We're thrilled to welcome Matthew Brennan to Stageworks as Hedwig Schmidt in Hedwig and the Angry Inch!
Hedwig and the Angry Inch opens on Thursday, October 19th for 6 shows only! Get your tickets for Hedwig and the Angry Inch tickets today!
Matthew Brennan (he/him) is thrilled to be making his Stageworks debut in one of his favorite roles! National tours: A CHRISTMAS STORY. Regional credits include: Marriott Lincolnshire, Drury Lane, The Goodman Theater, Bailiwick Rep, Rocky Mountain Rep, Derby Dinner Playhouse, Victoria/Human Race, Stage One, Circa ‘21, Candlelight, The Theater Building, and The Encore Musical Theatre Company. Favorite roles include: Bobby Child (CRAZY FOR YOU), The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald (ASSASSINS), and The Baker (INTO THE WOODS). Matthew is also an award winning director and choreographer. Special thanks to Ryan and deep love and endless gratitude to my one and only Yitzhak, Nikki!
Welcome to Stageworks! How long have you been performing and what have been some of your favorite roles?
I’ve been performing professionally for 32 years! I cheated and started at the age of 10 and just never looked back. Other than Hedwig, some of my favorite roles are Bobby Child in Crazy For You, The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in Assassins, The Baker in Into The Woods and Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap.
Tell us about your character in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Oh goodness. They’re a little bit of everything. Smart, sarcastic, honest, vain, insecure, strong, fragile. A music obsessed artist who is the ultimate victim of fate and human nature, crossing the country on the tails of superstar Tommy Gnosis, deadest on getting recognition, apologies, and their ever-elusive “other half”
How are you like/not like your character?
I find Hedwig incredibly easy to relate to. While our differences appear to outweigh the similarities, as Hedwig learns through the course of the show, most of that is exterior. Like Hedwig, I grew up queer, with a great love of music and the arts and a desire to seek out my “other half”. I certainly don’t think I’m as brave and fearless as they are… but it’s fun to feel that kind of power through them.
Why is it important to do Hedwig today?
I think this piece will always resonate because it’s so human. It has this wild lens but at its core it’s a story everyone can relate to. Given the current climate around gender and social justice, I think the piece becomes even more relevant today.
What is going to be unique about this specific production of Hedwig?
One of my favorite things about this show and role is how malleable they are. The audience truly plays a character every night and we never do the same show twice. It’s a wild ride that can take hairpin turns at breakneck speed or coast to a gentle stop and we never know when either will happen. It’s truly a living breathing thing every performance. When you’re not onstage, how do you spend your time?
I’m an avid reader and runner and if I’m not doing either thing, chances are I’m talking about one of them. I have a serious collection of nerdy board games at home and will never say no to a game. And a day wouldn’t be complete without a walk through the city with my dog, Harrisen. What should I have asked you?
How did some slip of a girly boy from communist East Berlin become the internationally ignored song stylist barely standing before you today?
