THE WEEK IN ARTS: JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL BRINGS BACK ‘HEDWIG’; L.G.B.T.Q. FILMS ROLL OUT FOR PRIDE

Music from the pioneering punk-rock musical comes to Manhattan’s Town Hall, Jennifer Monson dances at dawn and OVID.tv streams a Pride Month series.

By The New York Times

John Cameron Mitchell as Hedwig in the musical ”Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at the Belasco Theater in New York City in 2015.CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times

Theater: ‘Hedwig,’ With a Side of Dish

June 27-29; thetownhall.org

“You know,” John Cameron Mitchell said, over the phone, “we were rejected by all the theaters in New York when Stephen Trask and I were coming up with ‘Hedwig.’ Drag wasn’t really considered theater. And punk rock — they didn’t go together.”

Twenty-odd years ago, maybe not. But “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” changed that, stomping glamorously all over those assumptions with its debut downtown in 1998. Starring Mitchell as Hedwig, a transgender rock star manqué, the musical quickly became a cult hit — one that’s since been staged around the world, including on Broadway, and made into a film.

Remembering those early days will be part of the show when Mitchell and Trask bring their concert spectacle “The Origin of Love” to Town Hall in Manhattan for three performances, starting Thursday. “We’ll get all the old cast members and as many Hedwigs as we can find,” Mitchell said. With a four-piece band, they’ll perform songs from “Hedwig” and tell tales about it in a celebration timed for Pride. LAURA COLLINS-HUGHES……………………….

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