Plot summaries, character sketches, comparisons to pop operas past and present -- none of these do justice to Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In fact, the most apt introduction I can offer is this: it rocks. Stephen Trask's score is well worthy of release as its own artifact. (Actually, more than worthy -- there's a tribute record, too.) Add John Cameron Mitchell's surreal, hilarious, melancholy, mythically rich script, and you get dramatic synergies to beat the band. Top the whole thing off with a tour-de-force performance (a cliche, yes, but never more apt) by Mitchell as the titular diva and the audience is left with nothing less than awe.

Harold Check