Photo Call: Darren Criss and Rebecca Naomi Jones Trade Punches and Get A Little "Tongue" as New Hedwig Stars Greet the Press | Playbill

News Photo Call: Darren Criss and Rebecca Naomi Jones Trade Punches and Get A Little "Tongue" as New Hedwig Stars Greet the Press Broadway's Hedwig and the Angry Inch gets some fresh blood this month as it welcomes Rebecca Naomi Jones to the role of Yitzhak April 14 and will see "Glee" star Darren Criss taking on the title role beginning April 29.

Darren Criss and Rebecca Naomi Jones Get Some "Tongue" and Trade Punches as New Hedwig Stars Greet the Press


Before Jones joins the production, Shannon Conley will play the role of Yitzhak for one week starting April 7.

Jones' previous Broadway credits include Passing Strange and American Idiot. Her stage work also includes The Fortress of Solitude, Murder Ballad, Love's Labour's Lost, Wig Out! and This Beautiful City.

The Broadway premiere of the cult rock musical began previews March 29, 2014, at the Belasco, prior to an official opening April 22 with Neil Patrick Harris in the title role. Tony nominee Andrew Rannells succeeded Harris. The musical most recently starred Michael C. Hall ("Dexter," Cabaret) before co-creator and original Off-Broadway star John Cameron Mitchell began performances Jan. 21 and will continue through April 26. "Glee" star Darren Criss will begin performances as Hedwig April 29 for a 12-week engagement. Read Playbill.com's interview with Hall, where she shares her teenage obsession with Hedwig, here, and watch an exclusive video of Hall's backstage transformation into Yitzhak.

"I'm so glad [Hall] stuck around for me," Mitchell said of Hall. Read more about Mitchell returning to Hedwig and performing with Hall here.

Mitchell starred in the original Off-Broadway production of Hedwig as the "internationally ignored" East German transgender singer fronting a fictional rock-n-roll band at the Jane Street Theatre, earning an Obie Award and an Outer Critics Circle nomination. He also starred as Hedwig in a 2001 film version he directed. His acting credits also include The Secret Garden, Six Degrees of Separation and "Girls," and he has directed "Rabbit Hole" and "Shortbus."

Read an account of Mitchell's first performance on Broadway, playing to an audience filled with Hed-heads, here.

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Hedwig features a book by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask.

Both Harris and Hall won the Tony Awards for Best Lead Actor in a Musical and Best Featured Actress in a Musical, respectively. Kevin Adams also won the Tony for Best Lighting Design. The production won Best Revival of a Musical. 

Hedwig is directed by Tony Award winner Mayer (Spring Awakening, American Idiot) with musical staging by Emmy Award nominee Spencer Liff (The Wedding Singer, Cry-Baby). Justin Craig is musical director. 

The Hedwig creative team includes scenic designer Julian Crouch, costume designer Arianne Phillips, lighting designer Kevin Adams, hair and makeup designer Mike Potter, sound designer Timothy O'Heir, musical supervisor Ethan Popp, projection designer Benjamin Pearcy and vocal supervisor Liz Caplan. Casting is by James Calleri. 

Adams and Potter were both part of the original 1998 Off-Broadway creative team of Hedwig. Sound designer O'Heir worked on the 2001 film adaptation.

Members of the Angry Inch include musical director Craig (guitar and keyboards), Matt Duncan (bass), Tim Mislock (guitar) and Peter Yanowitz (drums).

The dramatic musical comedy began Off Off-Broadway at Westbeth and then ran over two years at the Jane Street Theatre beginning in February 1998. Hedwig and the Angry Inch won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, and both John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask won Obies. Hedwig and the Angry Inch won a 1998 New York Magazine Award and Entertainment Weekly's "Soundtrack of the Year" Award.

Binder, who first produced Hedwig in 1997, is producing the musical on Broadway with Jayne Baron Sherman, Barbara Whitman, Latitude Link, Patrick Catullo, Raise The Roof, Paula Marie Black, Colin Callender, Ruth Hendel, Sharon Karmazin, Martian Entertainment, Eric Schnall and The Shubert Organization. 101 Productions, Ltd are the executive producers.

The Belasco Theatre Box Office is located at 111 West 44th Street. Tickets are also available by calling (212) 239-6200 or visiting Telecharge.com.

For more information, visit HedwigBroadway.com.

 
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