Digital subscriptions provided by the City of Gulfport THE GABBER.COM No. 2866
May 23, 2024- May 29, 2024
Rock Hard Diva The title character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch goes on one helluva journey. Any company that chooses to stage this cult-favorite 1998 rock musical better have an actor who can go from inexperienced young Hansel to ravaged rock diva Hedwig and embody a range of other characters besides. He also has to be able to sing, move and dazzle in every style from pop to punk. American Stage’s Hedwig I’m happy to report that American Stage’s Hedwig has just such an actor in Matthew McGloin. I have seen Hedwigs that went for in-your-face flash and trash from the start, with little emotional distance left to go. But McGloin’s approach is multi-dimensional, evolving from an almost matter-of-fact presence into a protean character alive with rage and outrageousness, hatred, and love. And boy, can he sing, equally effective on balls-out rockers like “Tear Me Down” and quieter, more introspective numbers like the bittersweet “Wicked Little Town.” I forgot how much variety there was in Stephen Trask’s score. Each song,
AMERICAN STAGE
By David Warner
In American Stage’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Matthew McGloin plays Hedwig.
whether tender or defiant, serves as a number in Hedwig’s club act, a chapter in her autobiography, and a challenge to the walls that divide countries and genders. The Berlin Wall is central to Hedwig’s autobiography. Née Hansel Schmidt, he lives with his mother in 1970s East Berlin, a 20-something “girlyboy” obsessed with Western NEW OFFICE 5217 Gulfport Blvd
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pop. When an American serviceman, Luther, becomes infatuated with him, Hansel’s mother sets him up with a sex change operation and a passport under her name, Hedwig, so that he can leave for the West. But the operation is botched, leaving him with only the titular angry inch. A move with Luther to Junction City, Kansas Hedwig continued on page 17
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