NEW QUEER ON THE BLOCK: My Pony Cherry Gets Popped & Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Scott Lowell, from Queer as Folk, hosted the evening at The Crocodile. Photo Credit: Kathy Bugajsky.

I was thrilled, beyond thrilled, ecstatic when I found out I got to attend the seamlessly annual pride production of John Cameron Mitchell’s “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. But the weekend didn’t start out with this smashing finale – let’s go back to Friday night to get a full understanding of the serendipitous finish of the weekend. Friday afternoon I am getting my face all pretty and dolled up to go out for the night. I rarely get to dip my toes in the deep waters we commonly refer to as the nightlife in Capitol Hill. First up was the Lily Armani: Untucked show at Neighbours Nightclub – where Lily Armani and Dolly Madison entertained a small but energetic audience. I’m pretty sure the rest of the regulars were down at Club Z. That is a running joke around here, isn’t? Afterwards, I jetted around the hill and found myself running into people just like that Anthony Weiner does with his Twitter account. Just kidding, Whoopi!

After the fabulousness of losing a few extra pounds, I found myself drinking a beer at the historic Pony and this was the moment that my Pony cherry had finally been popped and I LOVED the experience. I’m definitely going to be hanging out there on the weekends. Holler! However, one strange occurrence about my exit from this fine establishment was an older gentleman told me this when he was exiting before me:

“You’re beautiful baby, don’t you ever lose that!”

Okay! I do believe that was a subtle pickup line and he had his hands full with two twink boys so I’m going to forget that ever happened 😉

The reveal of Hedwig Robinson. Photo Credit: Kathy Bugajsky.

Sunday night was the mystical sensations of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” which was presented by The Stranger, Cupcake Royale, & Rudy’s Barbershop. There were a few surprises that I was keen to learn. Once the show took off ground after an hour of waiting and getting restless, out comes Scott Lowell who MC’d the night. For those who don’t know – he’s the actor who played Ted Schmidt from Showtime’s “Queer as Folk”. Lowell introduced a line-up of burlesque dancers and performers for the pre-show entertainment. In the line-up included Fosse Jack, Miss Booty 2010, Sir Eddie Glam, Piston Chambers, Randy Rascoe and Stardust.

After a brief break the “Angry Inch” came out onto stage and Yitzak brings on Hedwig with the infamous line

Ladies and Gentleman, whether you like it or not – HEDWIG!

Monologue and "Wig in a Box" musical number. Photo Credit: Kathy Bugajsky.

I’ve seen many productions and versions of Hedwig, but this particular show impressed me. That is really hard to do, peeps. They brought updated material in references and slangs that molded and fused together smoothly for Seattle. Looking around the crowd – I expected there to be more of a turnout, more like 500 compared to the about 300 people in the room. At least The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence/Abby of St. Joan were there giving the perfect cherry topping to the night. Throughout the night and performance, the audience relished and adored Yitzak, even more than Hedwig. Times are changing people!

Yitzhak introduces Hedwig Robinson to the stage. Photo Credit: Kathy Bugajsky.

The number “Angry Inch” was pure rock ‘n’ roll. Eat your heart out Nirvana. “Hedwig’s Lament” was a clear love song to LGBTQ youth fighter for their mentality and courage. “Exquisite Corspe” brought the Crocodile alive (finally) with screaming and jumping Hedwig fans. The reveal of Tommy Gnosis was played smart, and well executed. Overall, this performance was a concert of Iggy Pop & David Bowie combined and it really came to life – the fans would die to see this show more than once, but only until next pride weekend will we see a show of this calibre. At the end – Hedwig Robinson was giving her special thank yous and mentioned Seattle Gay Scene for our support of this show! Rock on, Seattle!

The set/drum set of the "Angry Inch". Photo Credit: Kathy Bugajsky.

My Pride weekend was a elongated recess that was exceedingly overdue and I found out that not everybody is destined for friendship, but that’s not going to stop this “New Queer on the Block” from having a queer old time! Now it’s back to marketing and theater and the dating pool. Who knows what lays on the other side of the train tracks until I step in front of the train and take a risk. What’s next you ask? We’re going to take a little look at Marriage Equality on the national scene and locally. Plus, I’ll be giving you a post pride queer issue segments on various topics that we all are dying to read about.

The pre-show Burlesque Performers. Photo Credit: Kathy Bugajsky.