Los Angeles is not New York and New York is not Los Angeles. The thing that Los Angeles is fortunate to have, are New York shows coming to the West Coast for a short period of time. At least to Los Angeles.
The Pantages Theater, founded in June of 1930, originally began as a movie house. It housed the very first Academy Awards and went on to house staged musicals. It was announced around this time last year the 2016-2017 season. The first show being ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’.
‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ some readers might be familiar with already. It was a movie in the 1980’s by the same name starring John Cameron Mitchell. It went onto Broadway in 2014, where it won Tony Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress in a musical. Starring as Hedwig on Broadway was Neil Patrick Harris and as Yitzhak, Hedwig’s other half, Lena Hall. The show closed the following year and began it’s tour at the beginning of October, 2016 in San Fransisco.
Not knowing who Hedwig is – or what the show is about – here is a brief synopsis. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical, with the rock and roll sounds and flashing lights to go with it. Hedwig is an East German singer who tells her story about living in Berlin, coming to the United States and how she took inspiration from the likes of David Bowie, Iggie Pop, Lou Reed, John Lennon – just to name a few.
The Pantages theater having housed ‘Wicked’ and ‘The Lion King’, the production value of these shows are not to be frowned upon. They can also be very simple, which Hedwig and the Angry Inch was. The set was simple – very few moving pieces – and a lot of moving around by the actors on the stage. The fourman band was on the stage the entire time and they were wonderful. Their presence is what made the rock concert – rock and roll.
Darren Criss headlines the show as Hedwig. Darren Criss is known for his role on “Glee”. His portrayal of Hedwig takes the audience on an emotional journey. He also played the humorous bits to perfection. While he did not open the show on Broadway, took over for Harris when he left, one can see why the role was Tony nominated and why Harris won.
Lena Hall, who plays Yitzhak, has very few moments alone on the stage. The show is primarily ran by Hedwig, which again plays into the talent of Darren Criss. Yet, there is a moment at the end and without giving anything away, the audience erupted in applause. The character runs up the aisle and comes back and again – the audience erupts into applause. It’s the 11 o’clock number, which is primarily held for the main characters of the show. She sings out the number and brought the house down. It’s easy to see in this performance, despite the seemingly ‘small’ role she has in comparison to Hedwig, why Ms. Hall won the Tony for her work.
As publicized and promoted, this show is very much a rock concert. A tiny bit disconcerting when the first notes of the show are loud blats of music with flashing lights. A few songs are catchy; others are kind of hard to understand – but they fit in with the story. And if the songs weren’t understandable, the exposition explains what one may have missed. To go with the rock music are the rock costumes. The design of these costumes are simply exquisite.
There is audience interaction. The show has been adapted for Los Angeles, making Los Angeles jokes, putting puns in, using celebrities like Lea Michele as jumping off points for jokes. It’s all relevant. As if the show wasn’t relevant enough – there is a joke about Hedwig’s old flame, “who liked to pop tic-tacs and grab me whenever he wanted because he was a celebrity.” Does that sound familiar?
All in all, the show was fantastic. The cast was extraordinary and if you are in the Los Angeles area and want to have a good time, go see Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
You can purchase tickets at the Pantages Theater website. The show runs from now until November 27th.