Review: Seann Miley Moore Stuns With A Roof Raising Brilliant Performance of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.

Directors Dino Dimitriadis and Shane Anthony deliver a brilliant and bold expression of John Cameron Mitchell (Text) and Stephen Trask’s (Music and Lyrics) rock musical HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH.  First produced Off-Broadway in 1998 and premiered in Australia in 2006, this work is given a fresh new vision and a few updates to consider the strange times we are living in. 

For those unfamiliar with the work, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is more of a rock concert cabaret piece than a “traditional” musical.  The audience are patrons at Hedwig’s (Seann Miley Moore) latest gig, performing her rock concert at second rate venues around middle America, this time the Charleston Riverview Civic Centre, with her four piece band, “The Angry Inch” (Victoria Falconer, Glenn Moorehouse, Felicity Freeman and Jarrad Payne), and her backup vocalist, personal assistant and husband, Yitzak  (Adam Noviello).  Through the course of the concert the audience learns how the “slip of a girlyboy” Hansel Schmidt became the blonde haired goddess in double denim performing for them as Hedwig Robinson utilises a combination of storytelling monologue and roof raising rock music. 

Given that the work is anchored in Hedwig’s storytelling rather that dramatization, and the staging of the work in warehouse spaces as it tours (previous performances in Adelaide and Melbourne), set designer Jeremy Allen has created a striking circular stage comprising of a mesh raised performance space that climbs up a rear arc to encompass the band and allow vertical variety and allusions the wall Hedwig escaped from and the proximity of her venue to that of her former lover, rock star Tommy Gnosis, a man who refuses to acknowledge that he owes his success to Hedwig.   This industrial aesthetic with a glam twist is complemented by the costume design by Katie-Louise Nicol-Ford and Lilian Nicol-Ford of fashion house Nicol & Ford.  They have outfitted Hedwig and her band with a high glam, high camp expression of denim on denim with a suitable splash of sparkle and luxury for an ultimate trailerpark trash 80’s glam rock look. 

Given that HEWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH was first presented in 1998 and was given the film treatment in 2001 it already has a strong fanbase as evidenced by the opening night crowd.  This production lives up to expectations and the casting of Seann Miley Moore as Hedwig, the role originated by co-creator John Cameron Mitchell, is perfect. Miley Moore recently came to the attention of the Australian musical theatre scene when they delivered a show-stealing performance of Miss Saigon’s Engineer, or “EnginQueer” as the role is described in the program.  They command the space with ease, adapting and improvising to ensure the live concert premise of the work carries through.  Their vocal prowess captures the energy required for the songs while infusing emotion and storytelling into the performance, so the numbers all work into the storyline.  They work the performance space and the audience with confidence and commitment to the character though it is suspected that those singled out for up close and personal moments with Hedwig may be plants. 

Miley Moore’s Hedwig is supported by Adam Noviello’s fabulous portrayal of Yitzhak, the broody husband living in Hedwig’s shadow when they were forced to give up their own career as a Jewish drag queen from Croatia to obtain a spousal visa, an echo of Hedwig’s own sacrifice for her own US residency. The role of Yitzhak is written with ethereal vocals, so much so that the role is often delivered by a female voice (Amy Hack is listed as the Yitzhak cover) so it is wonderful to hear Noviello beautiful falsetto that glides above Hedwig’s deeper rock sensibilities.  With limited spoken lines, Noviello ensures that the ‘muttered’ insults thrown at Hedwig land perfectly and their physicality in expressing their disdain and resignation is hilarious in their passive aggressive subtlety.

This production is a must see.  As both a piece of brilliant escapism layered with an element of philosophy and anthropology contemplation and an opportunity to see a complex queer story on stage, this rock musical is more than a collection of brilliant songs and an amusing and bizarre plotline.  At a time when people from the queer community are being challenged about their identity and their existence by the broader community, this work is a powerful piece that also challenges the ideas of consent and ownership of identity as Hedwig was not really given the choice to be who they wanted to be, finding themselves forced into an identity following gender reassignment surgery that went wrong. Do not miss this latest offering from Andrew Henry Presents, GWB Entertainment and Carriageworks.

https://www.hedwig.com.au