"Shows like this don't come along very often, and I will always be very proud to have been associated with such an incredible piece of theatre. Maybe someday, someone will realize that a show's worth is not to be measured in the amount of money it makes, or even in the number of people who come to see it, but in how deeply it can affect those it touches, and how much of that indefinable something that its audience takes away with them, never to be forgotten.
I hope that day comes soon."

Synopsis
Hedwig and the angry inch, is a show unlike any other. It is not your typical West End Musical. It would be hard to truly define the kind of show that is "Hedwig," but the label that seems to come closest, is that of "Rock Cabaret."

It would also be almost impossible to synopsize this piece of theatre fully, jam-packed with complexities as it is, but a nutshell version follows here.

We meet Hedwig, during the opening night performance of her "Unlimited London Run," at the Playhouse Theatre on the Embankment.
Self-billed as "The Internationally Ignored Songstylist," she bombards us with a dazzling array of great rock tunes, while imparting to us, the history that has brought us to the stage as we see her.

Hedwig takes us on the journey of her childhood, introducing us to all the people who have touched her life along the way.
Hedwig was born a boy, Hansel, in East Berlin. The young Hansel spent his childhood behind the Berlin Wall, in a tiny one bedroomed appartment, which he shared with his selfish, tyrannical mother.
Most of his youth was spent looking for his "Other half" as described to him in a bedtime story. His search leads him down the road of reluctant transexualism - He is forced to have a sex change, in order to marry the American GI who promises to whisk him away from this impoverished life.

Unfortunately, the operation goes badly wrong, and leaves the newly-named Hedwig horribly mutilated.
Hedwig meets the now-famous Tommy Gnosis, Rock Star extraordinaire, as a young boy, and believes that he is "The One" that she has been looking for.
She sets about teaching him all she knows about music, and their career together begins to flourish.
Sadly, their relationship is doomed to failure, and Tommy goes on to bigger and better things, leaving Hedwig behind, bitter, and alone.

Hedwig is a woman who will live in the memories of all who get to know her, for a very long time to come.

Cast Details Michael Cerveris - Hedwig Elizabeth Marsh - Yitzak Nathan Taylor - Hedwig (At certain performances) Helen York - Yitzak (Understudy) Joe Pecorino - Skshp (Keys/Guitar - 8th Sept-6th Oct) Julian Littman - Skshp (Keys/Guitar - From 8th Oct) Chris Jago - Schlatko (Drums) Mark Kulke - Krzyztof (Guitar) David Ledden - Jacek (Bass)

Photographs Nathan as Hedwig | Other Hedwig Photos | Constructing the Hedwig Make Up These photographs were taken during Nathan's final performance of Hedwig, in October 2000. They are shown here with kind permission from Davide Sahner. Click on the thumbnails above to view the pictures. This picture comes from the opening number of the show, "Tear Me Down," where the audience are first introduced to the colourful character of Hedwig. At the beginning of the song "Sugar Daddy," Hedwig breathes in the taste of her power over the American soldier, Luther, who would soon become her husband. Taken during the song "Sugar Daddy," this picture show Hedwig at perhaps her most playful, flirting with Luther, and the audience through the medium of sweets and candy. The song "Wicked Little Town" was a welcome moment of tranquility for Nathan, in an evening of mayhem. This torch-style song is where Hedwig first reaches out to the love of her life, the young Tommy Gnosis. Another shot from "Wicked Little Town," where Hedwig actually appears to soften, and become misty-eyed as she recalls the beginnings of her love affair. This selection of photographs were mostly taken backstage during the show's short run in London. Click on the thumbnails above to view the pictures. Helen York and Liz Marsh, both in costume as Hedwig's husband, Yitzak. This rare occasion to phototgraph them both together in costume presented itself, and seemed too good an opportunity to miss! Here's Liz again, as Yitzak, taken immediately backstage, during the dress rehearsal for the show. Michael Cerveris as Hedwig, in a mad moment just before the show, as he left his dressing room, and made his way to the stage. Here are the boys who made up the Angry Inch. From left to right: David Ledden (Bass), Chris Jago (Drums), Julian Littman (Guitar, Piano) and Mark Kulke (Guitar). This photograph was taken onstage, just before the curtain went up. Here's David Ledden, normally seen playing the bass guitar, but here practicing the drums! Here you can see the cast of Hedwig rehearsing the David Bowie classic track, Heroes, which they all performed after the final performance, as a defiant encore. Here are the boys in the band again, this time posing with Helen York in costume as Yitzak. This photograph was taken during "Midnight Radio," the last song in the show, on the very last night of the London run. As can be clearly seen, the audience were totally transported by the performance, and by Hedwig's story. It is hard to see, from their reaction, how anyone could call the show unsuccessful. This set of photographs chronicles how the two-hour make-up job to turn Nathan into Hedwig took place. Click on the thumbnails above to view the pictures. The first stage included gluing down the eyebrows, and packing them with powder, to make a smooth surface in order to cover with the base. The pale foundation came next, then the carefully stencilled eyebrows, to really start the transformation. The next job was putting in the red and blue eyeshadows. The original make-up design was by Mike Potter, for the Broadway show. Mike also came to the UK, to give instructions on how to recreate Hedwig exactly as she should be. Then came the lips. The line of the lips is exaggerated, to give a fuller look to the mouth, and of course, it wasn't as simple as just putting on one colour - the lips are black around the outside, blending to blood-red. This was as far as Nathan was able to go on his own. Much of the rest of the look required having his eyes shut, so a bit of help was needed! This stage was all about glitter! A special letex and glitter solution was applied to all the coloured parts of the face, to really give a decadent, and slightly whacky effect to the finished look. After the glitter, came the blusher. These harsh strips of colour really leant a harsh, angular aspect to Hedwig's face, and with more glitter on the top, were really effective. Hedwig's wig was actually made up of two seperate wigs that were brushed and set together to achieve the finished look. This is the first of the two, and stayed on Nathan's shaved head because it was attached to a large rubber band that was stretched around his head before the wig was put on. This rather odd shot shows Nathan being taped into his ear monitor. The music in the show was so loud, that Nathan wore an earpiece that allowed him to hear his own voice wherever he was on the stage. The wire down Nathan's back led to the battery pack, and the large strips of black tape were actually part of the costume design (as well as being practical) to assist the "All Sewn Up" look during the song "Exquisite Corpse." Here you can see Nathan putting in the beef tomatoes that were Hedwig's breasts. They stayed in place right until near the end of the show, during Hedwig's breakdown at the end of "Exquisite Corpse," during which they were removed and crushed against Nathan's body, all in a strobing light effect that made a very uncomfortable spectacle for the audience. Because of the "One-Woman" nature of the show, Nathan was never offstage, which meant that any costume changes had to be in full view of the audience. Therefore, all of the costume looks were layered up in reverse order from the top of the show. This denim frock sat over the top of the later "Black-shorts" look, and was ripped off at the end of "Wig In A Box." Then it was time for the final part of the wig. It was extraordinarily heavy! The fringe of the first wig was brushed and style into the curls of the second wig, to create one finished look. The finishing touch to the entire costume is the enormous cloak, worn during the opening number, "Tear Me Down." Two lengths of wood down the side allowed Nathan to hold the entire cloak up to reveal the words painted on it, like a section of the Berlin wall: "Yankee Go Home! (With Me!)" Two hours after starting to get ready, Nathan is fianlly all dressed and about to set off for the stage.