Samuel del Rosario Photo by Rachel Ziegler

There is almost nothing about this absolutely spectacular staging of the story of young Hansel Schmidt, an East German "girly boy" trapped on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall, that didn't impress me.

Let's start with the staging itself: Director Chris Morrell and set and props designer Matt Owens have created a thrilling assemblage of crooked, off-kilter buildings, with multiple opportunities for projections (and shadow play) and entry and exit points for the two players and their props. The show opens with a short video segment showing Hedwig (Samuel del Rosario, who alternates the role with trixie carr) walking (seen only from the rear) into the theater, with the onstage band warming up with huge rolling drum sounds and plenty of guitar feedback. The video is projected on a giant "Q" at center stage, which Hedwig unceremoniously kicks to the ground and uses as a circular raised stage as the band roars into the opening number, "Tear Me Down."

After introducing her "man Friday...to Thursday," Yitzhak (played the night I attended by understudy Courtney Merrell), she begins to share with us her sad tale. Hansel is taken under the wing of a U.S. serviceman, one Luther Robinson, who wants to take Hansel back to the States with him. But to do this, they must marry. And, Hansel being a boy and this being 1988, same-sex marriage was not an option. So, as Hedwig (young Hansel took his mother's name) says in the intro to the song "The Angry Inch": "to be free, one must give up a part of oneself."

But the East German sex change operation is a failure, Luther divorces her, and after some years making ends meet in a Kansas trailer park babysitting and "doing those jobs we call 'blow'," Hedwig ultimately becomes an "internationally-ignored song stylist" who tours with her band, playing downscale dives while the older brother of the child she babysat grows up to be a stadium-filling rock star named Tommy Gnosis–who just happens to have stolen the best songs Hedwig wrote for him. Could it get worse? Sure, since just over a year later, the Berlin Wall falls and Hansel could have left East Berlin fully intact.

Despite this seemingly tragic story, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is never anything less than joyous, for the songs (by Stephen Trask)–a mix of pop, punk, hard rock and ballads–are both energetic and filled with clever lyrics and catchy melodies. For his part, del Rosario delivers the songs with tremendous power and emotion. He's playing the show mostly for laughs, but delivers songs like "Wig in a Box" and "Wicked Little Town" with true emotive power.

As Hedwig, del Rosario is never less than completely focused and performing each song and delivering each line with undeniable conviction and heart. His performance is a joy to behold at every moment. All the best lines from the original show are here, plus there have been a few bon mots added, such as the name of Yitzhak's drag persona, Crystal Nacht.

I could praise this production for thousands more words, so delicious is every moment (especially the lovely shadow play that accompanies "The Origin of Love"), but instead I will simply tell you that if you miss the NCTC production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, you will lose out on one of 2026's stellar theatrical experiences.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch runs through June 7, 2026, at New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco CA. Performances are Wednesdays-Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays-Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are $35.50-$72.50. For tickets and information, please visit NCTCSF.org or call 415-861-8972.