Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig is the victim of a bungled sex-change operation, a gay immigrant from Berlin who reinvents himself as a rock ‘n’ roll drag queen. The Angry Inch is both Hedwig’s band and, er, what she has left after the operation. Does this sound like your idea of a hit show? If not, you might be surprised to learn that Outward Spiral Theatre, which is producing the Twin Cities premiere of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, has already had to extend its run twice. Audiences, straight as well as bent, haven’t merely accepted this show–they’ve embraced it. And the reasons for its success aren’t really that hard to understand. Hedwig is a solidly crafted piece of theater based on a remarkably simple concept: It’s a stage musical in the form of a small-club rock concert, using autobiographical songs and between-song patter to develop the main character and tell her story. In the title role, Jason S. Little incarnates that icon of gay culture, the diva who suffers as brilliantly as she sings; he gives us not only the over-the-top artifice that the character wears like a suit of armor, but also the nakedly vulnerable interior. It’s a fine performance and an enjoyably twisted evening of musical theater. Loring Playhouse, (612) 486-5757