[Jef Hall-Flavin]

2002

Quite possibly the most meaningful show I've directed, the Minneapolis Hedwig was only the 3rd production the authors licensed after its Off-Broadway run ended in January 2000. One of its New York press agents, James Morrison, helped make it possible for our small but award-winning company, Outward Spiral, to punch well above its weight. We extended the show twice, turning a 4-week run into a 3-month love fest.

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I couldn't have dreamed up a better team of people to bring Hedwig to life. I've rarely felt as much passion for the material -- or as much love in the room -- as I did during the creation and performance of this piece. With a kick-ass transgender drummer and two female guitarists (!) this production was much more than a show, it was a genderfucking, rock-and-rolling dream. It marked our lives forever.

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Hedwig gives voice to the outsider, but to me the appeal is even greater than that. The writing is deeply cathartic as Greek tragedy and politically sharp as satire. The music straddles genres and moods that mix into an addictive cocktail. Hedwig is transgressive, bitter, and in-between. And yet, a universal human pain cries out from her halfness, and we are healed by her vulnerability: her wounded search for the origin of love, for self, for wholeness.