Hedwig and The Angry Inch will be presented as a Halloween benefit at the York Theatre Company (at St. Peter's, 619 Lexington Avenue, entrance on 54th Street) on Monday, October 31st at 9 PM. Proceeds will go to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Presented by GoFigure Productions in
association with Delaware City Theater Company and through the
generosity of The York Theatre Company, the show will star Barrymore Award-winning actor David Colbert in the title role.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch will be Colbert's first performance in New York. Hehas premiered the role in three
states and garnered several theatrical awards for his regional
performances, including the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Lead Actor
in a Musical 2004 for his performance with City Theater Company. City
Theater Company's Delaware premiere of Hedwig (directed by
Michael Gray and musical director, Joe Trainor) "blasted onto the stage
of the Baby Grand Theater in October/November, 2003. As Hedwig, David
Colbert brought audiences to their feet with his impassioned portrayal
of the German-born rocker who survived a botched sex-change operation
to become an over-the-top rock diva in the spirit of Freddie Mercury
with Farrah Fawcett tresses," according to press notes.Hedwig and the Angry Inch, written by original star John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask,
tells the story of an "'internationally ignored' rock singer, Hedwig,
and her search for love and stardom. Born a boy named Hansel whose
life's dream is to find his other half, Hedwig reluctantly submits to a
sex change operation in order to marry an American G.I. and get over
the Berlin Wall to freedom. The operation is botched, leaving her with
the aforementioned 'angry inch.' Finding herself high, dry and divorced
in a Kansas trailer park, she pushes on to form a rock band and
encounters a lover/protégé in young Tommy Gnosis, who eventually leaves
her, steals her songs and becomes a huge rock star. Hedwig presents an
absorbing narrative of Plato's Symposium and the fierce battle of self
acceptance with love found, lost and found again, supported by the
blistering, punk-fueled rock of the fictional Eastern European band,
The Angry Inch."
The benefit's cast will include David Colbert (as Hedwig and Tommy Gnosis) and Petra DeLuca (as Yitzahk) with The Angry Inch band comprised of Joe Trainor (Skszp on keyboards), Chris Gordon (Krzyzhtof on lead guitar), Joe Testa (Schlepkyk on rhythm guitar), Kevin Niemi (Jakek on bass), and Sam Williamson (Schlatko on drums). The show will be directed by Michael Gray, and feature musical direction by Trainor, lighting by Rick Neidig, sound by Steve Manocchio, multimedia design by Kevin Regan and Joel Rickenbach, and costumes and make-up design by Colbert and DeLuca.Tickets, which are $50.00, are available through SmartTix: (212) 868-4444 or www.SmartTix.comFor more information, visit www.broadwaycares.org or www.yorktheatre.org.