What's a girl to do when a botched sex-change operation leaves an East German boy named Hansel with a Barbie doll crotch and an inch of useless scar tissue and when lovers betray and abandon and steal from her?
Why, what else but go from being a “slip of a girly boy” to an “internationally ignored song stylist” and front-woman of the band “The Angry Inch.”
After almost six years, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the gender-bending, off-Broadway musical returns to Orlando this month. This re-imagined production starring acclaimed local thespians Joshua Eads-Brown and Janine Klein rocks onto to the stage Jan. 11 at The Abbey in Orlando.
“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll cringe,” says Eads-Brown “If there’s an emotion, you’ll probably experience it!”
Orlando audiences may remember the wildly popular David Lee/Becky Fisher production from the early 2000s. But don't expect the same show, says Eads-Brown, who steps into the outrageous shoes of Hedwig. This is a completely different interpretation from director Bruce Costella and musical director Spencer Crosswell.
“There are certain things that fans of the show expect, and those things are there, but there are also a lot of new surprises for audiences to enjoy!” he says.
And Eads-Brown's co-star is quick to praise his contributions as well.
“People can expect Joshua Eads-Brown singing and acting the shit out of the part of Hedwig,” boasts Klein.
Playing a character that blurs the lines between gender roles is pretty close to Eads-Brown, who many may recognize by his drag alter-ego, Ginger Minj.
“One thing that “Hedwig' has taught me is that sometimes that line between person and persona gets blurry, and sometimes fantasy is mistaken for reality,” he explains. “As much as I embrace and appreciate Ginger, I’m glad that I’m equally as respected as a legitimate stage actor.
Call it the Hannah Montana syndrome, but I love experiencing the best of both worlds! No matter which character you see, Joshua Eads-Brown is the man who walks into the building and Joshua Eads-Brown is the man who walks out at the end of the night.”
Despite such a correlation, he revealed that he almost didn't take the role of Hedwig. After some urging by his husband and forgetting everything he knew about the original story, he read the script.
“This is a role that, on the surface, seems like a strange fit for me,” he says. “As I turned the last page and wiped the tears from my eyes, my mind was completely blown”and changed. I realized how much the character spoke to me. There’s a little piece of Hedwig in all of us; the lust, the loathing, the tears, the fears, and the overwhelming desire to be loved.”
Klein shared the same sentiments. She plays Hedwig's poor, put-upon, drag-queen-turned-husband, Yitzhak.
“The role of Yitzhak frightens the hell out of me,” Klein says. “I fit a certain type and mold and what I love about this production company is that they cast solely based on talent, not type. I have to stretch outside of my comfort zone and that is a glorious blessing for a performer. You end up finding a whole other level of yourself in the process.”
Backed by a four piece band, Klein and Eads-Brown play all of the characters swirling around inside Hedwig’s brain”all of the people who have touched her on her way to this stage in her life.
“There’s a natural love and rapport between the two of us,” says Eads-Brown of his concomitant co-star. “She’s my favorite person to share the spotlight with.”
“Side note,” adds Klein. “[The band] is all cute college boys. Do I know your demographic or what?”
Both Eads-Brown and Klein have an arsenal of acting credits. Beginning with a role as a baby in community theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof, Eads-Brown has performed his whole life. His career has taken him from school plays to Broadway, commercials to film, and back again. He attributes his passion for the arts to his mother.
“My mother always told me, “artists aren’t created, they’re born,' and she did her best to always push and support me in the decisions that I’ve made,” he recalls. “The beauty in all art is the creation of it. If you’re not creating something; a character, a costume, a painting, an ashtray, a macaroni portrait”anything”you’re not living up to your true potential.”
When asked what he hopes audiences take away from his performances, Eads-Brown replied, “I just hope they find what they’re looking for. If you come to a comedy, I hope you find the laughs. If you come to a drama, I hope I deliver the tears by the bucketful. If I help you find and feel something, I’m satisfied.”
Raised in the theatre by an actress and a director, Klein has been onstage since she was five.
“[My parents] sparked my love for the theatre,” Klein says. “They owned their own theatre company growing up. It was a wonderful world to escape to.”
So, how do you follow up a role like Hedwig? After a quick nap, Eads-Brown will squeeze in two performances of Little Miss Parliament House, debuting later this month. This ridiculously fun concept by local comic Jeff Jones is a send-up of all of those horrifying yet addicting little girl pageant reality shows.
After that, he says he is going to take a break from the spotlight to direct Bus Stop at the Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park, which will debut in March.
Klein has a full line-up as well. Next up, she's singing with Tod Kimbro for the Fab Fringe Fundraiser VIP party in the John Lennon Terrace, Feb. 27 at Hard Rock. Then, she will be putting on a Sondheim cabaret at The Winter Park Playhouse in April as well singing an Adele Live Happy Hour concert for the Fringe Monday night. And after a successful run at Parliament House, she is reprising her one-woman show, Janine Klein: Gay Bar Star for Fringe in May.
WHAT: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
WHERE: The Abbey, January 11-20
TICKETS: InTheWings.org or AbbeyOrlando.com
