RuPaul’s Drag Race season 3/Allstars 1 fan fave Mimi Imfurst (Braden Chapman) will star in an upcoming revival of Hedwig & the Angry Inch at the Ruba Club in Philadelphia.
The reTHEATER’s production of the 4th wall smashing gender bending rock musical will begin June 1st in Philadelphia at RUBA CLUB, and will be set as the backdrop for this new immersive production of the cult pop-culture phenomenon. With its incredible score and hilariously heartfelt book, this 20th anniversary production re-examines John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s explosive rock musical with a fresh eye while paying homage to its iconic flair.
Here’s what Mimi has to say about the importance of Hedwig in her life and taking on the iconic role:
“When I was 15, my family disowned me for being gay. I was living on the streets and the only possessions were the clothes on my back, a discman, and the original off-broadway cast recording of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. Those songs in many ways kept me going during the most difficult time in my life. Now twenty years later, it brings me full circle to bring to bring to life this incredible story & live in these songs that once saved me in unimaginable ways.” said Chapman of playing HEDWIG.
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH runs June 1-24th at RUBA CLUB (416 Green St) in Philadelphia, PA. Performances are every Friday-Sunday with additional week days and late nights. Tickets are priced $15-35. More information, Full performance schedule, and tickets are available on reTHEATER’s website www.reTHEATER.org This production is co-produced by reTHEATER in association with FauxRealCo and presented under permission granted by Dramatists Play Service.
HEDWIG will be played by Braden Chapman (Mimi Imfurst). The role of Yitzhak will be alternated by Sav Souza and Stephanie C. Kernisan. The Angry Inch will be played by Bobby Goodrich, Paul Severe Harlan, Robert Covello, and Tucker Marhsall. This production will be directed by Josh Hitchens with production design and co-direction by Braden Chapman. Set Design by Scott McMaster, Lighting Design by Ken Jordan and Costume Design/Music Direction by Bobby Goodrich.
And here’s a quick summary for the two or three readers who have never seen the iconic musical:
Brilliantly innovative, heartbreaking, and wickedly funny, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is the landmark musical by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask that is “groundbreaking and undoubtedly ahead of its time” (Entertainment Weekly). HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH 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 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 journey, how her self-sacrificing escape out of East Berlin lead her to a trailer park in Kansas. How she then 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. It’s a story about finding your other half, a search for love and self-acceptance.
