Drew Staniland as Hedwig

Get Some Hed

Everyone’s favourite East-German transgendered rocker hits Victoria

Confession: other than catching a couple scenes from the movie and hearing snippets of songs, I’ve never heard the soundtrack for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s 1998 musical, nor seen the subsequent 2000 film—something that could be considered a near sin in my circle of friends. But that didn’t matter when I caught Friday’s opening-night performance of Hedwig at the Victoria Even Centre, as Gabriola Island’s Darklylit Productions has staged a show that’s a rollick for newcomers and fans alike.

Based on the musical, this production invites us into a cabaret-style performance by Hedwig—a transgendered rock singer from East Germany—and her backing band, the Angry Inch. As soon as Hedwig takes the stage, has a sip of her Grower’s cider and thanks the crowd for giving her “A warm hand on my opening,” she launches into her tale of woe: her sad childhood in East Berlin and subsequent escape, her botched sex change, her search for unrequited love and the betrayal she has experienced. The songs, ranging from slower ballads (“Wig in a Box”) to full-blown punk rock (“The Angry Inch”) punctuate Hedwig’s monologue.

Drew Staniland does a fabulous job in the lead role: his Hedwig can seamlessly transition from lonely and heartbroken to campy showboat in the blink of an eye, and he’s got a pretty decent voice, too—not to mention the ability to rock a super-short black dress with more confidence than I could ever muster. The band is not to be overlooked, either: Antonio Gradanti, Brad Shipley, Ode Howard and Luke Nixon, decked out in glam-punk gear, are solid, and even get a chance to show off a little bit with a cover of “Rockin’ in the Free World” after intermission. And Kathy McIntyre as Yitzak, Hedwig’s bandmate and spouse, is a great foil and has a pretty skookum set of pipes, which we get to hear in the second act.

The Event Centre is the perfect spot for this show, as it already has a loungey, cabaret-like atmosphere. (My only suggestion would be to have more seating around tables, a la Atomic Vaudeville, instead of a mixture of small tables and rows of chairs.) The show also used some great visual projections near the beginning of things like childhood drawings and archival photos of East Berlin, but that all but disappeared later on in the show. That’s mostly nit-picking though, as this was a great production. Sometimes campy, sometimes tragic, but always enjoyable, Hedwig is a guaranteed good time.