Zen and the Art of Hedwig
The world doesn't need any more documentation of how amazing Neil Patrick Harris is in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," but since Chad and I were lucky enough to see "Hedwig" recently on Broadway, (just one day before he--that is NPH, not Chad--won a Tony for his performance) I feel morally obligated to try and convey how awesome not only NPH but the whole experience was.
So I'll start with my most obvious observation first: NPH is unbelievably talented. Seeing him in person playing Hedwig was an incredible thrill. He's a true triple-threat who brought Hedwig to life with passion, humor, and sensuality. I'm especially impressed as NPH is only a couple of years younger than I am and I can't imagine giving such a physically demanding performance night after night, sometimes two shows a day. The squats alone would kill me.
Oh, and did I mention he's incredibly sexy? When he strips down to just his very form-fitting boxers by the end of the show, it's a very powerful moment because he's so vulnerable and open...and sexy...
Anyway, I admit I have come late and only partially as a passenger on the NPH bandwagon. I never watched "Doogie Howser" (although I remember it being a hit when I was in college) and have watched perhaps only 10 minutes of "How I Met Your Mother" (the musical number of course). I was actually pleasantly surprised and shocked to find out that NPH was still "alive" when we saw him do his hilarious cameo in "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle." But I knew NPH would be wonderful as Hedwig because of his heartbreaking awesomeness in "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog."
Yikes, I am running out of superlatives. So, time to move on...while I'm a relative newbie to NPH fandom, I have been smitten with "Hedwig" as a musical for quite some time. I think I first saw it in the early 2000's in Minneapolis at the Bryant Lake Bowl and was immediately a fan. But in the years since I partially forgot how much I loved Hedwig so seeing it had a touch of falling in love (/becoming obsessed) all over again. And, as I often feel when I get to see live theater or a concert, I loved the communal experience of seeing Hedwig with others and bonding in some way with complete strangers, while at the same time getting to share the experience of "Hedwig" with Chad. (A quick shout-out to my old man for being totally game about seeing "Hedwig" and I'm happy to say he really enjoyed it, too.) The audience even had a group sing-along to "Wig in a Box." It was just like church, or a live taping of Minnesota Public Radio's show "Wits."
Why I love "Hedwig" so much is a bit of a mystery to me, but I think it is at least partially because of how the character of Hedwing magnificently makes larger-than-life the vulnerable bitch we (or at least I) fear, hate and want to be (/am). Hedwig's mixture of cruel cynicism, stoicism, irony, and grandiose romanticism also speaks directly to my repressed German soul.
Much has been written about how "Hedwig" explores our universal need for acceptance and connection, and I whole-heartedly agree. I think I first saw "Hedwig" at a time in my life when I was feeling particularly disconnected and isolated by grief over my mother's death, so Hedwig's story made perfectly crazy melodramatic sense to me on an emotional level (yes, I know I am not literally a transgender former East German would-be rock star. As a bit of a tangent, I can't help but wonder how today's young fans of "Hedwig" connect with the whole Berlin Wall metaphor since they didn't grow up with the Wall as part of their cultural psyche).
But I also love how "Hedwig" explores what it means to take charge of your own personal narrative. One of my favorite lyrics from Hedwig is from "Wig in a Box": (and these lyrics may be completely inaccurate and although I could easily look them up, I'm not going to. The point is this is how I hear and remember them).
"At times, like this,
when the world's a bit amiss,
and the lights go down, across the trailer park.
I look back on where I'm from.
Look at the world, what I've become.
And the strangest things seem, suddenly routine."
As an "actress" I have learned about the importance of back story, and how having a good back story can help you fully create a character. Trying to come up with a back story that is interesting and believable and logically consistent can also drive you nuts. I think that is true not only for fictional characters or roles but also in real life. Whether we are happy or sad or whatever emotional cocktail about our life, who hasn't looked around and said "this is not my beautiful house...this is not my beautiful life...well, how did I get here?" We all have to come up with our own back stories that can help us make sense of how the strangest things can seem routine and the most routine things strange. I'm inspired by how Hedwig bravely faces this task of giving meaning to her life with her outrageous wigs and her Maybeline warpaint, and how at the same time she yearns to strip away all armor.
Hmmm, I wonder what would have happened if Hedwig had discovered ModCloth. Perhaps that is fodder for a sequel!
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| We saw "Hedwig" at the Belasco in New York. |
So I'll start with my most obvious observation first: NPH is unbelievably talented. Seeing him in person playing Hedwig was an incredible thrill. He's a true triple-threat who brought Hedwig to life with passion, humor, and sensuality. I'm especially impressed as NPH is only a couple of years younger than I am and I can't imagine giving such a physically demanding performance night after night, sometimes two shows a day. The squats alone would kill me.
Oh, and did I mention he's incredibly sexy? When he strips down to just his very form-fitting boxers by the end of the show, it's a very powerful moment because he's so vulnerable and open...and sexy...
Anyway, I admit I have come late and only partially as a passenger on the NPH bandwagon. I never watched "Doogie Howser" (although I remember it being a hit when I was in college) and have watched perhaps only 10 minutes of "How I Met Your Mother" (the musical number of course). I was actually pleasantly surprised and shocked to find out that NPH was still "alive" when we saw him do his hilarious cameo in "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle." But I knew NPH would be wonderful as Hedwig because of his heartbreaking awesomeness in "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog."
Yikes, I am running out of superlatives. So, time to move on...while I'm a relative newbie to NPH fandom, I have been smitten with "Hedwig" as a musical for quite some time. I think I first saw it in the early 2000's in Minneapolis at the Bryant Lake Bowl and was immediately a fan. But in the years since I partially forgot how much I loved Hedwig so seeing it had a touch of falling in love (/becoming obsessed) all over again. And, as I often feel when I get to see live theater or a concert, I loved the communal experience of seeing Hedwig with others and bonding in some way with complete strangers, while at the same time getting to share the experience of "Hedwig" with Chad. (A quick shout-out to my old man for being totally game about seeing "Hedwig" and I'm happy to say he really enjoyed it, too.) The audience even had a group sing-along to "Wig in a Box." It was just like church, or a live taping of Minnesota Public Radio's show "Wits."
Why I love "Hedwig" so much is a bit of a mystery to me, but I think it is at least partially because of how the character of Hedwing magnificently makes larger-than-life the vulnerable bitch we (or at least I) fear, hate and want to be (/am). Hedwig's mixture of cruel cynicism, stoicism, irony, and grandiose romanticism also speaks directly to my repressed German soul.
Much has been written about how "Hedwig" explores our universal need for acceptance and connection, and I whole-heartedly agree. I think I first saw "Hedwig" at a time in my life when I was feeling particularly disconnected and isolated by grief over my mother's death, so Hedwig's story made perfectly crazy melodramatic sense to me on an emotional level (yes, I know I am not literally a transgender former East German would-be rock star. As a bit of a tangent, I can't help but wonder how today's young fans of "Hedwig" connect with the whole Berlin Wall metaphor since they didn't grow up with the Wall as part of their cultural psyche).
But I also love how "Hedwig" explores what it means to take charge of your own personal narrative. One of my favorite lyrics from Hedwig is from "Wig in a Box": (and these lyrics may be completely inaccurate and although I could easily look them up, I'm not going to. The point is this is how I hear and remember them).
"At times, like this,
when the world's a bit amiss,
and the lights go down, across the trailer park.
I look back on where I'm from.
Look at the world, what I've become.
And the strangest things seem, suddenly routine."
As an "actress" I have learned about the importance of back story, and how having a good back story can help you fully create a character. Trying to come up with a back story that is interesting and believable and logically consistent can also drive you nuts. I think that is true not only for fictional characters or roles but also in real life. Whether we are happy or sad or whatever emotional cocktail about our life, who hasn't looked around and said "this is not my beautiful house...this is not my beautiful life...well, how did I get here?" We all have to come up with our own back stories that can help us make sense of how the strangest things can seem routine and the most routine things strange. I'm inspired by how Hedwig bravely faces this task of giving meaning to her life with her outrageous wigs and her Maybeline warpaint, and how at the same time she yearns to strip away all armor.
Hmmm, I wonder what would have happened if Hedwig had discovered ModCloth. Perhaps that is fodder for a sequel!
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