This year's Gen Arts cultural festival showcases filmmaking, dance work, comedy troupes, painters and sculptors -- and now they've got an angry inch. Trans-gender chanteuse Hedwig (played by Michael Cerveris), of the Off-Broadway hit Hedwig And The Angry Inch, will perform at the Festival, 9 PM, July 14.
Gen Arts is "a national non-profit organization that showcases the best emerging talent in film, fashion and the visual arts." Running all week at the Altman Building on 18th Street in Manhattan, the organization's Summer Arts Festival highlights emerging artists in various disciplines.
As for the show itself, still running at the Jane Street Theatre downtown, Cerveris is set to continue as Hedwig through Aug. 7. According to a spokesperson at the James Morrison press office, a replacement is being sought but no decisions have been made. It's unlikely author-creator John Cameron Mitchell will return to the role.
Mitchell has still been steeped in Hedwiggia, though; he took a month to work on the screenplay at the Sundance Institute. Months earlier he'd inked a deal to write and possibly direct the film for New Line pictures. The Hedwig film was reported in Variety as being budgeted at $3.5 million. It is unclear whether the film will match the stage version of the story, which is told within the context of a concert by singer Hedwig, or whether the flick with flesh out the title transsexual's far-flung tale, which takes her from Eastern Germany to the United States. No shooting schedule has been set.
Cerveris first stepped into Mitchell's platform shoes July 8 to Aug. 4, 1998. Prior to that, his most recent New York performance was as ship architect Thomas Andrews in Titanic, after coming to prominence playing the title role in The Who's Tommy. He also toured with singer-songwriter-guitarist Bob Mould and is expected to open Hedwig in Los Angeles this fall. Hedwig was written by Mitchell (book), and Stephen Trask (music and lyrics). The Angry Inch, his/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. Atlantic Records released the original cast CD Feb. 9.
For tickets and information on Hedwig and the Angry Inch call (212) 239-6200.
-- By David Lefkowitz
