John Cameron Mitchell wrote the text, directed the film, and played the main character in Hedwig, a musical theater production and film. He visited Korea to participate in a Hedwig concert to be held at Jamsil Stadium on May 27 and 29.
Oh Man-seok, who gained the nickname Oh-dwig when the musical premiered in Korea two years ago, has been waiting for the opportunity to meet Mitchell since the dates for Mitchells visit were decided. Oh talked with Mitchell in English without an interpreter for one and half hours.
Mitchells response to Oh-dwig, after watching a video recording of Ohs performance was, What a voice! Your Hedwig is prettier than mine. Oh said, I have seen the movie Hedwig more than ten times. Every time I admired it, wondering Who made such a fine movie?
Mitchell recalled that his performance was so consuming emotionally and physically that he did not have strength even to remove his make-up after the show. Oh responded, Exactly. I used to sit absent-mindedly with a cigarette for 20 minutes after finishing my performance. Mitchell expressed his intention to invite Oh to a 10th anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall next year.
Hedwig, a musical about a transgender rock and roll singer, premiered in the U.S. in 1998 and has since been performed in about 70 cities around the world. Mitchell said that the biggest hit was made definitely in Korea.
The musical Hedwig was staged in Daehak-ro in 2005 after the movie was first introduced in 2002. The musical has attracted an audience of almost 200,000. Oh won Best Male Actor at the Korean Musical Awards.
Mitchell said, I hope the audience will realize that being different is not always bad.
When Oh said, 95% of the Hedwig audience has comprised young women, Mitchell, who made a public announcement of homosexuality, made a joke with a mischievous expression, Then, please make cute guys sit in the first row.
All the actors who played Hedwig in the musical, including Oh, Kim Da-hyeon, Song Yong-jin and Eom Ki-joon, except for Cho Seung-woo, will participate in the Hedwig concert. Mitchell said, I am practicing Korean to sing a Korean song Wings by Korean group Mott which I chose for Korean fans. For any inquiries, please call 02-3285-8711.