hedwig at the signature theater, April 13
signature theater is a comparitively small “alternative” space in the virgina suburbs of washington dc that has been acquiring a reputation for innovative productions with a lot of imagination and fair production. the director of this production of hedwig, eric schaeffer, has been especially noted in the local press as a very creative, energetic member of the local arts community.
contrary to expectations, the rocky-horror-like lineup of hedheads never materialized. in fact, the majority of the audience – (mostly) straight white middle aged professionals with expendable income and that obvious “patron of the arts” look – had no idea what they really were in for, and i suspect were drawn to the play by its general reputation as “daring!” “edgy!” “titillating!” as much as anything else. as far as i could tell, the only identifiable fans in attendane were young college girls of indeterminate (but probably theoretical) sexuality. why this would be so continues to baffle me.
the set for this instance of the show was a much more interpretive than literal. it was most certainly not a branch of bilgewater’s, and in fact suggested more of a cross between the cavernous, grotto-like clubs of berlin and something to do with castle (or berlin) walls. the walkway that hedwig used to cross to backstage, where the door leading out to tommy gnosis’ performances is placed, was actually a drawbridge, and the moat that it spanned was explicitly signified by low-lying, cool blue lights. workable and unobtrusive as this set was, it was clearly a departure from the playwright’s (and even the local director’s) intention that the play be set in its own space, in the locale of its presentation.
the “carwash” seat, sad to say, isn’t a carwash. between the stage and the main seating risers is a small floor area of cafe tables with tiny lamps, surrounded by simple (and flimsy) chairs, rendering the carwash move pretty much impossible. in this production we must settle for a lap dance/dry hump, presented i imagine to the straightest-looking male in that section on any given night.
rick hammerly as hedwig is not beautiful, but he is impressive, affecting and at times intense. he lacks the birdboned build of cameron mitchell, and thus some of the womanish grace that mitchell brought to the part, but he is nonetheless a very engaging performer. his voice is both much smoother and a bit deeper than mitchell’s, and the director has made the proper decision to allow hammerly to sing in his own register and tone. for all these reasons, hammerly is simply not as believable as a transexual or even an accomplished drag queen, which to my mind more properly renders the story, although it in some ways also makes it less touching for me personally. in any case, hammerly energizes the part, using a very small stage area to great effect, and i found myself still responding to the more emotionally charged parts of the show, even though i am already quite familiar with it. the moment where hedwig cries into the audience, “love the front of me!” caught me and my companions up, and we all heard each other choking back our breaths a little.
i particularly enjoyed yitzhak in this performance. lynn filusch does a lot with an essentially non-speaking part, and is a serious participant in the musical segments, rocking out both backstage and sometimes up front, especialy during “angry inch.” and of course she makes a fabulous “drag queen” at the finale.
the band… rocked. pure and simple. good sound, too… well produced, with enough power to enevelope the audience, but still fully intelligible. if only DC clubs were dj’ed as well.
one notable feature of this production was that, by virtue of a few added lines and a lot of body language, a few of the play’s infamous ambiguities are resolved (whether this in itself a good thing or not is another discussion entirely). first of all, it is made clear that hansel’s father did in fact abuse him. second, hedwig explicitly sees tommy as her other half. this second point, along with the mirror gambit as used both in the film and on stage, reinforces for me the interpretation of tommy *as* hedwig, a created self who holds the knowledge (gnosis) that hansel lost in his trauma.
the other understanding that was reinforced by finally seeing this show live was how completely it breaks down (in terms of plot) in the last third/quarter. after tommy’s betrayal, at the end of hedwig’s monologues and flashbacks, rather than returning to the presumptive “present” (after the car crash that brings hedwig to national attention), the play becomes a purely conceptual musical, displaying hedwig’s breakdown and reintegration in a suggestively sketchy shorthand of increasingly anthemic rock tunes.
i will, by all means, be seeing this again while it plays here. none of what i have written here passed through my mind while i was watching it. i was completely engaged, sometimes enthralled, and highly entertained. having now enjoyed this story in at least 4 media, i love it more than ever.