'HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH' On the cutting edge

The Oakland continues to offer the area a daring alternative in theater.
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
glam-punk rock musical may seem out of place in downtown Youngstown.
But the Oakland Center for the Arts has survived and often thrived by offering such alternative fare.
"I think that's one of the reasons that the Oakland does what it does is because there needs to be a place in the community for an alternative voice. Because we're a small venue we can dare to be doing things a little bit different," said Paula Jasper, one of the Oakland's interim managers.
Previous productions have challenged, educated and enlightened local audiences. Continuing in that tradition, the Oakland concludes its 2002-03 season of New American plays with the musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
The adult musical production features James McClellan as Hedwig. He also portrays all of the other main characters and is backed by a rock band, which remains onstage throughout the performance. Mike Hinge is the director.
The story
Hedwig begins his journey of life in East Berlin during the building of the Berlin Wall. Growing up in Germany, he is an avid listener of American Armed Forces Radio. Listening to the music of the 1970s makes him long to live in America.
He eventually comes to the United States with the help of an American serviceman. Before leaving Germany, he undergoes a sex-change operation that is botched. The main character tells his life story through songs, performing in drag at small venues beginning in Kansas and traveling east to New York City.
Universal themes are explored in the musical. In McClellan's words, "[Hedwig's] search is for the meaning, the origin of love. He searches for his other half, the other person that will complete him ... finding that person that is the one for you."
The struggles that Hedwig experiences throughout his travels are what make him who he is by the end of the play. "Hedwig shows that not every life is a charmed life. There are a lot of people out there like him," said McClellan.
A difficult role
McClellan is familiar to area audiences for his work in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" with Easy Street Productions, among many other roles.
He cites the role of Hedwig as the most difficult part that he has ever tackled. He is continuously onstage during the 90-minute production. But, as an actor, he relishes the challenge and the accomplishment of the role.
He also sees "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" as "a patriotic piece that is appropriate for these times." Hedwig comes to America and attempts to embrace the American dream. He has left the oppression of the Communist country where he was raised for the freedom to discover who he is meant to be, to emulate the rock stars he listened to on the radio and to find the person he is meant to be with in America.