My name is Hedwig Robinson. I was born in East Berlin, Germany as Hansel Schmidt. You are asking yourselves, “How did I become a woman?” Darling, it’s complicated as all things are in life.
I was the son of an East German woman and a U.S. G.I. However, my father was thrown out by Hedwig (my mother) because of being a pervert. Maybe, it is the reason that I took her name. No, it was because of a another U.S. G.I.; his name was Sgt. Luther Robinson. However, he couldn’t take me back across Checkpoint Charlie as Hansel. It would have been frowned upon. Instead, a simple surgery and I’d be a woman. Nein, the surgeon was a monster but Dr. Frankenstein would’ve been more considerate. He took all of Hansel except for one inch.
Oh, Well! Goodbye, East Berlin! Hello, Junction City, Kansas? I thought America would be bright lights and big cities. Instead, I get a dim, single wide trailer. Damn, where is Luther going? He’s left me alone and afraid with just a “Wig in a Box”.
Now, I’m a woman of my own and have to fend for myself. Fortunately, an officer required a babysitter for his two sons: a baby and a teenager. The teen’s name was Tommy Speck and I was smitten. He was a rebel against Christianity but I knew music. Wow, he was hooked on the rhythm and wouldn’t be the same.
Flash forward, Tommy Speck is now Tommy Gnosis. Hey that sounds familiar because I wrote “The Origin of Love”.
Will I get my music back? Will I find the rest of what I’ve lost?
Hedwig and the Angry Inch was written, directed, and starred John Cameron Mitchell. The film was based on his book and the music/lyrics of Stephen Trask. It was an off-Broadway phenomenon in 1998.
Mitchell was and still is one of a kind as Hedwig. He brought the kind of androgyny that would’ve made David Bowie coy. His performance transcended that of Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He made Hedwig not another Dr. Frank N Furter.
Instead, she (Hedwig) was a real Wo-man who had urges and needs. Yet, she saw the big picture and found herself.
The moral of the film is pursue dreams and life despite adversity. The adversity will make us all stronger despite the pain. We will all continue to face challenges no matter what.
John Cameron Mitchell, Thank you for writing such a love letter to the human spirit and condition.
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