City Theater Company celebrates its 30th season with a revisit of the blistering rock
musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, by John Cameron Mitchell with music and lyrics by
Stephen Trask, December 8-16, 2023 at The Delaware Contemporary.
Tickets are available NOW at www.city-theater.org
For Immediate Release: November 30, 2023
Media Contact: Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald, City Theater Company, 302-377-3156 or
Hedwig and the Angry Inch - the 1998 Obie-winning Off-Broadway smash that took Broadway by storm in its Tony Award®–winning 2014 revival - roars into City Theater Company as part of the 30th Anniversary Season in December 2023.
Written by John Cameron Mitchell, with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, the musical
spawned an award-winning film adaptation that’s become a cult classic. City Theater
Company’s regional premiere in 2003 of the hit musical was a Barrymore Award-winning tour de force that went on to be presented Off-Broadway in NYC as part of Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS in 2004 and 2005, toured Kentucky in the fall of 2006, and returned for a special benefit performance to CTC in 2005.
Hedwig is a blistering paean to self-acceptance. Its heroine - an East German performer whose forced sex-change operation was botched - stars as the front woman of her own furious and glorious stage show. Through a mash-up of comic one-liners and introspective monologues, all fueled by the fierce hard rock tunes of backing band The Angry Inch, Hedwig invites the audience to join her on the journey toward the kind of love that only comes with being one’s authentic self.
Artistic Director Kerry Kristine McElrone is excited to present a 2023 Hedwig as part of CTC’s
30th anniversary celebration, and to mark their third year in residence at The Delaware
Contemporary with a show in alignment with the museum’s fall exhibits, which are centered on the theme of Escape.
Says McElrone “Hedwig is a show that has meant so much to so many people since it exploded into the world in 1998. I assisted director Michael Gray on a previous incarnation in Philly, and CTC’s 2003 version grew into something even better and bigger. It’s thrilling to revisit with a new production 20 years later, and anticipate an interpretation that reflects the bigger and better world at large we live in now.”
She continues “City Theater Company presenting this show onstage at The Delaware
Contemporary dovetails perfectly with the curated art on display in the galleries this season. The 16 artists whose work is featured in Escape explores the intersections of outward identity and innermost feelings - just as the titular character in Hedwig takes us on a journey that expresses how a private person escaped into a public persona. Using first-person narrative, raging rock music, and extravagant costuming, we create a form of escapism via a living, breathing work of truth in art at every performance.”
Addie Montgomery, well-known in Philadelphia’s queer nightlife space as the stage performer Diva Baby, stars as Hedwig. Montgomery has been part of CTC for many years, and is elated to be taking on such an iconic role in a way that unites her onstage craft as a skilled actor with her offstage lived experience as a trans woman.
Says Montgomery “When I was approached to play this part, I thought I would be stupid not to take the opportunity. There was a long time in my life when I thought that transitioning and continuing to pursue work in theater and film were mutually exclusive. So when I started
transitioning, without even realizing it, I think that I kind of gave up on my practice of being an actor, and focused more on performing in spaces where my identity was a non-issue.”
She continues “Hedwig creator and original performer John Cameron Mitchell recently said that ‘Hedwig isn’t a trans woman’ because she didn’t choose to be one - but as a trans woman, the essence of the realities, struggles and triumphs of this character are very similar to my own. And I am one of the first trans women to play this role in a professional production. The fact that I get to do so with City Theater Company, who for years has shown me what’s possible in small theater spaces, who have always been doing the most exciting work in the city of Wilmington, is the honor of my lifetime.”
Director Joe Trainor made his CTC debut onstage as part of the Angry Inch band in CTC’s 2003and encore productions. He is thrilled to be realizing a new Hedwig for a new legion of fans with Montgomery as the lead in 2023, and will once again take to the stage on keys. Says Trainor “This is a special piece of theater for me. It was the very first show I ever Music Directed and my first show with City Theater. To have the opportunity to bring that experience into the Director’s chair is very exciting.”
Hedwig and the Angry Inch stars Diva Baby - Addie Montgomery - a CTC alum (Hair, La
Cage Au Folles) in the title role. Joining her onstage and making their CTC debuts are
Mackenzie Brockmeyer as Yitzahk, and musicians Ryan Dailey on Bass and Bryan Tuk on
Drums, along with CTC alums Joey Lopes (Assassins, Lizzie) on Guitar and Joe Trainor
(Mamma Mia!, Passing Strange) on Keys as The Angry Inch band. Directed by Joe Trainor.
Set design by Rick Neidig. Lighting design by Stuart Thomas. Costume Design by Kerry Kristine McElrone. Wig design by Clayton Stacey. Stage Managed by Cayla Kerr. Promotional art by Joe del Tufo and Joe Trainor.
TICKET DETAILS: General admission $45. Military with ID and Student with ID $35.
Production runs Friday, December 8 through Saturday, December 16, 2022. All shows 8:00 P.M. except one 2:00 P.M. matinee on Sunday, December 10. Please join us on Opening Night for a post-show reception.
All shows at The Delaware Contemporary, 200 South Madison Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.
Tickets available now at city-theater.org.
Produced Off-Broadway by Samjack, Ltd., 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.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing,
City Theater Company, founded in 1993, performs contemporary comedies, new works, and
classic musicals to critical acclaim in an intimate black box theater on the Wilmington waterfront. This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes
Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com.
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