[Showtuners] AUSTRALIAN HEDWIG CAST ANNOUNCED

Sat Apr 22 22:33:41 AEST 2006

Showtune Productions is proud to announce our cast for the Australian debut
production of HEDWIG and the ANGRY INCH which will commence its wicked
little out of town preview season at The Clarendon in Katoomba from July 7.
Cast in the role of Hedwig is Australian music sensation iOTA, and in the
role of Yitzak Sydney's highly acclaimed actress BLAZEY BEST.

iOTA burst onto the Australian music scene in 1999 with the release of his
debut album The Hip Bone Connection. He quickly became a live performer of
status netting him a strong grass roots following. He followed up with two
albums Big Grandfather and La Caravana, both critically acclaimed gaining
airplay and boasting many singles.  iOTA has been nominated for six
prestigious Aria Awards, 2006 sees the release of his fourth album Beauty
Queen Of The Sea.  Hedwig  is  iOTA's  first foray into the world of theatre
and we welcome him with lots of love and light we know he will pull that wig
down off the shelf in total style and he will be the best you've ever seen.

BLAZEY BEST is fast becoming one of Australia's most respected actresses,
having starred with most of the nation's major theatre companies including
Bell Shakespeare and The Sydney Theatre Company. 

"There's nothing lower case about iOTA's dramatic sound. With his riveting
vocal range and mellow yet intricate guitar strummings, he has built a
strong cult following." The Sun Herald

7 July to 28 July 2006
THE CLARENDON KATOOMBA
For information and bookings call The Clarendon on (02) 4782 1322
Performances Friday and Saturday at 8pm $49 show only and $79 dinner and
show

"The most wholly rounded piece of ROCK theatre we have seen in years" David
Bowie

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH tells the story of Hedwig Schmidt, the unfortunate
victim of a gruesomely botched sex-change operation, and an "internationally
ignored song-stylist". Her journey to find true love, "her other half", is a
rock and roll odyssey which leads her across the Berlin Wall, across the
world, and from man to woman. 

Hedwig begins her journey as Hansel, a young boy growing up in Germany under
a Stalinesque regime, and the equally strict regime of his mother. He finds
what he believes to be an escape from his dreary existence in the form of a
handsome "sugar daddy" - an American G.I. named Luther, who promises to take
him away from Germany. The caveat, however, is that Luther can only take a
bride back to America. Desperate to escape his situation, Hansel willingly
agrees to a sex-change operation - an operation which is botched, leaving
Hedwig with a one-inch reminder of her past. 

Abandoned by her husband, living a down-and-out existence in America,
Hedwig's journey to find her other half seems to have ground to a halt.
Having fallen in love again, this time with Tommy Gnosis, who leaves her
when he becomes a Rock and Roll Superstar, Hedwig takes stock of her
situation and forms her own band: The Angry Inch. 

"The first rock musical that truly rocks" Rolling Stone Magazine 

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH was originally presented at the Westbeth Theatre
Centre on 27 February 1997. It opened off-Broadway at the Jane Street
Theatre on 14 February 1998. The show was an instant hit, honoured at the
OBIE (off-Broadway) awards, and nominated for 4 Drama Desk awards, including
Outstanding Musical, Music, Lyrics, and Actor (John Cameron Mitchell). The
cast recording was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.
This production closed on 9 April 2000 - a three-year run. 

HEDWIG toured extensively in the USA (LA Production was produced by David
Bowie) as well as productions in Canada, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Germany,
Philippines, and the UK (UK national tour is still running!). 

2001 saw the release of the New line Cinema Feature Film of HEDWIG which won
two awards at the Sundance Film Festival (Director's Award and Audience
Award) and over 18 International and USA film awards including the Berlin
International Film Festival's prestigious Teddy Award for Best Picture and
Best Foreign Film at the British International Film Festival. 

In 2004, a celebrity album 'Wig In A Box' was released celebrating the songs
from HEDWIG. Artists included Cyndi Lauper, Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds,
Yoko Ono and many more. 

Now it is Australia's turn to get that WIG down off the shelf and experience
the best roller coaster rock show since The Rocky Horror Show LIVE ON-STAGE.

"Sensational! Hedwig is a phenomenon!" Peter Marks, The New York Times

Clarendon Guest House and Theatre
68 Lurline Street, Katoomba
July 7 to July 28
Friday & Saturday nights at 8pm
$49 Show only or $79 Dinner and show
Bookings 02 4782 1322 

Produced Off Broadway by Peter Askin, Susann Brinkley and James B. Freydberg
at the Jane Street Theatre where it opened February 14, 1998, under the
direction of Peter Askin.
Originally produced in New York City by David Binder in association with the
Westbeth Theatre Center, Arnold Engelman, Producing Director.

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