Hedwig and the Angry Inch August 5, 2006

"HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH"
ROCKING INTO LEXINGTON

-- Off-Broadway and film favorite will make August even hotter --

LEXINGTON, July 19, 2006 - LexArts is bringing "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," a critically acclaimed rock musical, to the Downtown Arts Center for 13 performances in August.

Though not as well-known as "Tommy" or "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Hedwig" quickly became a cult favorite when it debuted in 1998, in addition to drawing raves from reviewers as one of the very rare rock musicals that actually holds together.

"This is a rare opportunity to bring an internationally acclaimed show to Lexington and I'm very enthused about it," said James M. Clark, president and CEO of LexArts. "The energy of the music and the pathos of the tale are an exciting and highly charged combination. It's a different story, for sure, but one that shouldn't be missed."

Starring in a dual role as hero/heroine Hedwig and antagonist Tommy Gnosis is David Colbert, a regional stage veteran now in his fourth revival of "Hedwig." Petra DeLuca is in her third tour as Yitzhak, Hedwig's bandmate and love interest.

Put overly simple, the musical tells the story of a transsexual immigrant from East Germany who wants to be a punk rock star. The Angry Inch is her band, as well as a not-so-subtle reference to a botched sex-change surgery that left Hedwig not quite a man or woman. All that, plus lost love and a futile chase for fame, is told during and in between the 10 songs. Any resemblance to the 1980s glitter rock era of Iggy Pop and David Bowie is purely intentional.

Performances will be at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, Aug. 8-12 and 15-19, with 3 p.m. matinees on Sundays Aug. 13 and 20. Tickets are $15.00 for students and senior citizens and $25.00 for all others. Tickets are available by calling the LexArts box office at (859) 225-0370 or online at http://lexarts.tix.com. Tickets for a preview performance at 7 p.m., Sunday Aug. 6 will be $15.00.

About the play

The rock musical debuted in 1998 at the Jane Street Theater in New York and as a movie in 2001. It was written by John Cameron Mitchell with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. Both also collaborated on the film, in addition to starring in both. The film, however, had a different ending than the stage production.

Hedwig is a confused "girly boy" in East Berlin who falls in love with an American soldier. He can't leave for the West with the GI unless they're married, but same-sex marriage was even more out of the question back then than now, thus the surgery, which fails horribly. Not long after marrying and arriving in the U.S., the soldier runs off with another man, leaving Hedwig marooned in a Kansas trailer park.

Hedwig forms her punk band and mentors young Tommy Gnosis, who also abandons her, but not without taking along the songs she's written. He becomes a star; she goes on to play in dives, telling her story.

What the critics say

The original 1998 production of "Hedwig" drew raves from the mainstream press, perhaps most notably the declaration by Time magazine that the show contained "the most exciting hard rock score written for the theatre since, oh, ever."

Rolling Stone added, "In the long, sorry history of rock musicals, ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch' is the first one that truly rocks." The New York Times agreed: "‘Hedwig' brings theatre alive with the pounding sounds of rock and the funny-sad voicing of a painful past."

Reviewers have described Colbert's recent performances as riveting, witty, thought-provoking, charismatic and "gender-bending, mind-blowing perfection.'

"Colbert gives a fully engaged and endearing performance as Hedwig," wrote David Hiltbrand of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Added Susan Rife of the Sarasota, Fla., Herald-Tribune: "The whole cast is outstanding. Colbert, in black leather platform boots and a divinely hideous blonde wig, is mesmerizing."

Colbert's performance as Hedwig earned him the 2004 Barrymore Award for outstanding lead in a musical from the Greater Philadelphia Theatre Alliance, as well as two "best of Philadelphia" citations from the Philadelphia City Paper.

DeLuca, in her own cross-gender role as Yitzhak, has drawn praise in her own right in the lesser part.

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LexArts is Central Kentucky's premier cultural development, advocacy and fund-raising organization. Its programs provide the resources necessary to ensure high quality arts and cultural offerings for residents and visitors, enhancing the quality of life in the region.

As both the area arts council and arts fund, LexArts provides a wide range of programs and services designed to integrate the arts into our daily lives, including Best of the Bluegrass, Dynamic Doors, Gallery Hop, ArtScene and Weekend for the Arts.
LexArts was formed in July 1989 by the merger of the Lexington Council of the Arts (founded in 1972) and the Fund for the Arts (founded in 1984). LexArts services arts organizations, artists, and educational institutions. Visit LexArts online at www.lexarts.org.

CONTACT: Travis Robinson
LexArts
255-2951

Official Website: http://www.lexarts.org/box_office.php