John Cameron Mitchell on 25 Years of ‘Hedwig’ and His Broadway Return
A Legacy Defined by Punk Energy
John Cameron Mitchell is no stranger to the transformative power of the perfect wig. At 63, the Broadway legend remains best known for his punk-rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which charts the rage-filled escapades of genderqueer glam rocker Hedwig. Unlike the typical musical, the story unfolds in gigs, with Hedwig explaining her origins, failed sex-reassignment surgery, and current vendetta all while donning rock-n-roll updos and gravity-defying hair pieces. The musical premiered off-Broadway in 1998, and in 2001, it was turned into a film, with Mitchell both starring and directing. While the film was considered a commercial flop after its release, Hedwig has since become one of the most important queer cult classics in the Broadway canon.
“Hedwig, when we first did it, Broadway was not welcoming,” Mitchell says. “We knew we would never be accepted on Broadway, just like the film wouldn’t probably be up for an Oscar, because it’s too queer. Too punk. But that didn’t dissuade us.”
Celebrating Milestones with ‘Oh, Mary!’
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the career-defining project. Fittingly, Mitchell is celebrating Hedwig’s legacy by taking a swing at a queer Broadway offering that wouldn’t exist without it: the Tony-Award winning play Oh, Mary!
The day we speak, Mitchell is backstage at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre, preparing to don a ringlet-heavy wig and become a drunken, horny, and borderline psychotic version of former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Written and originated by Cole Escola, Oh, Mary! has gone from an Off-Broadway longshot into a successful Broadway staple. After Escola’s departure, the varied stars that have donned Mary’s hoop skirts have made this show a constantly evolving treasure; Jane Krakowski, Jinx Monsoon, and Titus Burgess have taken the reins. Maya Rudolph will make her Broadway debut in it this spring. But right now, until April 26, it’s Mitchell’s turn.
“[After] I saw [Oh, Mary!], I Instagrammed about it,” Mitchell says. “The director [Sam Pinkelton] DM’d and said ‘We need to do something together.’ I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll throw my wig in the ring.'”
The Evolution of Queer Theater
Mitchell notes that there is a community linking the people who pick up Mary’s wig. Monsoon, a former Mary, is a close friend. Mason Alexander Park, the actor who started the West End run, played Hedwig on tour. But what he gets continually excited about is how the show—like Hedwig—continues to birth its own interpretations.
“Call me old fashioned, but I get excited when I see full-on talent unimproved by technology,” he says. “Broadway is one of the places where you can’t hide. Honey, eight shows a week ain’t playing.”
When asked about his Mary administration, Mitchell explains, “It’s very different. But I also am not shy about borrowing what works for other people. I don’t see that as stealing or appropriating. I see it as a tradition passed on. My Mary, I’ve decided, saw herself as more fancy than she is, meaning maybe her elocution school or finishing school was a home-schooled one. And she’s the teacher, which could end in tears, right? So she has a fancier way of over emphasizing, over pronouncing. So she’s a kind of self-taught autodidactic cabaret singer. And when you are taught by yourself, it can quickly collapse. And she does.”
As for the future of Hedwig, Mitchell remains philosophical. “It’s wonderful to have this child called Hedwig that has its own life. You can check in on it and be proud of it, and then periodically go, ‘Oh, good.’ And it will live on without me. I would never stop someone from doing it, and I don’t control it. Even in the script, I say, make it your own. Add your own. Don’t subtract the core stuff, but add your own stuff to make it yours. I don’t want it to be preserved in aspic.”
