Sydney, it’s time to put on some makeup and pull the wig down from the shelf – because Hedwig has finally announced plans to head on over to our wicked little town. Following a smash-hit season with Adelaide Festival, GWB Entertainment and Andrew Henry Presents have confirmed that Hedwig and the Angry Inch will unleash its raw energy at Sydney’s Carriageworks from July 17.
Hailed by Rolling Stone as “the best rock musical ever” and featuring a razor-sharp catalogue of songs including ‘The Origin of Love’, ‘Midnight Radio’ and ‘Sugar Daddy’, Hedwig and the Angry Inch holds a special place for many queer people and rock music devotees. The world needs the wisdom of John Cameron Mitchell’s cult masterpiece of gender-fuckery more than ever – and an arguably perfect team of local queer talents have come together to create this original Australian production. (I was lucky enough to head over to the country’s festival capital for the premiere in February, and it was every bit as gloriously gritty, grungy, hilarious and heart-wrenching as I hoped it would be!)
Seann Miley Moore stars as the hedonistic anti-heroine herself, Hedwig. Moore took out the critics’ choice award for Best Performance in a Musical in the inaugural Time Out Sydney Arts & Culture Awards with their acclaimed take on the Engineer (or, as Moore describes them, the ‘Engin-Queer’) in Miss Saigon, and this wild, rock-fuelled role is your chance to see them like you’ve never seen them before. Along a live rock band, Seann stars opposite acclaimed actor, singer, songwriter Adam Noviello (Jesus Christ Superstar) as Hedwig’s devoted yet defiant partner, Yitzhak.
The cast are in safe hands with co-directors Shane Anthony (The Inheritance, Ulster American) and Time Out Future Shaper Dino Dimitriadis (Overflow) along with musical director Victoria Falconer, set designer Jeremy Allen, and costuming by queer fashion icons Katie-Louise and Lilian Nicol-Ford of legendary Sydney fashion house Nicol & Ford (keep an eye out for their latest avant-garde designs at Australian Fashion Week).
Before Sydney takes a taste of Hedwig and the Angry Inch in July, the show will play at Melbourne’s Athenaeum from June 13. General public tickets for the Carriageworks season will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday, April 29, at hedwig.com.au.
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