Out front of the Belasco Theater last night, after the final performance of John Cameron Mitchell’s run as Hedwig in the Broadway revival of Hedwig And The Angry Inch.
Inside the theater, an intimate party of invited guests enjoyed (more than a few) celebratory drinks together in the green room under the stage. But on the street outside, fans of Mitchell and Hedwig crowded together, singing the entire musical score (co-written by Mitchell and Stephen Trask) under the marquis. Some of them had managed to get tickets and had seen the performance, but the majority of them made the pilgrimage simply because being there and participating in a Hedwig sing-along means something important to them.
I left the party early and stood across the street, watching and listening to the crowd perform acappella the score, in order—including the fictional theme from Hurt Locker, The Musical which is an inside joke from the revival.
“What’s happening? “ a passer by asked a lady to my left who watched and sang alone from across the street. “John Cameron Mitchell is done with his run in the show,” she explained. The man nodded and replied, “so, he is leaving office?”
Soon after, the performer and writer Mike Albo (who co-wrote the fictional Hurt Locker’s program for the revival and is an old friend of Mitchell’s) walked by me on his way out of the downstairs party. I told him how the crowd had performed the entire score and he shook his head in wonder. He’s been on the Hedwig trip from the very beginning . “It’s amazing,” he said with some disbelief before heading off in to the night.
Later this week, Darren Criss begins his run in Hedwig And The Angry Inch which continues performances at the Belasco Theater.