BWW Reviews: Ryan Bowie Dazzles in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH

Let's be clear from the very start: Ryan Bowie gives a tour de force performance as the leading "lady" in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, now playing in theotherspace at the Roxy Regional Theatre in Clarksville for only three more performances through Tuesday, November 18. In other words: you better get your ass in gear and get to the Roxy for what is certainly one of the year's most unforgettable performances. You can thank me later.

Throughout his career at the Roxy, Bowie has shown the breadth of his versatility and the depth of his talents in a wide variety of stage roles (including notable turns in Spring Awakening, The Rocky Horror Show, The Wedding Singer, The Civil War, The Sound of Music, Happy Days-The Musical and a host of other equally disparate shows) and so it comes as absolutely no surprise that he is quite simply brilliant as the East German transgender Hedwig.

Delivering what is essentially an extended monologue, interspersed with songs that reflect the character's experiences, replete with her dogged determination to achieve the same stardom as her rock idols-Debby Boone, for example (make of that what you will)-Bowie gets to tell the story of Hedwig's long-lost love and tabloid press favorite Tommy Gnosis (who's performing nearby) and the circumstances that have created her new American persona and that "angry inch" that perfectly exemplifies her travails in the good ol' US of A. It's a fast-moving, topsy-turvy world of fanciful wigs and costumes (would you expect anything less of a transgender performer who loves Cher and Tina Turner, I ask you?), uproariously funny incidents and deeply heartfelt and emotional moments that can turn on a dime.

In short, Hedwig packs a lot into its one act (about 90 minutes running time), and if the show is to work, it's essential that its protagonist be many things: sympathetic, profane, ribald, heartbreaking, offensive, tantalizing and brutally honest and unapologetically in-your-face. Bowie, in a performance that would be career-making if he hadn't already proven himself equal to any theatrical challenge already, delivers all that and more. With his impeccable sense of timing and a ferocious approach that takes no prisoners and gives audiences a lot to process, Bowie succeeds on all levels. In other words, that show-ending standing ovation is richly deserved (even if the theater critic in the audience remained seated-it's just what we do-in fact, it's part of Theater Criticism 101, just so's you know).

Speaking of impeccable timing, opening night for the Clarksville run fell 25 years and a day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which provides a historical backdrop for this sociological, mythological and psychological musical. Based, in part, on the early life of writer (and original Hedwig) John Cameron Mitchell and with music by Stephen Trask that evokes a milieu of popular musical styles of the 1970s and '80s, Hedwig and the Angry Inch may make audiences feel slightly uncomfortable at times (though it's more likely because they don't get the "in jokes" that set this version squarely in Montgomery County), but the creators' genuine affection for their character is obvious throughout. As a result, you can't help but fall a little bit in love with Hedwig just as you've been a little bit in love with every character Bowie's ever played onstage.

While most of the play's success rests on Bowie's shoulders, he is given impressive support by Elena Pascullo as Yitzhak, Hedwig's put-upon former drag queen lover. Pascullo provides expert backing vocals to Bowie's leads and her carriage and demeanor ideally capture her character's seeming lack of self-worth and the drudgery of life on the sidelines. Yet her Yitzhak is somehow lovable despite a relative lack of much to do (or so you'd think).

Trask's superb score is performed with zeal by the quartet of stoic-faced musicians onstage with Bowie and Pascullo throughout the play's action, including director/music director Tom Thayer, guitarist Jarrod Jackson, bassist John Waddle and drummer Thad Wallus.

Coming up, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is performed at 7 p.m. each evening on Tuesday, November 11 and 18, and on Monday, November 17. The Roxy's theotherspace is located in the former African-American balcony of the ancient movie house that is home to the theater company and is three-and-a-half flights up from street level. Doors open just five minutes before showtime (so you can expect a frenzied pursuit of the perfect seat in that time frame), so hang out in the theater lobby beforehand and be sure to pee before you go upstairs for this particularly beguiling show. You can thank me for that later, as well.

• Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Text by John Cameron Mitchell. Music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. Directed by Tom Thayer. Presented by The Roxy Regional Theatre, 101 Franklin Street, Clarksville. Through November 18. For ticket information, call (931) 645-7699.

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