For a quarter-century after Hedwig and the Angry Inch entered the Zeitgeist — first as a fin de siècle stage musical, then its 2001 film adaptation — queer-überfriendly Long Beach received a total of zero full-blown productions. (The late, great Josh Fichel’s RIOTstage did a partial staging in 2015.)
But in 2024 we get two separate versions within the span of three months — or three, depending on how you count them. The Garage Theatre started us off this summer, and now Long Beach Playhouse is taking two shots: one production with two alternating Hedwig/Yitzhak tandems. First up for the Playhouse was the “Lil Guys” cast: Zachary Balagot as Hedwig and Kelsey Weinstein as Yitzhak.
Two things about the music right off the top. Let’s talk vocals first. After a bit of pitchiness at the beginning of “Tear Me Down” (chalk it up to opening-night overexcitement), Balagot sang spectacularly, giving us all the pain and defiance and vulnerability and hope that makes Hedwig one of the most widely expressive singing roles in all of musical theatre. There were no special highlights because there were zero lowlights, but a great barometer of how well a Hedwig is handling the soft stuff is “Wicked Little Town”. If sung right, it should wreck us from the very first notes — and Balagot wrecks us, oh yes.
But the problem that keeps the Playhouse’s Hedwig from fully taking flight — and will do so regardless of cast — is that the band is way too quiet, especially in the harder numbers. At bottom Hedwig is a rock ‘n’ roll show, with half the songs designed to blow your face off. The Playhouse has a great-sounding seven-piece Angry Inch (three guitars, two basses — this from a theatre company that once tried doing Sweeney Todd with three musicians!), but they are so reined in sonically that it’s more like being in someone’s living room than the grungy club that is our metafictional setting. Part of the problem may be that all the amps are pointed away from the audience. Whatever the reason for this unusual choice (I’ve certainly never seen it), this set-up had the basses making the snare buzz so loudly during the pre-chorus of “Wicked Little Town” that it was like an eighth instrument, as prominent as any of the guitars. Not good.
Opening-night silver lining to the volume problem: even though Weinstein’s mic never activated during “The Long Grift”, her only solo number, we heard every note (she sounded fantastic, BTW). But this wasn’t the only mic problem. Throughout the show Balagot’s vocals were marred by midrange distortion. Though neither constant nor ruinous, add it to the list of sound problems for the tech crew to straighten out.
Dramatically, director Angela Cruz has Balagot embodying a Hedwig that is reminiscent of the Emcee in Cabaret, plowing through the monologs rather than playing it all as an artful one-way conversation full of blowzy pauses pregnant with humor and emotion. For the most part we get a pat performance, when contextually this stop on Hedwig’s tour is supposed to be a night like no other, the moment when their standard routine starts to go awry and all defenses fall away. Eventually Balagot does slow down, finding deep emotion in Hedwig’s recounting of their “Love the front of me!” conversation with Tommy Gnosis.
Cruz also undercuts the “reality” of the breakdown of Hedwig’s show by having Yitzhak heckle Hedwig on-mic and prepare Hedwig’s wigs at center stage. These are things the audience needs to see, but because they’re not part of the metafictional show, they shouldn’t be staged as if they are.
In terms of lighting, there’s a lot of possibility in a work with such strong tonal shifts, but here we get very little dynamical difference from one number to the next. And the lack of a spotlight is an obvious miss.
As I said in my review of the Garage Theatre’s staging, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a fantastic piece of work. Clever. Profound. Compelling. Sing-alongeriffic. Fun. You’re cooking with gas when you do this show. Whatever the shortcomings of Long Beach Playhouse’s “Lil Guys” version, the greatness is there. Zachary Balagot and Kelsey Weinstein could not sing these roles better.
But for the love of God, turn the music up.
(Coming next week: review of the “Dem Bratz” cast.)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Long Beach Playhouse
Times: Fri–Sat 8:00 p.m., Sun 2:00 p.m.
- “Lil Guys” cast: Oct. 25–27, Nov. 8–10
- “Dem Bratz” cast: Oct. 18–20, Nov. 1–3, 15–16
The show runs through November 16.
Cost: $20 to $30
Details: (562) 494-1014; LBplayhouse.org
Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach