HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Announces Charitable Partnership with Hetrick-Martin Institute

Today, the producers of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, which begins previews on Saturday, March 29 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street), announced a long-term charitable partnership with Hetrick-Martin Institute, the nation's oldest and largest organization helping gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth to reach their full potential.

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH will donate a portion of the ticket price from each Broadway ticket sold to Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), which is the home of Harvey Milk High School, a New York City public transfer school where some of the city's most at-risk youth can learn without the threat of physical violence and emotional harm they faced in a traditional educational environment. The partnership will also utilize the resources of the production, including representatives from the show meeting with young people in an educational and mentoring capacity, and additional fundraising support. Additional aspects of this charitable initiative will be announced in the coming weeks.

In a statement, producer David Binder said, "Hetrick-Martin Institute has always been a part of HEDWIG's DNA and I'm thrilled HMI is able to join Hedwig on her journey to Broadway. Our cast, creative team, and my fellow producers have been overwhelming in their support of this initiative benefiting this inspiring and incredibly important organization."

Hetrick-Martin Institute CEO Thomas Krever said, "HMI is deeply grateful to Neil Patrick Harris and the entire HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH production team for partnering with HMI to help us provide life-changing programs to LGBTQ youth. HEDWIG's message of being proud of who you are resonates deeply with the thousands of youth we serve each year."

Ticket buyers interested in learning more about Hetrick-Martin Institute can visit www.HedwigBroadway.com/hmi or www.HMI.org

The relationship between HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH and Hetrick-Martin Institute began in 2003 with the tribute album Wig In A Box: Songs From and Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch which benefited Hetrick-Martin and 2006's Follow My Voice, a documentary film on the Harvey Milk High School and the making of the Wig in a Box album.

Previews start Saturday, March 29 at 8 PM for Neil Patrick Harris' return to Broadway in the new production of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, the musical with book by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, directed by Michael Mayer. The limited engagement, featuring Lena Hall (Kinky Boots, lead singer of The Deafening). HEDWIG will open Tuesday, April 22 at the Belasco Theatre(111 West 44th Street).

"Internationally ignored song stylist" Hedwig Robinson (Neil Patrick Harris) brings her fourth-wall-smashing rock and roll saga to New York to set the record straight about her life, her loves, and the botched operation that left her with that "angry inch."

HEDWIG is Harris' first appearance on Broadway since he starred as The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in the 2004 Tony-winning revival of Assassins. His other Broadway credits include Proof and Cabaret. He just completed production for the final season of the beloved CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother" and has been honored with four Emmy Awards: three for his acclaimed hosting of the Tony Awards and another for his guest-starring role on "Glee." His upcoming film projects include Fox's Gone Girl, Universal's A Million Ways to Die in the West, and Disney/Pixar's The Good Dinosaur.

HEDWIG has inspired a generation of young theatre writers and audiences. This wickedly funny and heartbreaking show was called "the Best Rock Musical Ever" by Rolling Stone and "the most exciting rock score written for the theatre since, oh, ever," by Time Magazine.

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH was originally produced by David Binder off off Broadway at Westbeth and then, under the direction of Peter Askin, ran over two years at the Jane Street Theatre beginning in February 1998. The musical won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical and both John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask won Obies in 2001. It won a 1998 New York Magazine Award and Entertainment Weekly's "Soundtrack of the Year" Award. Time Magazine named HEDWIG the Top Musical of 1998.

The film of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, directed by John Cameron Mitchell, won the Audience Award and Best Director Awards at Sundance. Mitchell won the Best New Director from the National Board of Review, the Gotham Awards, and the LA Critics Society. Stage productions have played for many years in Japan and in 2008, Korea hosted a popular televised reality show about the search for a new star to play Hedwig.

The creative team for HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH features Emmy Award nominee Spencer Liff (musical staging), Drama Desk Award winner Julian Crouch (scenic design), two-time Oscar nominee Arianne Phillips (costume design), three-time Tony Award winner Kevin Adams (lighting design), Mike Potter (hair and makeup design), platinum-selling record producer Timothy O'Heir (sound design), Benjamin Pearcy for 59 Productions (projection design), James Calleri (casting), Tony and Grammy Award nominee Ethan Popp (music supervisor & music coordinator), Justin Craig (music director), Liz Caplan (vocal supervision), and Stephen Gabis (dialect coach).

The members of "The Angry Inch," Hedwig's band - his "ambassadors of Eastern Bloc rock" - will be music director Justin Craig (guitar and keyboards), Matt Duncan (bass), Tim Mislock (guitar), and Peter Yanowitz (drums).

David Binder, who first produced HEDWIG in 1997, is producing the musical on Broadway with Jayne Baron Sherman, Barbara Whitman, Latitude Link, Patrick Catullo,Raise The Roof, Paula Marie Black, Colin Callender, Ruth Hendel, Sharon Karmazin, Martian Entertainment, Stacey Mindich, Eric Schnall, and The Shubert Organization.101 Productions, Ltd are the executive producers.