Hedwig And The Angry Inch: Music Analysis

When it came to the 1990s, the incorporation of both theatrical elements and rock music in the musical theatre has matured significantly, which has been notable in the show Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Advocated by Fricke (1998), Hedwig had been by the time the first rock musical that truly rocked. On the one hand, Hedwig serves as a successful model where elements of musical theatre and rock have been harmoniously integrated. For instance, based on only eleven songs of its musical score, the story of Hedwig unfolds in the form of her direct and extended monologue to the audience ("Hedwig And The Angry Inch- The Guide To Musical Theatre" 2016). With merely occasional lines spoke by other characters, the majority of musical numbers are hence aggressively amplified to highlight Hedwig’s changing moods or furthers the plot of the show (Wollman 2006, 181). …show more content…
Noted by rock critic Evelyn McDonnell (1999, quoted in Wollman 2006, 33), the rock world’s often negative attitude towards the musical theatre was mainly resulted from the stereotypical association of rock with idealised masculinity in contrast to the conventional perception of musical theatre as being homogeneous. Originally started in the UK, glam was a cultural phenomenon that involved nebulous social, visual and social elements. In terms of its major visual style, male performers would have worn colorful and extravagant costumes to dramatise the pop scene of the time (Chapman and Johnson 2016, 2). This is typically reflected in Hedwig, where at the very outset of the show John Cameron Mitchell as Hedwig marched down the aisle wearing gender-bending, dazzling costumes and glittering make-up (Wollman 2006,