Latest news with #StephenTrask


Washington Post
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch' gets a bracing new revival
Specific is universal, as the saying goes on page and stage. Heroes' journeys don't get much more specific than the one in 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch,' the venerable rock musical that book writer John Cameron Mitchell and composer-lyricist Stephen Trask developed in clubs during the Clinton years and debuted off-Broadway in 1998.


South China Morning Post
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hedwig and the Angry Inch musical comes to Hong Kong with a modern Cantonese update
In 1998, the American composer and lyricist Stephen Trask paired up with writer and actor John Cameron Mitchell to come up with a groundbreaking rock musical loosely inspired by a German babysitter and prostitute who worked in a small city in the US state of Kansas. Advertisement The multi-award winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch has since toured the world, with its genderqueer protagonist winning over fans with her story of longing, trauma, departed identities and self-discovery. Born 'Hansel' in communist East Berlin, Hedwig is full of scars, both figurative (traumatised by past abusive lovers) and literal (a botched sex-change operation that gave her a one-inch flesh mound between her legs). The story follows Hedwig on tour as she stalks her ex-lover and nemesis – a much more successful musician who was disgusted by Hedwig's 'inch'. Hedwig and the Angry Inch's creative director Ivanhoe Lam (left), and lead actor and script translator Jordan Cheng. Photo: Jonathan Wong Now, a Cantonese version of Hedwig is coming to Hong Kong, and its creators promise to stay true to the original's spirit while giving the American tale a local context.