Known for their brash stage presence, as well as appearances on X-Factor UK and The Voice Australia, musical theatre extraordinaire Seann Miley Moore will be bringing the house down in a new production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Dialling in over Zoom, and practically bursting through the screen of my laptop with their 4,000-watt grin, Seann makes short work of getting their elevator pitch out for what’s what and why punters should get their tickets.
“Rolling Stone deemed it as the best rock musical out there,” they start off, “and it FUCKIN’ is, with a capital F! But I guess, the story of Hedwig, wow…”
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Fri 13 — 29 June
- Athenaeum Theatre
- Get tickets here
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Their eyes roll up to the ceiling for a moment as they try to condense such a gangbusters show into a catchy logline. They charge up with another flash of those dazzling teeth and start again.
“The girly-boy from communist East Berlin, Hedwig Schmidt: blonde diva, rock’n’roll songstress. It follows her story growing up in, you know, a war, broken world, back in 1960s, ‘70s Berlin. It follows her longing for her other half, longing for love, and it’s her wild story and her escapades, as this rock-and-roll diva.”
Seann elaborates that Hedwig’s global performance circuit, taking them from Croatia to New York City, is fuelled by the pursuit of their great love – the abusive and manipulative Tommy Gnosis – only to discover that the love they need comes from within. Seann is keen to underline the show’s driving force as a beacon of queer liberation, given the journey undertaken by Hedwig to recognise their own strength and what can be achieved with the recognition of their own value.
They conclude their elevator pitch with a mic-drop smile and a flutter of eyelashes: “Liberation, trans spirit, nonbinary spirit to be the person you’re supposed to be… And that is ze German bitch das ist Hedwig! How was that?!”
They fold up in laughter, obviously busting through their shirt with excitement to be talking about the new production. In taking on the celebrated titular role, Seann emphasises the swathes of personal and societal upheaval the character endures – and surmounts. It’s apparent that Seann sees within this role some key parts of themselves, which is why they speak so warmly of this production.
“It’s a transformative journey,” they explain, “because, my god, she just goes through so much! Physical, emotional, political, spiritual trauma – and she just always comes out, fully transformed into the person she was destined to be.”
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Since the play’s first performance in 1998, and a successive film adaptation in 2001, there have been many historical productions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a legacy to which Seann is boldly inscribing their own name. Of the numerous interpretations of the show, Seann points to the 2014 revival in which Neil Patrick Harris played Hedwig and secured himself a Tony Award.
Seann underlines another production starring Australia’s own drag superstar, Courtney Act, emphasising the strong vein of queer creatives that has flowed through this show across the decades.
“It is really charged with such community spirit,” they say. “I’ve got a lot of amazing, excellent queer dolls on the team, and of course MEEE! Just come from Miss Saigon, playing The Engineer, and, you know, defining that role to the ‘Engin-queer’. So I’m bringing all that queer excellence and celebration to Hedwig.”
The show has just completed six weeks of performance at Adelaide Festival – “Five-star reviews, honey, fabulous!” Seann adds – and will be opening for Melbourne’s live entertainment festival, RISING, before closing the Australian tour at Sydney’s Carriageworks arts centre.
“It’s such a rollercoaster, and a wild ride,” Seann says of the multi-city showings, “it’s definitely interactive. I get to, kind of, go into the audience – especially for one of the songs, Sugar Daddy, it’s so tongue-in-cheek that I actually look for the sugar daddies in the audience and, you know, get to kiss a few people for a few extra bucks! It’s a lot of fun.”
Seann Miley Moore promises nothing but rock-and-roll panache, and proves themselves to be just as glamorous and vivacious onstage as over Zoom. Melbourne theatregoers will have much to anticipate as Hedwig and the Angry Inch opens next month.
Seann Miley Moore will be performing in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre from 13-26 June 2025. Book your tickets here.
Beat is an official media partner of RISING.
