Balagan Theatre/ Seattle Theatre Group's HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH with Jinkx Monsoon to Open 12/17

Local performer Jerick Hoffer, winner of the hit reality TV show "RuPaul's Drag Race" as drag alter ego Jinkx Monsoon and co-star of the critically acclaimed off-Broadway sleeper hit The Vaudevillians, returns to Seattle December 17-22 for an encore performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the historic Moore Theatre, a co-production of Balagan Theatre and Seattle Theatre Group. Tickets are on sale now at www.stgpresents.org or (877) 784-4849.

Directed by Ian Bell, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a cult-hit musical by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask about a botched sex change, stolen music, unrequited love, and one person's journey toward self-discovery and acceptance. Hoffer stars as Hedwig Schmidt, the transgender rock-and-roll goddess who recounts her outrageous life story as the lead singer of a sleazy lounge act, backed by her recalcitrant husband Yitzhak (Erin Stewart) and her band, "The Angry Inch."

Winner of an Obie Award and Outer Circle Critics Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, Hedwig draws on Mitchell's life as the gay son of a U.S. Army Major General stationed in occupied West Berlin. The music is steeped in the androgynous 1970s glam rock era of David Bowie and influenced by John Lennon and early punk godfathers Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. Hedwig is presented in arrangement with Dramatist's Play Service.

Following the December 18th performance, Hoffer will partner with FrEd Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to host an exclusive VIP after party, Cabaret for a Cause: A Jinkx Monsoon partnership with Fred Hutch to end HIV. All proceeds raised from this exclusive event will benefit HIV/AIDS research at the Hutch. Learn more at www.fredhutch.org/hedwig.

Hoffer (also known as Jinkx Monsoon) is a seasoned Portland-born entertainer and graduate of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. As early as 2006, he appeared as the lead dancer in the world's largest drag queen chorus line, which made the Guinness Book of World Records. By 2012, he had advanced to roles in Seattle theatres, playing Moritz in Spring Awakening (Balagan Theatre) and Angel in RENT (5th Avenue Theatre). Just after performing in the original run of Hedwig, Hoffer's winning run on RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on LOGOtv.

As "America's next drag superstar," Hoffer has performed as Jinkx Monsoon for adoring fans across the country and around the world; co-starred with Richard Andriessen (aka Major Scales) in a critically acclaimed off-Broadway run of the original cabaret comedy, The Vaudevillians; and co-starred with Peaches Christ in the much-buzzed-about "Return to Grey Gardens." In the next six months, he will release his first full-length live studio album, be featured in a full-length documentary of the web series "Drag Becomes Him," and perform in the international premiere of The Vaudevillians in Australia.

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