How can I contact John Cameron Mitchell or Stephen Trask?

Both men are very busy carrying on with new project in their careers which are both separate from each other. They do not have a fan email address for the public.

A fan listed the following mail address for John on the forum. Please know that there is no guarantee for letters to be answered.

John Cameron Mitchell
c/o Innovative Artists
235 Park Avenue South, 7th floor
New York, NY 10003

Who is Cheater and what happened to the them?

Cheater was the band that was fronted by Stephen Trask. The band played with John Cameron Mitchell in the early Hedwig days and in the original cast. Cheater also included David McKinley (drums), Chris Weilding (guitar) and Jack Slack aka "Jack Steeb" (bass). They were the house band for Don Hill's night Squeeze Box. They became known as The Angry Inch in the play. Jack left the band over a year before Hedwig went to the Jane Street Theatre. Scott Bilbrey later played bass in the show. Past members of Cheater have since moved on. Chris is in a band called Grummer. Scott & Dave were in the band Tin Shade. All members of Cheater performed with Hedwig up till the Spring of 1999. Chris was the only member of the band that was there from the beginning of the show till it's closing day. Many great musicians filled in the roles of the band on stage. Michael Cerveris (NY Hedwig) and Jeremy Chatzky (NY Jacek/bass) are in a band called Retriever. Close to the end of the NY run the current members of The Angry Inch in 2000 played gigs at Manitoba's as The Inch Worms with guest vocals by Asa Somers (NY Hedwig understudy).

Cheater does not have a CD for sale. There are a few bands that have the same name, so please do not order them in hopes that it's the NY Cheater. There was a two song 45 vinyl record realease in 1994 song titles: the hours (dry side) & times b/w sticky (wet side).

How did the show begin? 

Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell were working on the play before Stephen started working at Don Hill's Squeezebox in 1994. Stephen & Cheater were the house band for Squeezebox and Trask was the musical director. The only character at this point was the Tommy Gnosis character and the story explored his lovers. John and Stephen then came up with the idea of Hedwig as a drag character who would be one of the lovers, and Stephen forced her onto the bill. As time progressed the Hedwig character slowly took over, gaining local notoriety and also in interest until Tommy ended up off-stage, out the door, where he essentially remained.*

At one point there was a gig on Fred Hochber's & Tommy Healy's Fire Island beach deck for an AIDS benefit. This turned out to be a disaster in broad daylight as all her jokes died. There was an all Tommy gig at a burger joint called Brew's, then moving on to the Fez (under Time Cafe). Westbeth Theatre, public theatre was the next step. It was quickly realized that Hedwig and the Angry Inch could not be in a normal theatre. Then one of John's friends recommended a hotel down by the river (Hotel Riverview) as space for the show. The result was buying the space, transforming it and building it into the Jane Street Theatre. Peter Askin (Director) and company fixed the ballroom of the hotel. Theatre seats were bought and placed in the Jane. It ended up becoming the perfect home for Hedwig.  

Hotel Riverview's history as written in Playbill March 1998...

The Titanic History of the Hotel Riverview

The Riverview was erected in 1907 as a lodging house for the able-bodied seamen. In 1912, it housed the surviving crew of the Titanic who reported being haunted by ghosts of their less fortunate shipmates. Herman Melville is rumored to have worked the front desk. Over the years, the Hotel's Grand Ballroom has played host to a number of nightclubs (The Rock Hotel, Club Jane) and theatres (Theater for the New City). Hedwig and the Angry Inch inaugurates the newly constructed Jane Street Theater.

*Thanks to Stephen for the revised and correct version of how Hedwig began.

Why is the Character Yitzak portrayed as a guy and played by a girl? 

Stephen Trask wanted to have the high range back up vocals, and with a girl in the man's role, this could easily be accomplished. Since Miriam Shor's (original cast) portrayal it is now tradition to cast the part to a female. It's also helps mess with the wonderful role of gender-bending on stage. Yitzak is a man, who used to be a drag queen (Hedwig made him promise never to wear another wig again once they got married) and dreams of becoming one once again.

Is there Sheet music for the play or movie? 

After many years of fans asking for this, Hedwig And The Angry Inch: Piano/Vocal Selections was released June 15th 2004 by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. Click link provided here to purchase Hedwig And The Angry Inch: Piano/Vocal Selections.

What is the meaning in the ending of the movie? 

The movies ending is left open by the director to give the freedom for each individual to make their own conclusions and personal interpretation.

How do you get your lips to look like Hedwig's? 

Mike Potter is the fabulous wig & make-up designer responsible for Hedwig's red disco ball lips. Here's his secret ingredients that he kindly posted on the official message board. 

How do I obtain the rights to the play?

Contact Dramatists Play Service, Inc. 440 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016 USA.

Telephone: 212-683-8960 Fax: 212-213-1539 E-mail: postmaster@dramatists.com

Musical

Cast: 1 male, 1 female, 2 total.
Setting: INTERIOR

"HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH brings theater alive with the pounding sounds of rock ’n’ roll and the funny sad voicing of a painful past...it is also an adult, thought-provoking musical about the quest for individuality...the kind of Rocky Horror Picture Show?style event that may inspire a rabid cult following." --NY Times. "Sublimely trashy and surprisingly powerful." --LA Times. "In the whole long, sorry history of rock musicals, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is the first one that truly rocks." --Rolling Stone. "The most exciting rock score written for the theater since, oh, ever!" --Time Magazine.

Book title: Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Not Yet Published)
Price: $7.00
INSTRUMENTATION: Keyboards, Bass, Guitar, Drums.

THE STORY: This groundbreaking Obie-winning Off-Broadway smash also won multiple awards for its hit film adaptation. It tells the story of "internationally ignored song stylist" Hedwig Schmidt, a fourth-wall smashing East German rock ’n’ roll goddess who also happens to be the victim of a botched sex-change operation, which has left her with just "an angry inch." This outrageous and unexpectedly hilarious story is dazzlingly performed by Hedwig (née Hansel) in the form of a rock gig/stand-up comedy routine backed by the hard-rocking band "The Angry Inch." Using songs and monologues, Hedwig tells her story which began in the former East Berlin where as Hansel he meets Luther, an American GI who promises to take the young man to the States on the condition that he switch his sex. After the bungled operation, Luther abandons newly named Hedwig in a Kansas trailer park where she turns to music and meets geeky Tommy Speck, whom she takes under her wing and soon falls for. Tommy steals her songs, achieves rock star fame, and Hedwig is once again cast aside. She decides to demand redress and stalks Tommy’s world tour, performing in the T.G.I. Friday’s that are situated next door to his stadiums. Hedwig describes her life’s search for "The Origin of Love" and her other half. It’s a rocking ride, funny, touching and ultimately inspiring to anyone who has felt life gave them an inch when they deserved a mile.

ISBN: 0-8222-1901-8

How come the songs are out of sequence on the original soundtrack and are Tommy's songs in the film? How does the soundtrack differ from the cast recording.

The CD is presented as a rock CD rather than the movie story. Also included are new songs which gave Stephen the opportunity to sing a few songs for himself as Tommy. Freaks is in the movie when Little Hansel is dancing on the bed. The other tracks Nailed & In Your Arms Tonight are in background and not put forward in a noticeable way. These are meant to be Tommy Gnosis's hits. The CD was recorded in a style to give the sense of live and raw, rather than polished and over produced.

The Original Cast CD includes Random Number Generation which was not in the play and was added by Stephen to give a better flow from one song to the next for those who had not seen the show. It also gave Miriam Shor her own song to sing. The songs on the CD are in show order. It's more produced, cleaner sounding and more upbeat.  

Where can I buy Hedwig merchandise?

New Line Cinema has official product at this link. Other suggestion would be to shop on eBay.com and buy from private collectors.

Where can get one of those Hedhead yellow foam wigs like in the movie?

New Line Cinema had these made for promotional use only. They were given out at various locations in the US and in Canada in the summer of 2001. They are not for sale. You can only get them through private collectors at this point in time or on at eBay.com.

I love Hedwig's tattoo in the film and want the same one. Where can I get the image?

The cartoon version of the image that Hedwig has on her hip was created by Emily Hubley and can be found in the movie soundtrack (available on Hybrid Records). You can also click on the thumbnail images seen here and you can print it off the various stages for your tattoo artist to recreate. 

Is there a Hedwig Karaoke CD's that I can purchase?

There is no official Karaoke Hedwig CD for sale. Japan has them for sing-a-longs. If anyone has Karaoke equipment, one can be made.