Sage Reid Priest and Kyle Reid Hass Photo courtesy of JK Entertainment

The typical premise of the show is that Hedwig is playing a rag-tag show in a space adjoining the venue for Tommy Gnosis, the rockstar Hedwig herself created out of a closeted Christian boy from Kansas. Here, Tommy's "atonement tour" (for having slammed into a bus full of children when driving while distracted by a blow job from Hedwig herself) has landed him a gig at Wrigley Field. Rather than opening the door between the two spaces, Hedwig occasionally tunes in on the radio as her own show goes off the rails.

The intimacy of the space at Catalyst lends itself to frequent and sustained interactions with the audience, the band, and Yitzhak as Hedwig tells the story of her troubled and troubling journey from Communist East Germany to the U.S. Midwest by way of a botched sex-reassignment surgery. The result is a production that insists on the humanity of the story and allows the performers to showcase their own connections to the show. The relationship between Hedwig and Itzhak, in particular, takes on an interesting and unique dimension as a result.

The production is quite clearly very DIY and all hands on deck. One of the primary actors, for example, is credited as the lighting designer, and though this is simple (more or less bars of multicolored lights that shift between a handful of monochrome tones), it's smart and serviceable. The hand-drawn projections, which are managed by an on-stage crew member whom Hedwig acknowledges and interacts with, are also well done (although I believe the last projection had an individual credited, the program does not list a designer).

The costumes (design by Sara Francis) and hair and makeup (Layl Hudson) do much of the necessary work here, and they do it well. Hedwig's costumes convey vulnerability, but also the need to be not just loved, but adored. Yitzhak's grungy look fits his angry vibe and contrasts well with the sequined, star-spangled transformation when Hedwig hands over the wig near the end. There's no getting around the fact that the sound (design by Michael Incardone) is difficult in the long, narrow space with a wall that is entirely brick, but the production, for the most part, copes well with this, and the music direction by Jonathan James takes care to keep the voices front and center while maintaining the show's rock energy.

Reflective of the company's connection to and respect for the show is the fact that the names of the different casts (Children of the Sun Cast, Children of the Earth Cast, and Children of the Moon Cast) derive from the song "Origin of Love." The press opening featured the "Sun Cast," with Kyle Reid Hass as Hedwig, Sage Reid Priest as Yitzhak, and Zo as Tommy Gnosis, with Hailey Hance as Skszp, a member of the Angry Inch who primarily provides backing vocals.

Initially, it seemed as if Hass might be a bit stiff when it came to the acting side of the role of Hedwig, but as the performance proceeded, it was clear that Hedwig's patter missing the mark at least as often as it hits is a deliberate choice. Hass is appealing and heartbreaking by turns and uses the close confines of the space to insist that the audience sit with this version of Hedwig in all her flawed, human glory.

As Yitzhak, Sage Reid Priest strikes a balance between being drawn to Hedwig and hating her for keeping him forever in her shadow. In this production/cast, they also serve a pivotal role in helping Hedwig through her on-stage wig and costume changes. Priest and Hass do excellent work together, never breaking character as they bicker both with and without words in these moments.

Although the decision to cast Tommy is an interesting one, it does tend to complicate the staging and blocking by introducing another body into this very small space. That said, Zo's performance is eerie and effective as we see the relationship between Hedwig and Tommy build, and the reprise of "Wicked Little Town," with Zo performing as Hedwig and Yitzhak huddled together, unsure how to take this development, is undeniably moving.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch runs through July 26, 2026, at Catalyst Ranch, 648 W. Randolph St., Chicago IL. For tickets and information, please visit www.jkentertainment.org.