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Thursday, January 23, 2003

By John Hayes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Anyone who's sold his soul for rock 'n' roll knows that whatever "cool" is, it isn't musical theater. And from inside the musical theater world, where songs advance scripts and scores are read from pages, rock histrionics can seem lowbrow and unschooled.

	Bobbi LaMondi, along with his band Science Fiction Idols, auditions for City Theatre's upcoming rock musical, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." (Bill Wade,Post-Gazette)

But off-Broadway, the twain are beginning to meet. The rock musicals "Rent" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" drew young rock crowds to the theater like nothing since "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar."

With hopes that include introducing a new generation of Pittsburghers to the stage, City Theatre is doing "Hedwig" in a May production that will star Anthony Rapp, the TV, film and stage actor who performed in the original "Rent." It's no coincidence that Rapp is also a rock 'n' roll addict who fronts a Greenwich Village band. Last weekend, he and director Brad Rouse were in Pittsburgh auditioning the musicians who will surround Rapp on stage in the irreverent, offbeat, rock cabaret show.

Open auditions on City Theatre's main stage attracted dozens of local musicians and some full bands of all sizes, shapes and levels of experience. Some who had seen the 2001 film version arrived in character and played songs from the soundtrack. Others played originals or familiar covers and were surprised when Rapp jumped onto the stage to join them. None knew what to expect or exactly what the actor and director were looking for.

After about eight hours of auditions, Rapp and Rouse were still visibly excited about what they'd seen of the Pittsburgh rock scene. They compared notes over a late sushi dinner before going bar hopping in search of Pittsburgh's rock 'n' roll night life and the "Hedwig" vibe.

"The thing about 'Hedwig' is, it's theater -- there's no doubt about that -- but it's a rock concert, too," says Rouse. "It also has a great story, which appeals to more traditional theater fans. The musicians we came looking for don't have to really act, but the rock 'n' roll they play and their overall look have to work within the context of the play."

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is the explosive result of a creative collision between playwright John Cameron Mitchell and songwriter Stephen Trask. Mitchell starred in the award-winning 1998-2000 off-Broadway run and film about an East German boy whose botched sex change operation left him with one angry inch. Not quite as campy as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," the comic-drama is touching, raucous, politically incorrect, sentimental, unpredictable and mostly fun.

Casting a band was an unusual challenge for Rapp and Rouse. Fundamentally, musicians had to have the musical chops to play the songs, the right look for their non-verbal roles, the ability to take direction and the willingness to clear their schedules for the show's five-week run. But the search ran deeper than that. They were also casting for "cool."

"Anthony brought me in to make sure the theater part of this is rock solid," said Rouse. "But it's not just how they look, it's what kind of energy they bring to the stage and how that works with Anthony's vibe. We want the rock concert aspect of it to feel very authentic."

Unlike other post-New York productions of the show, this "Hedwig" is being built to reflect the character of its host city. Rapp and Rouse carried the audition beyond City Theatre for a taste of Pittsburgh's rock 'n' roll underbelly.

"The way John [Cameron Mitchell] played it, it was all very glam," said Rapp, sipping a screwdriver from a plastic cup at 31st Street Pub and pushing toward the front of the crowd while Science Fiction Idols opened its set with the musical's "Angry Inch." "But we're not trying to cast a glam band. [City Theatre artistic director] Tracy Brigden invited us to find a different look and feel. We want to give the Hedwig character a makeover that reflects my movements and style of performance."

Rouse, more of a theater guy than a rock 'n' roller, hung back behind the dense crowd and lit a cigarette.

"We've seen hard-rock guys, jazz guys, lots of women who play all kinds of music," he said. "Like any band, we want them to come together and create something that's unique to them."

Rapp quietly studied the band until a woman recognized him from "Road Trip," a comedy film he did with Tom Green. He explained his search for Pittsburgh rockers before ducking out of the Pub. After dropping off Rouse at their hotel, Rapp continued bar hopping. At Gooskie's on Polish Hill, he watched The Mofones play a rare set of gender-reversal goof rock.

Wherever he went, Rapp was recognized for his roles on TV's "The X-Files" and feature films, and he kept running into musicians who had auditioned for him earlier in the day. He was polite and, he said, honest with them about their chances, but it made him obviously uncomfortable.

"Being an actor and a musician, I'm very aware of the emotional baggage and hard work that goes along with auditions," he said. "There are so many people who did that today who we're not going to call back. It's not personal, but in a way it is personal because they're sacrificing their personal lives and putting something personal forward for us. There are so many factors involved. ..."

"Anthony Rapp," interrupted a young guy in a muscle shirt and goatee. "What the hell are you doing here?"

On a good weekend for local original music, Rapp said he liked what he saw in Sodajerk, Soma Mestizo, Science Fiction Idols, Got Wood and Ego Myth.

"You have so many cool bands. A lot of variety," he said. "Tomorrow's call-backs are going to be brutal, for me anyway."

Of the bands that auditioned together, none was invited back for a second look. Sunday's call-back focused on the musicians' ability to take direction and blend in with Rapp's vocal and visual style.

In the end, Rapp and Rouse cobbled together an unlikely new band that would probably never have coalesced on its own. There's no ink on the contracts yet, but five musicians have been offered roles in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Brandon Lowry is a music student at Duquesne who plays keys and guitar for Lost Hope, Sarah Siplak sings for Boxstep, John Purse is an 18-year veteran of the scene who plays guitar with Opek, bassist Dan Tomko toured with The 1985, and former Thickhead Grin drummer Al Vish plays with Carol Blaze and Lowsunday.

Rapp and Rouse want the new Angry Inch to gel into a cohesive unit that reflects the personalities of its members. When the actor and director return to Pittsburgh in April to begin rehearsals, they hope to book the band at a few outside gigs with Rapp as its front man.

" 'Hedwig' is theater, but for the theater to work, the band has to look and feel like they've been working together forever," says Rapp. "It's about a combination of energies, a new energy that we want to bring to City Theatre."