The album captures the bravura performance of John Cameron Mitchell (who also wrote the shows book) as East German transsexual songstress Hedwig Schmidt, with a dozen exciting songs by composer/lyricist Stephen Trask. As performed at New Yorks Jane Street Theatre at the Hotel Riverview Ballroom, the Obie Award-winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch is essentially a club gig by Hedwig, her band the Angry Inch, and androgynous protg/back-up singer, Yitzak (Miriam Shor), intercut with Hedwigs hilarious, bawdy, and heartwrenching memory monologues. Portraying the Angry Inch is highly regarded NYC pop-rock combo Cheater Trask: keyboards, guitar, vocals; Chris Weilding: guitar; Scott Bilbrey: bass; David McKinley: drums.
Hedwigs quest for identity and individuality is defined by Mitchells acclaimed star turn and Trasks extraordinary songs, including such tunes as the punk-fuelled Angry Inch, the tongue-in-cheek country ditty Sugar Daddy, the showstopping The Origin Of Love, and the stunning closer, Midnight Radio, a pop-operatic paean to the mystery and majesty of rock n roll. Atlantics cast recording produced by Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins) includes the shows complete score, plus an exciting new track, Random Number Generation, written especially for the album.
Hedwig has been garnering raves since its Valentines Day 1998 opening: A raucous, raunchy, edgy and wildly funny rock musical, wrote David Patrick Stearns in USA Today, while The New York Times Peter Marks hailed Mitchells magnetic and captivating performance. Times Richard Zoglin pointed to Trasks songs as the most exciting hard-rock score written for the theatre since, oh, maybe ever… In the whole, sorry history of rock musicals, Hedwig and The Angry Inch is the first one that truly rocks, gushed David Fricke in Rolling Stone. And then there are the tunes, Fricke noted. An LPs worth of oughta-be-hitsville.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch also received mentions in a number of year-end wrap-ups. The musical placed among the top 3 in Time Magazines The Best of Theater review, while The New York Observers John Heilpern declared Hedwig to be his 1998 Musical of the Year, noting the brilliant and ultimately apocalyptic rock score by Stephen Trask. Mitchell and Trask were included among the winners of New York magazines 1998 New York Awards honoring the most influential New Yorkers of the year. Entertainment Weekly noted Mitchells work in Hedwig as one of 1998s great performances, while Out Magazine named him as one of The People Who Rocked 1998.
Hedwig And The Angry Inch is, as The New York Times put it, a phenomenon. Plans are currently underway for productions of Hedwig to open in Los Angeles and London, as the original continues to run in New York (now starring Tommys Michael Cerveris as Hedwig).
In October of 98, Hedwig and the Angry Inch performed the shows electric opener, Tear Me Down, on Late Show with David Letterman. On January 15th, 1999, they appeared on The Rosie ODonnell Show, where they performed The Origin of Love. The faux-group (with Cerveris on vocals) also served as opening act for the re-constituted Culture Clubs New Years Eve extravaganza at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall .
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Text by John Cameron Mitchell Music & Lyrics by Stephen Trask
CAST: John Cameron Mitchell Hedwig, Tommy Gnosis: Vocals Miriam Shor Yitzak: Vocals Cheater The Angry Inch Stephen Trask Skszp: Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals Chris Weilding Krzyzhtoff: Guitar, Vocals Scott Bilbrey Jacek: Bass, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar David McKinley Schlatko: Drums, Percussion
Musical Direction: Stephen Trask Produced by Brad Wood Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge Engineered by John David Hiler Executive Producer: Craig Kallman
Heres to Patti and Tina and Yoko Aretha and Nona and Nico and me…
Atlantic Records is proud to present HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH: ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING, the highly anticipated companion album to the smash Off-Broadway glam-rock musical.
The album captures the bravura performance of John Cameron Mitchell (who also wrote the shows book) as East German transsexual songstress Hedwig Schmidt, with a dozen exciting songs by composer/lyricist Stephen Trask. As performed at New Yorks Jane Street Theatre at the Hotel Riverview Ballroom, the Obie Award-winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch is essentially a club gig by Hedwig, her band the Angry Inch, and androgynous protg/back-up singer, Yitzak (Miriam Shor), intercut with Hedwigs hilarious, bawdy, and heartwrenching memory monologues. Portraying the Angry Inch is highly regarded NYC pop-rock combo Cheater Trask: keyboards, guitar, vocals; Chris Weilding: guitar; Scott Bilbrey: bass; David McKinley: drums.
Hedwigs quest for identity and individuality is defined by Mitchells acclaimed star turn and Trasks extraordinary songs, including such tunes as the punk-fuelled Angry Inch, the tongue-in-cheek country ditty Sugar Daddy, the showstopping The Origin Of Love, and the stunning closer, Midnight Radio, a pop-operatic paean to the mystery and majesty of rock n roll. Atlantics cast recording produced by Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins) includes the shows complete score, plus an exciting new track, Random Number Generation, written especially for the album.
Hedwig has been garnering raves since its Valentines Day 1998 opening: A raucous, raunchy, edgy and wildly funny rock musical, wrote David Patrick Stearns in USA Today, while The New York Times Peter Marks hailed Mitchells magnetic and captivating performance. Times Richard Zoglin pointed to Trasks songs as the most exciting hard-rock score written for the theatre since, oh, maybe ever… In the whole, sorry history of rock musicals, Hedwig and The Angry Inch is the first one that truly rocks, gushed David Fricke in Rolling Stone. And then there are the tunes, Fricke noted. An LPs worth of oughta-be-hitsville.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch also received mentions in a number of year-end wrap-ups. The musical placed among the top 3 in Time Magazines The Best of Theater review, while The New York Observers John Heilpern declared Hedwig to be his 1998 Musical of the Year, noting the brilliant and ultimately apocalyptic rock score by Stephen Trask. Mitchell and Trask were included among the winners of New York magazines 1998 New York Awards honoring the most influential New Yorkers of the year. Entertainment Weekly noted Mitchells work in Hedwig as one of 1998s great performances, while Out Magazine named him as one of The People Who Rocked 1998.
Hedwig And The Angry Inch is, as The New York Times put it, a phenomenon. Plans are currently underway for productions of Hedwig to open in Los Angeles and London, as the original continues to run in New York (now starring Tommys Michael Cerveris as Hedwig).
In October of 98, Hedwig and the Angry Inch performed the shows electric opener, Tear Me Down, on Late Show with David Letterman. On January 15th, 1999, they appeared on The Rosie ODonnell Show, where they performed The Origin of Love. The faux-group (with Cerveris on vocals) also served as opening act for the re-constituted Culture Clubs New Years Eve extravaganza at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall .
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Text by John Cameron Mitchell Music & Lyrics by Stephen Trask
CAST: John Cameron Mitchell Hedwig, Tommy Gnosis: Vocals Miriam Shor Yitzak: Vocals Cheater The Angry Inch Stephen Trask Skszp: Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals Chris Weilding Krzyzhtoff: Guitar, Vocals Scott Bilbrey Jacek: Bass, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar David McKinley Schlatko: Drums, Percussion
Musical Direction: Stephen Trask Produced by Brad Wood Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge Engineered by John David Hiler Executive Producer: Craig Kallman
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