861-8972.

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