John Cameron Mitchell Ends Hedwig Run

The original star of the now Broadway musical crowd surfed his way out of the Belasco Theater.

All good things must come to an end, including the triumphant return of original Hedwig John Cameron Mitchell to the gold heels and wigs. The creator and writer of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch returned to the role for three months to critical and fan acclaim. His return was marred by a knee injury that had him miss a few weeks of shows and caused him to rewrite parts of the show to include his knee brace and crate that he used to support himself during the show.

 Though he recovered, Mitchell kept the bit about the knee brace, but to anyone who saw his show on Sunday night, they will know that he was not feeling any pain in the leg. The show was even louder and more exuberant than ever, with Mitchell going off book several times, pushing the show to nearly an hour over run time – not that anyone minded! Hedwig even jumped into the crowd and crowd surfed during the “Angry Inch” number.

Inside and out, the Belasco was filled with be-wigged fans who were near tears to see the end of Mitchell’s run, and outside the sidewalks were littered with adoring fans who had notes and chalk messages to wish him well.

The entire audience stood as Mitchell finished his run with a Lou Reed number and a speech that thanked everyone from Stephen Trask to the past few Hedwigs.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the story of a singer-songwriter from East Berlin and her struggles to live and find love after a boxed sex-change leaves her with an angry inch. The show also stars Rebecca Naomi Jones and backing band Tits of Clay.

The next star to don the heels and fishnets will be Glee star Darren Criss, who will play the youngest Hedwig to date, and is sure to usher in a new era for the show. Though JCM will be missed, Darren is certain to fill the void left on the Great White Way.