I recently introduced a friend to the wonders of Hedwig and decided to watch the movie again.

I had seen the show when it was at the Jane Street Theater in 98 and was excited when I heard they were going to make the movie, since the live show touched me. Of course, the first time I saw it, I felt they had changed the entire mood of the piece-instead of Hedwig appearing to be a victim, as in the play, Hedwig was this bitter, mean-spirited creature. I had to step back and take a look at the movie as a stand-alone story, and it became one of my faves.

My interpretation of it is that Hedwig is actually Tommy’s small-town oppressed side that becomes his total being at the end. Since Tommy is in a midwestern “wicked little town”, and gay, he expresses himself inwardly as Hedwig. The fact that Hedwig is doing shows in seafood buffet restaurants shows that this side is to be “hidden”. All of the creative energy comes from the freedom that Hedwig feels.

So, after watching the movie again and seeing my youth played out again, it kind of depresses me. I long for the “little town” because you know the people and what type of people they are. I was “married” (in a LTR) to someone who spent their entire life in that town. Once I started getting out to larger cities, I found drama and people that weren’t honest, people who had issues. While in my late teens and early 20s, I wrote music with the same dream that Hedwig had of “getting out” of the wicked little town.

So, I feel Hedwig’s strife. I kind of liked that strife. It brought out a lot of angst-ridden creativity.