Winner of the 2001 Obie Award and Outer Circle Critics Award for best Off-Broadway Musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the story of a young East German who discovers that the only way to escape communism and come to the United States is to give up a little part of himself. Yes, through a bit of surgery, Hansel becomes Hedwig, marries, and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. In its first rock musical ever, American Theater Company transforms its theatrical warehouse into an underground nightclub for a concert event not to be missed.

"We want to thank John and Stephen for allowing us to produce this version of Hedwig," says ATC Artistic Director PJ Paparelli. “This is a Hedwig like none before. Think Blondie meets Bowie. Chicago needs to have an exuberant theatre experience and that's what Hedwig is. Great music. Great theatricality. Great emotions. Besides the mind-blowing score, this show is all about the new America: searching for its true identity and embracing its diversity."

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Nick Garrison (Hedwig) has played the titular role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in Seattle in 2000 and 2004, in Chicago in 2001 (Joseph Jefferson Award - Best Actor), in San Francisco in 2003 and on tour in the UK in 2005 and 2006. In Seattle he has been seen at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in The Beard Of Avon, Twelfth Night and boom, at the Intiman Theatre in Loot, at the 5th Avenue Theatre in The Rocky Horror Show and Cabaret, at the Empty Space Theatre in Valley Of The Dolls, Vera Wilde, Project X and (L)Imitations Of Life, and at Re-bar in Dirty Little Showtunes, The Misanthrope, Deflowered in the Attic, and his own pieces - Randee Sparks: Semi-Precious and What You Sing Might Save You. He appeared in New York in Mae West's Sex and at the Humana Festival in Aloha, Say The Pretty Girls and Life Under 30. Film and TV: Creatures From The Pink Lagoon, Deadline, and Strangers With Candy.

Sadieh Rifai (Yitzhak) is thrilled to be back at ATC where she recently became an ensemble member. She was last seen in It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play and Speech & Debate which won her an After Dark Award for Outstanding Performance. Other Chicago credits include understudying the role of Johnna in August: Osage County (Steppenwolf Theatre) and the role of Noorani in Merchant on Venice (Silk Road Theatre). Sadieh is also a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf (2006). She would like to thank Adal, Mom and Dan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PJ Paparelli (Director) Season 24 marks PJ’s first full season as Artistic Director of American Theater Company. His ATC and Chicago debut was the regional premiere of Speech & Debate, and he most recently directed True West as part of ATC's American Classic Repertory. From 2004-08, he was the Artistic Director of Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. During his tenure, Perseverance expanded its staff, completed a $1.1M facility expansion/renovation and $1M Endowment campaign, significantly increased audiences around the state, and sent projects Off-Broadway, Washington, DC, and around the United States. His directing credits include the World Premiere of Yeast Nation, Equus, The Who’s Tommy, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, the premiere of a new version of Hair, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Voyage, and columbinus. PJ conceived and co-adapted Raven Odyssey, a theatrical journey of Alaska Native Raven stories, gathered through interviews with Elders across the state. Other projects under PJ’s guidance were revised versions of The Laramie Project and Tlingit Macbeth, spoken in English and Tlingit (the indigenous culture of Juneau) which was presented at the Kennedy Center’s Shakespeare in Washington Festival. In 2002, PJ founded the United States Theatre Project, where he conceived, co-wrote, and directed columbinus, which premiered at Round House Theatre and Perseverance, and ran Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. columbinus was nominated for 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, 5 Helen Hayes Awards, is published by Dramatic Publishing, and has seen over 20 productions around the world. From 1998-2004, he served as the Associate Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, where his directing credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Love Letters (with Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook), All’s Well That Ends Well (Classical Acting Conservatory), Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice and many plays in the ReDiscovery Series. He was associate director on Much AdoAbout Nothing with Karen Ziemba, and The Oedipus Plays with Avery Brooks at the Athens Festival in Greece. The Washington Post called PJ “One of the most exciting talents working in Washington.” His DC productions include Romeo and Juliet (The Folger Theatre), a collaboration with Terrence McNally on a new version of Corpus Christi at Source Theatre (2003 GLAAD Media Award), The Diaries (Signature Theatre) and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Washington Shakespeare). Other directing credits include Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis), Twelfth Night at Shakespeare Santa Cruz (2005 Newsweek’s Top 5 summer productions), The Merchant of Venice (American Shakespeare Center), Action (Circle Rep) and True West in Russian at the Moscow Art Theatre School. PJ has directed and/or taught Shakespeare at Juilliard, Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, NCSA, University of Alaska-Southeast, UNC-Chapel Hill, Catholic University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins. He holds a BFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon and graduate studies in acting at the Moscow Art Theatre School. He is a member of the SSDC and is represented by Creative Artists Agency.

Keith Pitts (Scenic Designer) is pleased to be back home at ATC where he has been an Ensemble member since 2001. Keith has been designing scenery in the Midwest since 2000. Design credits include: True West, Topdog/Underdog, Speech & Debate, Orpheus Descending, Heritage, American Dead, Two Rooms, and End Game (American Theater Company); Weekend and Harmless (Timeline Theatre); As You Like It, The Savannah Disputation, Othello, Puppet Master of Lodz (Writers Theatre); State of the Union (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre); Crime and Punishment (Milwaukee Chambers Theatre); She Stoops to Conquer (Northlight Theatre); Vincent in Brixton (Jeff Nominated) and Jammin’ with Pops (Apple Tree); A Dybbuk (Northwestern University), Defiance, Helen, and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Next Theatre); Angel Street, Noises Off, Master Class, Death Trap, Into the Woods, Fools, Broadway Bound, The Taffetas, Proof, A Man for All Seasons, The Odd Couple, and The Foreigner (Peninsula Players Theatre). Some upcoming designs include Old Glory (Writers' Theatre), Curtains (Drury Lane Oakbrook), and The Piano Lesson (The Court Theatre).

Malcolm Ruhl (Musical Director) Musical Direction credits: Ain’t Misbehavin’ at The Goodman Theatre; Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at Drury Lane Oakbrook and Water Tower Theatres; Oklahoma! at ATC (Jeff nomination); Woody Guthrie’s American Song (Jeff Award), Blues in the Night (Jeff nomination) and Smoke on the Mountain at Northlight Theatre; Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Apollo and Forum Theatres (Jeff nomination); Grease at Theatre at the Center; Big, the Musical and Big River at Apple Tree Theatre. Malcolm appeared as “Jackson” in the Broadway production of Pump Boys and Dinettes and in the record-breaking run at Chicago’s Apollo Theatre, where he currently serves as Musical Coordinator for Million Dollar Quartet. Composition credits include music for Holiday Memories at Northlight and Cicada Dance, for which he received Kennedy Center/ACTF awards for original play, music and lyrics. He has performed with Big Joe Turner, Harry Chapin, The Osmond Brothers, Vassar Clements, Jim Lauderdale and Jason Robert Brown.

Read an interview with June LaTrobe, Transgender Liaison at the Center on Halstead

Read about the origin of Hedwig

A note about ATC’s production of Hedwig and The Angry Inch