c2c theatre presents: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
 Funded Under: The Professional Project Grants Program
Amount Funded: $6,000
Don’t miss the story of Hedwig: from her humble beginnings as a young boy born on the wrong side of the wall, to her reincarnation as an internationally ignored songstress.
Text by: John Cameron Mitchell
Music and lyrics by: Stephen Trask
Directed by: Charlie Tomlinson
Featuring: Brad Hodder, Janet Cull, Michael Arbou, Phil Churchill, Matt Hender, and George Robertson
Dates and Times: November 19 (8:30 p.m. with special guests Kujo) and November 21 (8:30 and 11:30 p.m with special guests Matt Hornell and The Diamond Minds.)
Venue: The Rock House, George Street, St. John’s
Admission: $10
Tickets available at: Model Citizens (183B Duckworth Street), Fred’s Records (98 Duckworth Street), The Arts and Culture Centre, and at the door.
Contact for c2c Theatre: Brad Hodder
c2c Phone: 691-0188
c2c E-mail: c2ctheatre@gmail.com
c2c Publicity: Katie Butler 687-4514 c2cpublicity@gmail.com
Website: www.c2ctheatre.com
Hedwig and the Angry Inch....
 To kick off its seventh season, c2c theatre is proud to present Hedwig and the Angry Inch, featuring Brad Hodder as Hedwig, Janet Cull as Yitzhak, and a collection of local musicians as backup band The Angry Inch. This award-winning rock musical, written by John Cameron Mitchell with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, first premiered Off-Broadway in 1998 with Mitchell as the title character. Since then, it has developed a strong cult following and has been staged worldwide. In 2000 it garnered international success as a major Hollywood film.
Hedwig follows the story of a transgendered rock goddess from her humble roots in Communist East Berlin to her botched sex-change operation, her life in the United States, her rivalry with fellow rock star Tommy Gnosis and her fight for fame, recognition and self-acceptance.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is directed by Charlie Tomlinson and assistant-directed by Courtney Brown, with costumes by Sara Hodder.
Founded in 2003, c2c theatre has produced more than 20 plays under Artistic Director Charlie Tomlinson and Artistic Associates Sandy Gow and Brad Hodder. Its mandate is to produce modern theatre from around the world, encourage the creation of new works by aspiring artists and to establish an active involvement in the local community.
The NLAC checked in with Brad Hodder of c2c to learn more....
NLAC: Brad, tell us a bit about this show – what is it about?
BH: The show is about a lot of things. How's that? It tells the story of one person's escape from East Berlin to Kansas to New York to St. John's. It's a show about the search for one's other half and the Wall coming down. It's a show about sex, identity, love and betrayal. It's a show about rock n' roll. The show, really, is some kind of amped up celebration of life, freedom and genitalia.
NLAC: Why was c2c drawn to produce this show?
BH: Because it is a great story. There really is nothing else out there like it. It's a show with a lot of balls – in the absence of literal ones. I think something about the story really grabbed Charlie Tomlinson (the director); and for me as an actor, I could see a way into this one. The story made me curious. And the thing really rocks. The music is phenomenal. As a company, we read tonnes of scripts as we plan each season and we pick the ones that do something to us and, hopefully, to the people we work with and the people who come to see us.
NLAC: What can we expect to see at this show?
BH: Great costumes, designed by Sara Hodder – they are gritty and beautiful. Brilliant graphic design supports the show itself, these are done by Gerry Porter. His design, inspired by the text, really helps drive the narrative and compliments the music. The music for this show really is kick ass. It is great, driving rock music. Someone at Rolling Stone, commenting after the show debuted in New York, wrote "In the whole long, sorry history of rock musicals, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the first one that truly rocks." Time Magazine thought it was "The most exciting rock score written for the theater since, oh, ever!" And we got a really great band to play these songs – that band is led by George Robertson and features Phil Churchill, Matt Hender and Michael Arbou. Janet Cull and myself get to whale away and have a lot of fun.
NLAC: The show has something of a cult following – do you think there is a following here in St. John’s?
BH: Huge cult following, especially once the thing was made into a film. I think that following is alive and well here in St. John's. We've been getting a lot of comments from a lot of different people familiar with the show and excited about the show. This, of course, is both awesome and terrifying, all at the same time. As with most cult classics, there is a certain expectation as to what this should be. Like all of our work, we’re doing everything we can do to make this production our version of this show, specific to this cast, this band, this time and this place, while still maintaining the truth of the story and the characters. The script is such that it allows us to go off in a bunch of places, lots of invention, and to play with the audience a lot. That's fun. That's a lot of fun. As a cast, we're having a laugh playing with this one.
NLAC: The Rock House is a different venue for c2c – why did you choose to do the show there? What kind of audience experience will it provide?
BH: Charlie was very clear from the start that he wanted us to think of this one as a rock show, not a play. The venue is an important part of this choice and I think it's the right choice. We want to throw this one out there raw and dirty, nothing too pretty about it. We want a bar with lots of booze and great sound and we want to be amongst all the other live acts playing on the strip. We want this one to be a little bit different. That being said, the Rockhouse is a great venue for rock ‘n’ roll, and this show is, above everything else, a whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll.
NLAC: Is there anything you’d like to add?
BH: c2c theatre has been trying to do this show for the past couple of years, but it ain't cheap. The NLAC grant has allowed us to guarantee that all the artists working with us get some money (still not enough in our eyes, but some). It allows us to keep the show affordable for audiences (tickets are only $10), and to produce the show we want to produce. Our number one concern is getting money into the pockets of the artists with whom we work. Simply put, without the NLAC funding we would not be able to produce this show.
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