Hedwig and the Angry Inch Slays with Sawyer Smith in the Lead Role at Signature Theatre
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Signature Theatre
Jordan Wright
April 26, 2025
When Hedwig and the Angry Inch finished its premiere Broadway run, Signature made the decision to mount this niche production. That was 26 years ago. Now in their 35th season, Signature is re-staging this four-time Tony Award-winning rock musical.
Directors of Hedwig have free rein to create adlibs for the script and the actors do too, affording a wide berth to interpret the script with both topical and regional humor. In in our area that means politics. Inside the Beltway mixing politics and theater guarantees a hugely receptive audience, especially given our current political and regional climate. And for a non-federally funded theater with a progressive board and deep-pocket donors, that translates to free license to mount edgy, intriguing and controversial theatre.
Sawyer Smith (Hedwig) in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Signature Theatre. (Photo/Daniel Rader)
With that said creator/writer/original cast performer John Cameron Mitchell (who refers to Hedwig as “genderqueer”) in partnership with composer/writer Stephen Trask, allowed for countless reinterpretations to keep the show both current and relevant. This production ushers in the 50thAnniversary of World Pride celebrations in the nation’s capital.
Born male in East Berlin in 1961 before the wall came down, Hedwig, neé Hansel (note the lederhosen), is the child of an absent Army officer father and a cruel and loveless mother. As a child he referred to himself as a “girly boy” who liked to dress in drag. In his teen years, he meets Luther, a soldier eager to encourage his tendencies and who will become his sugar daddy. One day, Luther tells Henry he will marry him, but he will need to have a sex change operation. When Henry wakes up the botched job leaves him with an inch of his manhood.
Vanessa (V) Sterling (Yitzhak), Sawyer Smith (Hedwig), and Joanna Smith (Bass) (Photo/Daniel Rader)
Hansel, now Hedwig (Sawyer Smith), is abandoned by Luther and soon meets Tony, a rock musician. She writes all of Tony’s material and his star ascends, but he too abandons her. It’s 1989 and she winds up in a mobile home in Kansas divorced, penniless and a woman. But despite all that, Hedwig, no slouch to show biz and the glam world of rock, decides to hit the boards with the help of her new husband Yitzhak (Vanessa (V) Sterling) who is as mercurial as a snapdrake – alternating between servile and surreptitious.
Accompanied by a four-piece band Hedwig, now in eye-popping costumes and towering wigs, performs an androgynously hilarious act filled with trash and flash. Their music is an amalgam of punk rock, glam rock and head-banging heavy metal and reminds me of the Russian feminist anti-Putin rock group “Pussy Riot”.
Vanessa (V) Sterling (Yitzhak) (Photo/Daniel Rader)
This immersive production snatches life at every turn with cheesy jokes, sassy quips and audience participation. Sit in the front row if you dare – or if you like. The music veers from mosh pit raucous to beautifully tender ballads with Hedwig revving up the audience with twirls and whirls, high kicks and massive allure as her story unfolds.
Chicago actor Sawyer Smith is riveting and reckless. You can’t look away for a second. She has the charisma and vocal chops to captivate the audience who lap up every minute. Sterling is a perfect vocal match to Smith and their harmonies are most especially lovely in the ballads.
Vanessa (V) Sterling (Yitzhak) and Sawyer Smith (Hedwig) with Marika Countouris (Keyboard), Sam Carolla (Drums), Joanna Smith (Bass), and Alec Green (Guitar) (Photo/Daniel Rader)
With The Angry Inch Band of Sam Carolla on drums; Marika Countouris on keyboard and as Music Director; Alec Green on guitar; and Joanna Smith on bass guitar.
Directed by Ethan Heard, Text by John Cameron Mitchell, Choreography by Ashleigh King, Costumes by Eric Teague, Scenic Design by Richie Ouellette, Lighting Design by K Rudolph, Sound Design by Eric Norris, Wig & Makeup Design by Ali Pohanka.
Recommended for grown-ups of all stripes. Wave your freak flag and join the madly wacky world of Hedwig.
Through June 22nd at Signature Theatre, in the Village of Shirlington, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA. For tickets and information call the box office at 703.820.9771 or visit www.SigTheatre.org.