Some shows are snakebit (“Doctor Zhivago,” anyone?) and some shows are born under a lucky star. Count “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” the feverish brainchild of writer John Cameron Mitchell and composer Stephen Trask, in the latter column.The latest turn in the show’s continuing fortunes was the recent announcement that Taye Diggs, one of the original stars of “Rent” and currently featured in the TV series “Murder in the First,” would take over the title role for twelve weeks after Darren Criss ends his run on July 19. Co-starring opposite Diggs will be Rebecca Naomi Jones, as Yitzak, Hedwig’s husband.The actor will be the first African-American to play in New York the “internationally ignored song stylist” and victim of a botched transsexual operation. Diggs is also the latest in a long line of performers who are welcoming the challenge of playing Hedwig and are thus keeping alive the Broadway revival, which began performances in March of 2014. Indeed the producers appear to be following the formula of the long-running “Chicago,” with limited engagements of triple-threat performers in the title role. After “Hedwig” emerged out of last year’s Tony Awards with four trophies — including Best Revival and Best Actor in a Musical for Neil Patrick Harris — Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall, and Darren Criss have consecutively stepped into the big hair and platform heels of the title role. Mitchell, who created the role in the 1998 long-running off-Broadway run at the Jane Street Theatre, returned to the part after Hall’s engagement amid a flurry of publicity.Even though the production may now look like a slam-dunk as a commercial enterprise, that was not a foregone conclusion, even with the participation of such a box-office draw as Harris. Selling out the Jane Street Theatre at less than 300 seats was one thing; making the quantum jump to three times that on Broadway at a much higher ticket price was quite another.Lead producer David Binder smartly tapped director Michael C. Mayer, who, in a perfect storm of creativity, brought together all the right elements, including Tony winners Lena Hall, as Yitzhak, and lighting designer Kevin Adams. Also among the shows eight Tony nominations were Mayer, set designer Julian Crouch, costume designer Arianne Phillips, and sound designer Tim O’Heir. The $5 million production recouped in nearly record time — three months after its official opening — and has been in the black since.The socio-cultural moment of gender reassignment — Bruce Jenner’s transformation being only the latest salvo — no doubt gave (and continues to give) added momentum to the show. Presumably Diggs will raise the hipness quotient, even though it might at first be difficult to imagine him as Mitchell’s “slip of a girly boy.”Also giving a boost to the box-office is the recent announcement that the Tony Awards Administration Committee has voted a Special Tony Award to Mitchell for his performance in “Hedwig” this season. He will receive the award on Sunday, June 7, when the Tonys are doled out at Radio City Music Hall in a live broadcast on CBS.The success of “Hedwig” and the Tony Awards should serve as encouragement to Mitchell and Trask as they go about writing a sequel that brings Hedwig up to date. Promised for this installment are some of the characters who remained off-stage in “Hedwig,” including his ex-boyfriend Tommy Gnosis and his manager, Phyllis Stein.
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