While other How I Met Your Mother fans were glued to their TV sets watching the highly-anticipated series finale, I sat in the balcony of the Belasco Theatre watching Neil Patrick Harris strut around and gyrate in high heeled boots to Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell’s beloved musical comedy “Hedwig and The Angry Inch.” Long story short Neil Patrick Harris is a revelation; he completely embodies the transgendered “internationally ignored song stylist” from East Berlin.
Those were big shoes to fill considering that John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig is beloved and the film adaptation has a cult following. When I first heard that “Hedwig and The Angry Inch” was going to be revived I was ecstatic to finally get a chance to see it live. I had seen the film numerous times as a theatre major during my years as an undergrad. When I found out that Neil Patrick Harris was going to star as Hedwig I knew that it would be a must see event.
In between musical numbers Hedwig recounts his immigration to the states and his botched sex change operation with humorous anecdotes and updated references that fit in nicely with today’s rapidly changing pop culture, further proving that John Cameron Mitchell is a comedic genius and the character of Hedwig is still relevant and has a place in 2014.
Neil’s portrayal is compelling, funny and raw. It is all that Hedwig fans can hope it’d be and more. If you weren’t aware of Hedwig before there’s no escaping her now, “enemies and adversaries” just try and tear her down.
Hedwig and The Angry Inch stars: Neil Patrick Harris in the titular role and Lena Hall as Yitzhak. The show will officially open on Broadway on April 22.