Hedwig and the pounding sounds of rock

Hedwig Schmidt is an East German "girly boy" whose family apartment was so small he had to use the oven for privacy. Hedwig’s troubled childhood gave way to a disastrous adolescence. Seduced by an American G.I., the shy boy underwent a botched sex change operation that left him neither completely male nor female. "She" escapes East Germany and ends up in a Kansas Park Trailer and meets Tommy, her real love who becomes her back-up singer and protégé, but is now a big-time rock star playing at the Folk Arts Theater while she is stuck in a small venue, the Equitable PCI Bank Theater.

Not exactly Sound of Music – sounding huh? But as magnetically impersonated by the thrilling Jake Macapagal, Hedwig, the delicious headliner of Hedwig and the Angry Inch brings a show alive with the pounding sounds of rock and the funny-sad voicing of a painful past.

For those who don’t remember seeing Jake’s name in theater marquees lately, Jake Macapagal is a talented stage actor whose last local producers were Les Miserables and My Fair Lady with Lea Salonga. Jake then flew to Germany for the Berlin Production of Miss Saigon and most recently, he played the role of Angel in the successful Singapore production of Rent.

"Jake is a natural for Hedwig" says Bobby Garcia, director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. "He was excellent as Angel in RENT Singapore so I thought of casting him in this very tasking role."

"Hedwig is such a difficult role to play because his emotions swing from one to another in an instant," reveals Jake. "She tells the details of her life in between songs – her travails as an internationally ignored song stylist, her constant quest to find her real love."

Hedwig and the Angry Inch opened in New York amidst critical and commercial acclaim. Hollywood’s hottest stars came to see the rock musical written by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask including Madonna, Glenn Close, Parker Posey, Simon Callow, Harvey Fierstein, Isabela Rosellini, David Bowie and Iman.

In the Philippine premiere, a glittering list of celebrities came in to see Bobby’s newest opus. Seen watching Hedwig and the Angry Inch were Rachel Alejandro, Lee Robin Salazar, Epi Quizon, JM Rodriguez, Calvin Millado, MTV VJ Belinda Panelo, Bituin Escalante, Michael de Mesa, Carlo Ledesma, Kit Villanueva-Langit, Ligaya Salonga, Dong Alegre and Ms. Saigon composer Claude Michel-Schonberg who flew in from Singapore just to see the musical.

"I had no idea that Hedwig and the Angry Inch was going to cross boundaries and if people would find it funny. But the musical has tremendous appeal and the response to it has been no less than enthusiastic," says Bobby.

Soon, Bobby will be busy rehearsing for Atlantis’ next outing: the restaging of RENT where Jake will reprise his role as Angel. The musical which tells the story of eight modern day bohemians in search of love and inspiration will open on October. The RENT Manila CD Single with Martin Nievera singing a pop remix of Seasons of Love is currently available at major record stores.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch will be stayed at the PCI Bank Theater tomorrow night, Aug, 25, 30, 31 and Sept. 1. Tickets are available at major National Bookstore branches, Robinson’s Department Stores (Malate and Galleria), Tower Records and at Ticket world.

Freestyle at FAT

[email protected], a concert headlined by Freestyle, Asia’s songbird Regine Velasquez and Roselle Nava opens tomorrow night, Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Folk Art Theater. The concert caps the four-day celebration marking the 18th anniversary of STI, the largest Information Technology education networks in South East Asia.

[email protected] is mounted by Airtime Entertainment headed by Baby Nava-Pacheco.

The STI 18th anniversary celebration kicked off with a two-day interscholastic IT competition, a Website design contest, an impromptu speech contest and a short story telling contest. An STI Talent Search was also held capped with crowning of Mr. & Mrs. STI 2001.

Established on Aug. 21, 1983 STI has now over 100 colleges and education centers throughout the country. It is a member of the Global University Alliance (GUA), a partnership of fully accredited international universities dedicated to providing students around the world with accessible on-line education programs.