We’re barely a month into the local theater season, but already the bar has been set pretty high for best show of the year with “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The rock musical, produced masterfully by Tristan Tapscott (best known for his work as impresario of District Theater) and brilliantly acted by titular star Anthony Jade Natarelli, is a bravura production, doing the award-winning source material proud and presenting a show of rare entertainment and exquisite humanity. For those who haven’t seen it or heard of it, “Hedwig,” which is making its area stage debut at Rock Island’s... Read More

From David Bowie to Boy George to Caitlin Jenner, gender blurring and androgyny has made for provocative entertainment and social commentary, and perhaps no production has been more bombastic or incisive in recent years than “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” which makes its area stage debut this weekend at Rock Island’s Speakeasy theater. The show, an unrepentantly over-the-top musical and dramatic extravaganza about a transgender singer that explores themes of love, freedom, gender identity and social politics, was critically acclaimed, showered by awards and a box office smash since its 1998... Read More