Kevin Broccoli talks tackling bucket list role of Hedwig

Let this be a lesson to all those aspiring performers and producers out there. Sometimes you just need to get on the phone and make things happen for yourself. Such is the case with the much buzzed-about upcoming local production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the acclaimed Tony Award-winning rock musical opening January 18 at Academy Players. The eagerly anticipated production boasts a unique “triple-crown” pedigree of talent, with Academy Players’ artistic director Rita Maron producing, Counter-Productions Theatre Company’s artistic director Theodore Clement directing and Epic Theatre Company’s artistic director Kevin Broccoli starring as the titular diva.

In the theater’s press release, Broccoli explains, “This is a role that’s been on my bucket list for a while,” recounting that after seeing Academy’s renovated venue, he pitched Maron the idea of doing Hedwig there, stating, “I knew it would be the perfect spot.” Soon enough, John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s cult-hit musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch was on the bill for Academy’s 2019 season, with Broccoli in the lead. “To have Rita producing and Ted directing is a dream come true,” says Broccoli. “I love my home at Epic, but to be able to step into another theater and take on such a challenging and rewarding role is the best feeling in the world.”

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the story of an “internationally ignored” rock singer, Hedwig, and her search for stardom and love. Of course, our heroine comes with some heavy baggage — the German refugee we meet living in a trailer in Kansas is the victim of a botched sex-change operation that has left her scarred in more ways than physical. Since its inception as an Off-Broadway show in 1998, Hedwig and the Angry Inch has grown quite a fan base through the 2001 film adaptation and its recent Broadway and West End productions. I spoke to Broccoli about tackling such a heavyweight role in Academy’s production of the show, which is being billed as “part rock concert, part lounge act and part Broadway spectacular.”

Marilyn Busch (Motif): Neil Patrick Harris, Darren Criss, Taye Diggs, Jinkx Monsoon, Mimi Imfurst all have filled Hedwig’s shoes, and those are some big go-go boots to fill — what can audiences expect from your Hedwig?

Kevin Broccoli: I’ve seen a few Hedwigs, and Michael C. Hall really sticks out in my mind, because he’s not really known for being a singer, but the acting was what really drove his performance, and that’s when I first started to think — I wonder if this is something I could do? For me, the given circumstances are so fascinating and the stakes are so high — it’s just a great place to start. There’s a real desperation to the character and this journey toward a sort of peace with one’s self that I think is really beautiful.

MB: What about performing in drag — is this a first? 

KB: I did drag once — ironically in another show Ted directed — but nothing like this. It’s a challenge I’m really looking forward to, because it’s not just putting on heels and a wig. Hedwig is derived from icons like Bowie, so there’s an ambiguity there where it’s drag, but it’s also advanced drag and something beyond drag all at once.

MB: Are we talking the “expected” blonde wig, high heels and hot pants or are you going in a different direction?

KB: Of course, there are just certain trademark Hedwig boxes you have to check — the wig, for example — but you also need to make it your own, and that’s something I’m excited to discover.

MB: The musical explores Hedwig’s life and complex gender identity after undergoing a botched sex-change. Did you do any research about the gender modification part of the plot?

KB: One of the reasons I wanted to work with Ted on this project is that he comes from a college background where every show is approached with research and consideration. There’s no diving in blind. We’re all making sure we really examine the proper way to take on this material, and part of that is realizing that the botched operation is just one part of Hedwig’s journey, and there’s so much more to her than that one event in her life. The show’s message is that we’re bigger than the things that have happened to us and the bodies we find ourselves in and the labels society tries to put on us as a result of things beyond our control.

MB: From rock anthems to devastating ballads to full-on emotional breakdowns, this play really does ask a lot of its performers. What’s been your approach to the musical demands of this show?

KB: A big part of it is realizing that this is not music that is written for someone with my voice. I just have to put that out there, because I can’t lie and say, “Well, it might surprise you to know that I’m actually a tenor.” I’m not. There is that author’s note at the beginning of the script that says, “Make this your own.” So I just sort of said, “Okay, well why can’t that apply vocally as well?” And that means figuring out how to interpret these songs in a dynamic and powerful way, but also in a way that fits with the character I’m creating throughout the rest of the show. One of the things I didn’t love about Neil Patrick Harris was that there was the acting Hedwig and then the singing Hedwig, and the singing Hedwig was really just NPH winking at the audience a lot. I don’t want to do that. I want the same Hedwig from start-to-finish — for better or worse. Vocal health is also something I’m trying to be very conscious of, because the show really is a beast, and it’s important to me that I’m not giving a different vocal performance every night. The addition of background singers means we can cover the incredible dynamics that are built into the script and it frees me up to explore what my idea of Hedwig is — this performer who is just about to kick off this “unlimited run” but is really on her last legs in so many ways. There’s a finality to the whole piece that reminds you that, yes, this is a rock concert, but it’s also a play with music — and it’s a play more than it’s a musical. Flawless vocals are wonderful, but there’s this whole other dimension to the character we get to investigate by setting that idea aside and making more interesting choices.

MB: Is there really an authors’ note encouraging performers to make the script their own? I’m assuming that’s a giant gift, being a playwright yourself?

KB: It’s a huge gift. Anytime a playwright says, “Make this your own,” I’m immediately attracted to the script they’ve written. But to be honest, every script should have that note at the beginning of it. Not so that you can dramatically change whatever you want, but so that you don’t feel beholden to anything. I know that people have John Cameron Mitchell in their heads when they think of this piece (I do, too) or Neil Patrick Harris or some of the other amazing people who have played Hedwig, and the only way to keep coming back to it is to believe you have something you can contribute that nobody else can.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, directed by Theodore Clement with musical direction by Tobias Andrews features Kevin Broccoli as Hedwig and Vic Leo as Yitzhak with Tabi Baez, Julia Egan, and Erika Fay Greenwood as backup singers The Wigs. Lighting and sound design by Alexander Sprague. Costume design by Victoria Ezikovich and Stephanie Traversa, with wig consultant Suzanne Soares. Performances are January 18 – 27 at the James and Gloria Maron Cultural Arts Center, 180 Buttonhole Drive (Building #2), Providence. Tickets are available online at academyplayersri.org