Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Extraordinary!!!

Photo. Gladstone

Let’s cut to the chase: Tim Oberholzer as Hedwig, the title character in the rock opera about a transgendered person whose life and sex change surgery have both gone horribly wrong, is nothing short of extraordinary.

Hard to say what deep well of inspiration Oberholzer pulled this performance from, but he’s a joy to watch as he gives us a big-wigged, drama queen Hedwig who is, in one fell swoop, angry, hurt, curiously hopeful, cynical and one heck of a singer with all the rock star moves.

The show, with a book by a John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, takes us through the period before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wall is a metaphor, of course, for such things as Hedwig’s own internal divisions, the barriers between people, and pretty much anything you care to imagine. Walls eventually fall geographically and emotionally, and a kind of reunification – Hedwig’s lifelong goal – takes place.

Oberholzer is joined on stage by an energetic four-piece band including Stewart Matthews who both plays lead guitar and directs this tautly executed show. The powerfully voiced Rebecca Noelle of Ottawa’s the Peptides has a secondary role as Hedwig’s ultra-hip sidekick Yitzak.

The musicians are frequently too loud, drowning out the lyrics which are integral to the storyline. That, fortunately, is easily remedied.  The production has a very short run, ending April 5. It deserves a reprise – soon.