Kevin Cahoon will begin a five-week reign as the third Hedwig to headline John Cameron Mitchell's hit Off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Cahoon had been the understudy for Michael Cerveris, who left the show on Aug. 7. During Cerveris' tenure, Cahoon played one show a week.

Cahoon will leave the show when film star and former Brat Packer Ally Sheedy assumes the title role on Sept. 13. It is not known how long she will stay with the role.

Sheedy will be the first female to play the part of the tortured German transsexual rocker. To date, only male actors have filled the role: Mitchell, Cerveris and Cahoon.

Sheedy starred in such mid-80s teen comedies as "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmo's Fire." Her career was long on the down side, however, when the 1998 art film "High Art" brought her back into the public eye. In that movie, Sheedy played lesbian, drug-addled has-been photographer.

Hedwig was written by its star, Mitchell (book), and Trask (music and lyrics). Cerveris plays the title singer, an obscure and tortured transsexual rock singer, who tells her darkly comic story while ostensibly performing a concert. The Angry Inch, her back-up band, is Trask's rock combo Cheater, a staple at such downtown New York clubs as CBGB's and Mercury Lounge. The musical has been playing at the Jane Street Theatre since Feb. 14, 1998. For tickets call (212) 239-6200. -- By Robert Simonson