Hedfest! Celebrating 20 Years of Hedwig & the Angry Inch!

Hedfest celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Off-Broadway debut of Hedwig and the Angry Inch... It is a Jubilee of Gender Diversity, Glitter, Love, & Rock-n-Roll! It's a three-nights/two-days-long mini-festival, taking place on the grounds of the Grey Eagle Music Hall, featuring various daytime shenanigans, booths offering one-of-a-kind wares by local LGBTQIA artisans and merchants; a glitterglam gala, "The Hed Bangers Ball," on opening night, and of course... ...a 3-nights-only presentation of the original, live rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch! FEATURING... Iggy Ingler as Hedwig! Polly Panic as Yitzhak! Musical Director: Pretty Boy Floyd Video Projections by Jennifer Bennett (JenBen Media) ​ This show is open to audience members ages 15+ (Hedwig deals with mature subject matter. Parental discretion is advised) CALENDAR OF EVENTS: FRIDAY, MARCH 30TH HedFest Weekend Kick-Off! https://www.facebook.com/events/191017768150124 Doors at 6:00 7:00 pm – Hedwig and the Angry Inch 9:00 pm: "Hed Bangers Ball" - a gala glitterfest event featuring... ...Party FOUL: Drag Circus at 10:00 ...Head-Wig Pageant ...Naughty Easter Bunny Photo Booth ...Riff-Raffle and Loud Silent Auction with Auctioneer, Ida Carolina! (100% of proceeds to Tranzmission) ...Dance party starting at midnight NOTE: Wigs and/or bunny ears are mandatory! If you don't have any, we will have some available for purchase at the door! Amazing make-up and other glamalicious attire are strongly encouraged as well! HED BANGERS BALL TICKETS SOLD SEPARATELY – OR – AS DISCOUNTED SHOW/BALL COMBO PASSES - THEY CAN BE PURCHASED ON THE TICKET SALES PAGES FOR EACH NIGHT'S SHOW! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SATURDAY, MARCH 31st! Day 2 of Hedfest Weekend https://www.facebook.com/events/2024234167789033/ 7:30 pm – Opening act: Cassandra Complex – Featuring local trans-fem vocalist Kristi Seahorse, performing tunes that could be described as Velvet Underground meets The Circle Jerks 9:00 pm – Hedwig and the Angry Inch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sunday, April 1 Day 3 - Holy Hedfest Weekend https://www.facebook.com/events/185997298824477/ 11:00 am: All-Day HedFest Bazaar, Beer, and Tacos...free, family-friendly, daytime entertainment AND local LGBTQ merchants selling one-of-a kind wares Featuring TOYBOX THEATRE! 1:00 pm – Easter Egg Hunt for children of LGBTQ families and allies 5:00 pm – Hedwig and the Angry Inch Matinee Show! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 20 years ago, on Valentine’s Day, 1998, Hedwig and the Angry Inch made its Off-Broadway debut at The Jane Street Theatre in New York City. It had been developed over four years, starting in 1994 at Squeezebox, a New York drag/punk club by writer/director/star, John Cameron Mitchell, and songwriter/musician, Stephen Trask. They successfully brought that raw, rock/punk energy of the show’s upbringing to the stage, and by the time it hit The Jane Street Theater, it was immediately recognized as one of the only “rock musicals” to truly rock. The show is a magical alchemy of camp humor, punk energy, history, and torch song pathos, with a twist of surrealism, telling a poignant story of heartbreak, oppression, liberation, and resurrection that has connected with audiences of all walks of life over the last 20 years, touching on that misguided quest we all tend to find ourselves on: searching for completion. It has particularly resonated with people who don’t fit into any form of gender binary. Even after two decades, its themes remain relevant, especially in our country’s current climate of prejudice, prospective walls, and trans-misogyny. You could say we need Hedwig now more than ever in the past twenty years. The Off-Broadway production ran for 857 shows, winning an Obie Award and two Outer Critics Circle Awards, closing on April 9th, 2000. It was adapted as an award-winning film in 2002, one which quickly earned itself an esteemed place in cult film history, with a growing popularity that nearly borders on pop-culture status. In 2014, it was readapted as a full Broadway production, with various notable actor/singers taking on the challenge of the title role, opening with Neil Patrick Harris, and later including John Cameron Mitchell himself, Darren Chris, and Michael C. Hall. who also starred in David Bowie’s stage musical, Lazarus (side note: Bowie also co-produced the Los Angeles production of Hedwig). Since 1998, it has been staged hundreds of times around the world in both large and small-scale productions, including here in Asheville in 2002, and again in 2011, at the Asheville Community Theater, enjoying sell-out performances during both weeks-long runs, with audiences ranging from students to seniors. As a limited, three-night-run that taps Hedwig and the Angry Inch at its roots, demand for seats is expected to be high and tickets are very likely to sell out.