Braden Chapman stars in reTHEATER's HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH at Ruba Club through June 24th

In my senior year of college, fall 2004 to spring 2005, I often think about my gay best friend and our cinematic exploration of the LGBTQAI oeuvre. My brother gave me a one-month Netflix membership for Christmas and Mark and I sent out for as many queer options as we could find. Red Dirt, Come Undone, L.I.E., The Adventures of Felix, Maurice, Beautiful Thing, Trick, Yossi & Jagger, you name it. These screenings sustained my queerness and Hedwig and the Angry Inch opened it up to more narrative potential, to the messy creative beauty that can emerge out of great pain and shame.

John Cameron Mitchell’s film version (years after several theatrical iterations) debuted in 2001 to some adulation and a lot of woe. It bombed at the box office – it took a $3 million loss for being over budget. Looking back on the film’s subjects, it was a brazen statement and an ahead-of-its-time introduction to trans magic.

I occasionally consider corny pop cultural phenomenons as signposts – when Mitchell wrote HATAI, its first off-Broadway debut took place in 1998, 20 years ago – there weren’t many or any out gay film actors, gay marriage was not legal, discrimination was, George W. would be elected before the end of the decade. It really feels like Mitchell is a visionary, and he had guts.

It was with this spirit that I needed to attend reTHEATER’s staging of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Ruba Club just north of Spring Garden. Directed by Josh Hitchens and starring Braden Chapman (AKA Mimi Imfurst, season three contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race), it was sure to be a charming evening of weird queerness*. There’s a cash bar in the back of the room – you can smoke in there (sometimes). It seemed like an ideal setting for a Berlin-themed punk rock musical.

And truly, everything was lovely. I was extremely impressed with Scott McMaster’s set design – there were ‘80s and ‘90s-flavored television screens with animations and clips that were made to look like VHS tape was rolling. Knick knacks, stuffed animals, kitsch were busily attached to the back of the set. A multi-tiered stage allowed for a six-piece band plus Chapman and the extraordinary Stephanie C. Kernisan, who made for an unforgettable Yitzhak.

A brief summary of HATAI, for the uninitiated: Hedwig is born Hansel Schmidt and abandoned in his youth by an American father and mothered by a severe East German woman as Berlin is divided by the Cold War; he meets a man, Luther, who compels him to get a sex change operation in order to wed him and relocate to the States, which doesn’t go well; Hedwig becomes involved with a relentless rising pop star, Tommy Gnosis, who steals Hedwig’s content and rockets to stardom; later, Hedwig meets Yitzhak and they become a tight-knit, if slightly sadistic and twisted, band-leading duo who also love each other and fulfill deeply humane needs of companionship and understanding.

This particular 20th Anniversary production puts proper focus on the relationship between Hedwig and Yitzhak – both fascinating characters and both played dynamically by the show’s two leads. I was struck by Kernisan’s stunnignly beautiful voice, a voice that’s a surprise because Yitzhak plays a surly, macho German man (it’s my understanding in a way, that Yitzkah is also a transman, but that could be in my mind). Her voice is angelic, soft, and strong. Chapman’s is rightly loud, brash, gnarly and well-matched for Hedwig – the overall punk energy of the show came through. It was delightful to watch things get thrown around, stuff knocked over – mic stands, costumes, wigs, water and beer spray, ripped-away staging – there was an appropriate amount of chaos and kinetic energy. The room gets well-worked, too, like any good Hedwig production should. Chapman runs into the audience, around it, sits on laps, licks eyeglasses, and gyrates in faces.

Of course, the highlights may seem obvious: “Sugar Daddy” rips and romps; “Angry Inch” is full-throttled anger and sass; “Wig In a Box” is heart-wrenchingly poignant and powerful; but the banter was the big surprise. Chapman did a remarkable job of incorporating some local humor into the mix – a great Jim’s Steaks reference, Tommy Gnosis was allegedly playing down the street at the Fillmore, and a fateful limo ride, catching up and doing drugs, was up and down Columbus Boulevard.

Shouts to the band, who were great (especially the drummer, Tucker Marshall): Paul Severe Harlan and Robert Covello on guitar, E.J. Simpson on bass, and the incomparable Bobby Goodrich on keys. Goodrich served as Musical Director and Costume Designer, as well, as he has in several other Chapman productions (Into the Woods, Divine/Intervention). I also found the projection designs to be extremely well done, with credit to Chapman, Marcus Neal Gordon, and Marla Goodman. I would dare to say there were some sound mixing elements that were a bit off-putting and some lighting missteps, but nothing too grave.

Tickets are $25-$35 and the show runs through June 24th. *A quick note: Chapman came under fire for inappropriate behavior with Drag Wars contestants, a show he runs and mentors. The PhillyMag G Philly story threatened the well-being of this production and I went as a critic, as a sometime press member, as an acquaintance of Chapman’s, and as a fan of his previous work. It is not cool to cyber-bully or to intimidate men in queer spaces and Chapman has apologized for his behavior.