New York's Hedwig Heads to Playhouse, 19 Sep

The off-Broadway hit, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, will receive its UK premiere this autumn when it opens at the West End's Playhouse Theatre on 19 September. The musical tells the darkly comic life story of Hedwig, a tortured transsexual rock singer, as she performs a concert with her band, The Angry Inch.

The show opened to rave reviews at New York's Jane Street Theatre in February 1998 and went on to win two Obie Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award. At the beginning of the year, however, it looked as though the musical's time had expired when closing notices were posted for January. Remarkably, it received a new lease of life after a critic's eulogy published in the New York Times. It finally closed on 9 April 2000 after 12 previews, 857 performances and more than two years.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch has a book by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. The West End production is directed by Peter Askin and stars Michael Cerveris. Cerveris' Broadway credits include Titanic and The Who's Tommy. He has also played Hedwig in both New York and Los Angeles. Other Hedwigs have included co-author Mitchell, who originated the role, and film star Ally Sheedy, who was the first woman to play the part.

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