Give "Angry Inch" A Chance!

Give Angry Inch a chance 

Anna Jacyszyn 

Oct 10, 2018 

Facebook rejected this poster advertising the Fred Skeleton Theatre Company’s upcoming production of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. 

 

Now that we are fed and watered and thankful from the long weekend, this week forward feels short, but packed with interesting occasions and evenings out. 

I have signed up for a writing class, beginning this week, in hopes of harnessing all the threads of life stories that dance unleashed inside of me. A Pandora’s box of photos, reunited characters from my past, memories that may or may not be all real, but I embrace them inside my imagination and perhaps, one day, tie together in a book. 

The theatre is ripe with opening nights this week; Tonight, Kelowna Actors Studio opens its doors for the first show of its new season: Young Frankenstein. 

It’s based on the classic 1974 film from Mel Brooks starring Gene Wilder. This parody of the horror genre is gleefully reanimated for the stage with jokes, songs and innuendo that sticks a pitchfork into good taste while it oozes glorious fun and slap shtick. 

The show runs Oct. 10-28 at Kelowna Actors Studio Theatre, 1379 Ellis St. 

Tickets can be purchased through Kelowna Tickets at their new location, 100-2600 Enterprise Way, by calling 250-862-2867 or visiting KelownaTickets.com. 

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Tomorrow night, Fred Skeleton Theatre Company is premiering its controversial musical Hedwig and the Angry Itch. 

This is the first full-on musical the multi award winning theatre company has put on, and the reason I say controversial is not about the content of the actual show itself but the image on the playbill and posters advertising it was banned from Facebook for being too graphic. 

Image and opinions aside, the musical is a well-crafted rock concert about Hedwig (Thomas Fournier), who speaks directly to the audience letting you discover the character’s history through a series of monologues. 

What a history it is. 

Starting as a young man in East Berlin, he is convinced by an amorous American soldier named Luther to get a sex-change operation so that they can get married. Unfortunately, the surgery is botched and he is left with an “angry inch.” After being left in a Kansas trailer park by Luther, Hedwig reinvents himself and meets a young man named Tommy. 

They fall in love and literally make sweet music together, until Tommy discovers what’s between Hedwig’s legs and, repulsed, spurns him. Tommy takes all of the songs that they wrote together and becomes successful. 

It’s at this point the show really begins. 

The new Hedwig Robinson, “internationally ignored song stylist barely standing before you,” kicks off the first stop of her last-minute-Canadian-tour with the help of her band “The Angry Inch.” She recounts and rocks her way through the journey of her life; a journey over the Wall, from East Berlin to Junction City, Kansas; a journey from man to woman in search of her other half. 

Also in the cast is Sammi Morelli playing Yitzhak, Hedwig’s backup singer, dresser, roadie, and husband and with a live band of exceptional musicians to include: Loni Moger on guitar, Stefan Bienz on bass, and Andy Ashley on drums under the musical direction of pianist Neville Bowman. 

Brandon Shalansky revamped the script to capture what’s current and fit the show into its run at the Creekside Theatre.

Read More: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/entertainment/article_54553ada-cc08-11e8-b005-63729c41dbc4.html

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