HEDWIG National Tour Kicks Off in Darren Criss's Hometown This Sunday

A friendly reminder! Darren Criss and Lena Hall will launch the highly anticipated National Tour of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the 2014 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival, reprising their critically-acclaimed performances at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco (October 2-30) and the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles (November 1-27).

As Bay Area natives, Darren Criss and Lena Hall are thrilled to open the tour in front of hometown audiences and then bring the show to Hollywood. Criss explained, "When I found out that the tour would be kicking off in my hometown of San Francisco - the city where I was introduced to Hedwig & The Angry Inch - I could think of no better excuse to get back into the heels of a character I loved and missed so very much. And since Los Angeles has become a second home for me, I relished the idea of seeing what kind of fun Hedwig would bring to the heart of Hollywood!"

Hall offered a similar sentiment: "Not only will I get to share the stage with my fellow San Francisco native and friend Darren Criss; but I will also get a chance to begin my own journey as the glam rock heroine Hedwig. To tell her story in my hometown and in Los Angeles is the greatest homecoming I can think of, and I am looking forward to sharing this journey with my friends, family and Hedheads."

The members of Hedwig's band "The Angry Inch" -- aka "Tits of Clay" - will be music director Justin Craig (guitar and keyboards), Matt Duncan (bass), Tim Mislock (guitar), and Peter Yanowitz (drums), all of whom originated their roles on Broadway.

Rounding out the company are Mason Alexander Park (Standby for Hedwig), Shannon Conley (Standby for Yitzhak), Dylan Fusillo (Standby for Schlatko) and Matt Katz-Bohen (Standby for Skszp, Jacekand Krzyzhtoff).

Casting for Hedwig and the Angry Inch following the San Francisco and Los Angeles engagements will be announced soon, as the National Tour will continue to play cities across North America.

Brilliantly innovative, heartbreaking, and wickedly funny, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the landmark musical by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask that is "groundbreaking and undoubtedly ahead of its time" (Entertainment Weekly). This genre-bending, fourth-wall-smashing musical sensation, with a pulsing score and electrifying performances, tells the story of one of the most unique characters to ever hit the stage. "Internationally ignored song stylist" Hedwig Robinson is out to set the record straight about her life, her loves, and the botched operation that left her with that "angry inch."

Directed by Tony Award-winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) and winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, Hedwig and the Angry Inch played to record-breaking sell-out crowds on Broadway and promises to take North America by storm with what Time Magazine proclaims is "the most exciting rock score written for the theatre since, oh, ever!

David Binder, who first produced Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 1997, and the Tony Award-winning Broadway production, is producing the National Tour with Barbara Whitman, Paula Marie Black, Latitude Link, Raise the Roof, Ah, Broadway, Ruth Hendel, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Sharon Karmazin, Heni Koenigsberg, Stacey Mindich, Eric Schnall, Jayne Baron Sherman, Cassandra DovEd Simon, Starry Night Entertainment and The Shubert Organization. 101 Productions, Ltd are the executive producers.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch was originally produced 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), Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Julian Crouch (scenic design), Tony Award and two-time Oscar nominee AriAnne Phillips (costume design), four-time Tony Award winner Kevin Adams (lighting design), Mike Potter (hair and makeup design), Tony Award nominee and platinum-selling record producer Tim O'Heir (sound design), Benjamin Pearcy for 59 Productions (projection design), John Bair/Phosphene (animation), James Calleri (casting), Tony and Grammy Award nominee Ethan Popp (music supervisor & music coordinator), Justin Craig (music director), Stephen Gabis (dialect coach) and Johanna McKeon (associate director).

The Tony Award-winning, record-breaking production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch ran for over 500 performances at the Belasco Theatre.

The Grammy nominated Original Broadway Cast Album for Hedwig and the Angry Inch is available from Atlantic Records.

**Note: Lena Hall will appear as Hedwig, and Shannon Conley will appear as Yitzhak, at the following performances:

San Francisco, Sunday, October 9 at 7:00 pm, Wednesday, October 12 at 8:00 pm, Wednesday, October 19 at 8:00 pm, and Wednesday, October 26 at 8:00 pm.

Los Angeles, Sunday, November 6 at 6:30 pm, Sunday, November 13 at 6:30 pm, Sunday, November 20 at 6:30 pm, and Friday, November 25 at 8:00 pm.

For more information, visit www.HedwigTour.com.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Darren Criss (Hedwig). Actor, musician and Emmy-nominated composer, Darren Criss, most recently appeared on the Emmy award-winning FX series "American Horror Story." Prior to his rave-reviewed role as Hedwig, he starred on Broadway as J. Pierrepont Finch in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. It was recently announced that he will star as Prince Eric in a limited engagement of The Little Mermaid at the Hollywood Bowl this June. Criss is best known for his breakout role as Blaine Anderson on FOX's Emmy and Golden Globe Award?winning series "Glee." The San Francisco-native is a co-founder of StarKid Productions, a Chicago-based theatre company whose works have spurred viral hits, multiple Billboard charting cast albums, and sold-out national tours. He is the founder of the New York City's first showtunes music festival, Elsie Fest. His additional film, TV and stage credits include Girl Most Likely opposite Kristen Wiig and Annette Bening, The Wind Rises, "Web Therapy," ABC's "Backstage with Disney on Broadway," "Michael Feinstein's New Year's Eve Special" on PBS as well as hosting duties for the NewNowNext Awards and Teen Choice Awards.

Lena Hall (Yitzhak/Hedwig). Tony Winner and Grammy nominee Lena Hall just completed touring the US and Canada with Josh Groban on the Stages tour and ended her critically acclaimed run starring as Yitzhak in the hit Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch for which she won the 2014 Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical. Prior to Hedwig, she starred as Nicola in the Tony Award winning musical Kinky Boots. Lena sold out her solo shows at the legendary Café Carlyle, Feinstein's / 54 Below and Feinstein's San Francisco and her live album "Sin & Salvation: Live At the Carlyle" can be found on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, et al. Previous Broadway and Off-Broadway roles include starring in the award-winning Toxic Avenger at New World Stages, Tarzan (Original Cast), Dracula (Original Cast), 42nd Street (Anytime Annie), Cats (Demeter), Beg Bugs (NYMF) and Green Eyes (Fringe). TV and film roles include guest roles on HBO's "Girls," "Good Girls Revolt" (Amazon Prime), and "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic." Born and raised in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury, Lena Hall traveled the world as a young performer, receiving her first big break singing for Pope John Paul II at Candlestick Stadium for over 50,000 people at the age of 7. As a teenager Hall was a member of the Young People's Teen Musical Theatre Company in San Francisco and eventually joined the national tour of Cats. Lena currently resides in New York City.

Mason Alexander Park (Hedwig Standby) is thrilled to work on his dream show with such an incredible team. Theater: Altar Boyz (Mark), The Drowsy Chaperone (Man in Chair), Rocky Horror (Frank N. Furter), Mary Poppins (first countertenor to play Miss Andrew). TV/film: "iCarly," "Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures," (Nickelodeon) "Broadway or Bust," "Becoming an Artist" (PBS). masonapark.com.

Shannon Conley (Yitzhak Standby). Broadway: Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Lead singer of the all-female rock band Lez Zeppelin (lezzeppelin.com). Voice of several cartoon characters on "Pokémon," "X-Men," Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Star Kidz network. On-camera roles include "L&O: SVU," "A.B.E.," "Fugue" and the "Downsized" webseries. More info and heartfelt thank yous at shannonconley.com.