The Origin of Love Tour
Saturday, Nov. 2, 8 p.m.
Hill Auditorium
http://ums.org
You know him as Hedwig from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." John Cameron Mitchell co-wrote the play, which debuted in 1998 and ran off-Broadway for years and won an Obie Award, with Stephan Trask. A rock musical about an East German rock musician chasing after an ex-love who plagiarized her songs, the Hedwig character, whom Mitchell played in drag, has evolved over time in club and cabaret settings into a transgender rocker who had undergone a botched sex-change operation.
In 2001, Mitchell starred and directed in the feature film version of the play. For his efforts he would win Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival. His performance was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Both the play and the film were critical hits and have spawned cult following around the world.
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" opened on Broadway in 2014 with Neil Patrick Harris in the lead role. It was directed by Michael Mayer and won four Tony Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical (for Lena Hall) and Best Revival of a Musical. Mitchell would reprise his role in the production for a limited run in 2015 and go on to win a Special Tony Award for his return to the role.
For his University Musical Society debut, Mitchell will be performing songs and sharing stories from the groundbreaking work. In addition to the U.S., "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" has been staged in London, Vienna, Rio, Toronto and more than dozen cities across the globe. It has become a cultural phenomenon, much like Cameron, himself.
