I just
got my first chance to see a live performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, at a small theatre in Minneapolis, and
this much is indisputable: I love this
score. It’s probably the most genuinely-rock score in musical theatre, and I
love how deftly the songs relate to the story, which is impressive for a show
that’s set up like a concert. Gun to my
head, these are my absolute favorites.
“Tear Me Down” – I love the idea of
Hedwig herself as a metaphor for the Berlin Wall, and that concept is a great
introduction to her for the show. This
rowdy opening number gives us Hedwig’s origins and shows us hints of that
in-between place where she exists.
Best
lyric: “There ain’t much of a difference
/ Between a bridge and a wall. / Without me right in the middle, babe, / You
would be nothin’ at all.”
“The Origin of Love” – Just masterful. A gorgeous fable, a rock-ballad retelling of
Plato’s Symposium, replete with gods,
fire, and humans severed from the other halves of themselves. It’s a definite rock number, but the
narrative is beautiful, and the way it rises and falls is just so theatrical.
Best
lyric: “Last time I saw you, / We had
just split in two. / You were looking at me. / I was looking at you. You had a way so familiar, / I could not
recognize, / ‘Cause you had blood on your face; / I had blood in my eyes. / But
I could swear by your expression / That the pain down in your soul / Was the
same as the one down in mine.”
“Wig in a Box” – Oh, I love this
song, an emotional journey of self-discovery expressed in wigs. The plaintive opening verse is exquisitely
gentle, and I love how it gives over to the driving beat that follows the
chorus. The music-video treatment this
song gets in the movie is perfect.
Best
lyric: “I look back on where I’m from, /
Look at the woman I’ve become, / And the strangest things seem suddenly
routine.”
“Wicked Little Town (Reprise)” – Don’t get me wrong;
I love the first version of this song, too.
But I just adore the lyrics of the reprise, and the chance to hear the
Hedwig actor playing Tommy is too good to pass up. This song is just what Hedwig needs, right
when she needs it most.
Best
lyric: “Forgive me, for I did not know,
/ ‘Cause I was just a boy, / And you were so much more / Than any god could
ever plan, / More than a woman or a man, / And now I understand how much I took
from you.”
“Midnight Radio” – And here, after all
the posturing and wallowing, all the spite and pain, the closing number brings
with it some peace as Hedwig finally finds a way to reconcile herself. The self-love in this number is so pure and
triumphant, it’s just stunning.
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