Hedwig - Ally Sheedy

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 2/4/15 at 4:44am

I know this is a ways back but did anyone catch Ally Sheedy when she played Hedwig off-broadway? The only review I found didn't find Sheedy particularly good in the role and I'm curious to hear what the Hedheads thought at the time. Where there any changes made to the show to accomodate a female actor in the role? I'm thinking specifically about Hedwig ending the show in a pair of shorts, for example.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/4/15 at 7:29am

She was awful in the role. It was a poor casting decision that never should have happened. Also, she missed about half of her scheduled performances, and when she did show up, her behavior was all over the place. She ended up quitting well before her contract was up. I don't think it was a pleasant experience for anyone involved.

The decision to cast her always seemed--to me, at least--a publicity stunt and a purely financial decision--the kids and teens who grew up loving THE BREAKFAST CLUB were young professionals in the late nineties, who would pay top dollar to see one of their childhood favorites in an edgy, popular downtown show. And at first she did bring in a strong advance--a lot of which ended up being refunded because she was absent so often. In the end, I think it's safe to say she did more harm than good.




Updated On: 2/4/15 at 07:29 AM

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/4/15 at 7:51am

Here's an old Michael Riedel column about Sheedy and her time as Hedwig:

ALLY Sheedy quit “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in a huff this week after the show’s producers complained that her increasingly erratic behavior on stage was jeopardizing the production, theater sources said yesterday.

Sheedy had been playing the part of a transsexual German glam rocker in the hit off-Broadway musical at the Jane Street Theater. But at recent performances, the ex-Brat Packer was dropping songs and ad-libbing lines to the point where audiences could no longer follow the plot, production sources said.

Last week, Sheedy forced another actress, who plays a character who is supposed to be mute for most of the show, to sing one of her songs, sources said.

The actress performed the number, reading the lyrics from the script. Sheedy, who has a history of drug abuse, also refused to perform unless the actress agreed to kiss her on stage, production sources said.

“She was completely out there,” said a company member. “She wasn’t sticking to the script, and she was doing all sorts of weird stuff on stage.”



http://nypost.com/1999/12/17/weird-ally-quits-hedwig/

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/4/15 at 9:44am

" know this is a ways back but did anyone catch Ally Sheedy when she played Hedwig off-broadway?"

Having had to bear witness to every one of her performances, let me say that some things are better left unsaid.

I believe that she was fired, did not quit.

Updated On: 2/4/15 at 09:44 AM

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 2/4/15 at 4:53pm

I'd heard the whole Sheedy thing wasn't a good experience for all, so I avoided bringing it up here. But I have wondered how the end bit was done with the ending (when Sheedy actually GOT to the correct ending...) and with any woman in the past, present, or future?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/4/15 at 5:31pm

An ace bandage wrapped around the chest like a drag king. There was consternation when the casting was announced, so JCM wrote an open letter on the show's website urging people to give her a chance.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/4/15 at 6:00pm

Can that letter be read anywhere?

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 9:57am

From http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/16/theater/reinventing-hedwig-wig-down-ally-sheedy-man-s-world-gender-bending-role-drag.html

"Shortly after the word leaked out in late July that Ms. Sheedy was taking over, Mr. Mitchell posted an open letter to Hedwig fans on the show's Web site, explaining how he had met and cast Ms. Sheedy. 'She'll need to feel welcome to go where she needs to go in this part,' Mr. Mitchell concluded. 'And I hope you'll all be there for her.'"

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 10:07am

The real shame is that Sheedy's ****ty shindig killed the possibility for other women to play the part. For all the reasons they explain in that NY Times article, I think it would be very intriguing to see someone else give that a go. They backed someone who wasn't exactly stable and wanted to give it a shot, but got too much wiggle room and went too far. I think with someone else it might have a better chance of working.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 10:14am

Maybe there's a woman (or a trans performer) who can come in and do this Broadway revival before it closes and revive that possibility...

[LarryD2]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 2:11pm

Mitchell seems open to having a woman play the role. From his interview in the most recent Time Out New York:

"Even a woman—I'm open to whatever works. I think it was right to open with a man but it might be interesting to do it with the right woman. Androgyny—I mean, Tilda Swinton would be amazing if she can sing rock & roll."

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 2:15pm

In our dream-casting talks, my friend and I brought up Pink (whom I know the producers have reached out to) and Juliette Lewis.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 2:58pm

I think Gaga would be phenomenal.

[Alix]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 5:47pm

Stephen Trask addresses the Pink idea in a new interview, and says "I don't see it." Obviously the casting isn't entirely up to him, but I doubt he'd say that if there was a chance she'd do it at some point.

He also says "we'll start rehearsing the next guy in two weeks." The interview was done the day before John took over, so two weeks from then is...now! So, based on what Stephen's saying, it sounds like the next Hedwig is a man, and that he's likely already started rehearsals....


link Updated On: 2/5/15 at 05:47 PM

[Jamie Pierce]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 6:14pm

Ahhh! Who is it going to be?? SOMEBODY must know if rehersals are starting today. Are there even any rumors out there? Forgive me but I need something!

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 6:32pm

Sheedy discussed her HEDWIG experience in a New York Times piece last year while she was doing THE LONG SHRIFT at Rattlestick:

Her list of Off Broadway credits is short, but the one she mentions first in her program bio is neither the most recent nor the most successful: the title role in the musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” from 1999.

“It was a mixed blessing, that experience,” Ms. Sheedy said. “I really wanted to do that role. It was such a monumental challenge that it just pushed me into an entirely different world of how I feel onstage. Nothing’s as scary as Hedwig.”

She has not seen the current Broadway production of “Hedwig,” but she said she planned to take her daughter and her daughter’s partner once she’s settled into her run of “The Long Shrift,” which runs through August 23. Ms. Sheedy’s performance in “Hedwig” was not well received, and her conduct onstage and off raised eyebrows. She left the show before her contract ended.

“I think I’m better at this now, but there have been times in the past when I’ve had a very difficult time separating myself from a role that I’m playing,” she said. “So I felt pretty nutty when I was playing Hedwig. I have gotten pretty used to hearing from people that I’m crazy. I’m not. But I have certainly not been on my best behavior when I probably should have been.

“I’ve been working for such a long time, since I was very, very young, and there was a whole lot of growing pains that I’ve done in a public way. I look back and think: ‘Why did you do that? Won’t be doing that again.’ Some acting out that perhaps people get to do when they’re younger happened, unfortunately, when I was a little bit older and should not have been acting out anymore."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/theater/ally-sheedy-still-gravitates-to-dark-characters.html

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 6:56pm

Well, she certainly cops to it.