| Hedwig And The Angry Inch |
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 Head Over Heels BRISBANE-BORN MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMER MICHAEL FALZON HAS STEPPED INTO THE BREACH AS A LAST-MINUTE LEADING MAN IN HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH. HE TALKS TO PANSY POTTER ABOUT HIS CHARMED CAREER, AND LEARNING TO LIVE IN HIGH HEELS. Defying doubts that Australia does not have the artistic economy to support performers, Michael Falzon has been hot property ever since his award nominated turn as leading man Galileo in We Will Rock You. Rock legend Brian May handpicked Falzon for the role, saying “the range and power of Freddie Mercury is rarely equalled, and the performer playing this role has to be a rock star. Michael was, and is, able to deliver the whole package.” It comes as no surprise that his next appearance will be as the title role in glam rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Falzon enthuses about both his stellar recommendation and getting back into performing after a six-month hiatus which he spent in London. “It was encouraging that Brian and Ben Elton said ‘Yeah mate, you can do it!’,” he says. “It gave me a lot of confidence to have that support and since then I’ve really worked out what my strengths are, I suppose, but more importantly what my weaknesses are. I think it’s something that comes with your 30s! After I did War Of The Worlds last year, I was supposed to go into another show which didn’t happen, so I went over to the UK with my production company for a while. The sad thing was I was chasing the winter all over the world! I got itchy feet for performing again, so it’s good to be going back into it. This is a nice one to tackle after some time away.” Hedwig follows the story of a young German punk rock singer who becomes the unfortunate victim of a botched sex-change operation, and journeys to America in search of true love and international success. Written by John Cameron Mitchell with music by Stephen Trask, the character of Hedwig was inspired by a German babysitter who worked for Mitchell’s family whilst growing up in Kansas. Falzon acknowledges that it’s an unlikely subject for a rock musical. “I think any work that people want to see again and has success internationally has to have a universal appeal, even with an unlikely subject matter,” Falzon muses. “Hedwig is an unlikely character but she’s an extreme. Sometimes it’s necessary to exaggerate to get a point across and connect with as many people as you can. The story is quite harsh but uplifting too. It takes you on this whirlwind 90-minute journey about this boy who keeps getting let down by people and hiding behind these masks and wigs. It’s very uplifting and it’s wonderful as an actor to take people on that journey.” As if playing a confused and troubled transgender artist wasn’t challenging enough, Falzon also has the privilege of playing the role in high heels – an experience he is being chauffeured through by dance legend Kellie Abbey, most recently seen as a guest judge and choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance. “Kellie’s working hard to get me in touch with my inner woman,” he laughs. “It’s amazing what comes out once you put a pair of heels on; I’m starting to understand women’s trade secrets! I wore a bit of a Cuban heel in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat but that was a very different sort of heel! It’s good fun discovering it and what I’m going to with it all.” Falzon seems relatively unfazed despite the unique challenges presented by the central role of Hedwig, and looks forward to working in a much smaller venue than the entertainment centres he frequented with last year’s stage production of Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds. “We’re about halfway through rehearsals and it’s really starting to work now,” he says. “It’s been great working through all the text with the director Craig Ilott and the music director Tina Harris has been making sure I’m singing all the right notes. With rock’n’roll, there’s a tendency to embellish so the challenge is to take it back to its original form. I love singing this stuff and I’ve been pretty fortunate to work on some great big shows with some great big people. Even War Of The Worlds was fantastic! It was such a great vibe, sharing a dressing room with Shannon Noll. It’s great now to get back into the music and on the other side to get into a really nice role too. To come back to a more intimate environment is an exciting challenge!” Joining the talented Mr Falzon onstage is fellow We Will Rock You alumnus Lucinda Shaw, who played the Killer Queen in the international tour, and was last seen as the Lady of the Lake in the Melbourne season of Spamalot. Shaw plays Hedwig’s second husband Yitzhak, an aspiring drag queen whose true gender is deliberately ambiguous. Since its 1998 off-Broadway premiere, Hedwig has garnered international critical acclaim and a cult following similar to that of The Rocky Horror Show, with even celebrities such as Cyndi Lauper, Yoko Ono and Ben Folds lending their talents to a 2004 charity tribute album entitled Wig In A Box featuring the songs of Hedwig. It was adapted for the big screen in 2001 – written, directed by and starring John Cameron Mitchell with Michael Pitt as Hedwig’s young lover. Falzon believes the enormous popularity of the piece is due to its poignant and important message. “There are moments where you feel genuinely sorry for this poor character,” he says, “but then you see her broken down and from that she finds the strength within herself to get better. We all go through times like this in our lives, with break-ups, with deaths of loved ones, through losing a job, moving states, all these incredible things that uproot us. This is exaggerated in Hedwig and still she finds a way to come out of it. I think that’s personally significant to me for my own reasons, but everybody who is familiar with the story nods their head and you can see it in their eye, that they have been there themselves. That’s what shines through in the show! People come along to see it and they want to be entertained, and it’s all in there; the music is rocking. But you also have to remember that there is a really positive message in it. And I think that surprises people.” WHAT: Hedwig and the Angry Inch WHERE & WHEN: Brisbane Cabaret Festival – QPAC Cremorne Theatre from Wednesday Oct 8 to Sunday Nov 2. Bookings: www.qtix.com.au or 136 246. |
