Denver’s ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ Star Clark Destin Jones Talks About the Show’s Remount

Break the wig out of the box, Hedheads, because last year’s wildly successful Denver production of the legendary cult musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch has returned for another run that starts tonight at Ballyhoo Table & Stage in LoHi, a new venue founded by Julia Tobey, who is also the executive producer of the show. Produced by Give 5 Productions, the remount, just like the original run last summer, is headed by the charismatic and talented Clark Destin Jones in the lead role, supported by cast-mate Emma Rebecca Maxfield in the role of Yitzhak.

As I discussed in my review of the original run last year, the local production feels as professional, polished, and as powerful as any production of the acclaimed musical. As a long-time fan of Hedwig, I found Jones’ performance last year to be just as compelling as the performance of the show’s co-author and original John Cameron Mitchell in the 2001 film version and just as exciting as the performance of Neil Patrick Harris on the Original Broadway Cast Recording from 2014.

So, when given the opportunity, I was thrilled to sit down with Jones himself to discuss the original run, the upcoming remount, and the role of the rock star from East Berlin that we all know and love, Hedwig.

So we’re talking about the Hedwig remount. And I saw your performance last year, I saw it twice when you did the first run of it. I’m wondering, were you familiar with the show before you tried out?

No, not really. I had heard of it, of course, and I listened to a few songs, but it wasn’t until somebody else put the audition on my radar that I decided to. I flew home, I was hanging out with family, and somebody sent me an email. It’s like, Hey, you should audition for this. And so I watched the film to see if it interested me and if I felt capable of it. And it was one of those movies that you immediately watch, and you go, Oh my goodness, this is a special, special thing. So I really had no familiarity with it. And then I watched the movie; I watched a couple productions of the stage show before auditioning. But that was only two weeks before auditioning, really, the first time I watched it.

So what was your reaction when you got the role?

It was awesome. I saw the movie and I went, If I don’t get it this time, I’ve got to do it someday, because wow, what a character and what a piece. So in those two weeks, from watching the film to auditioning for it, I put in the most work I’ve ever done for an audition. And I really, really prepared as though I already had it, and I went and did a bunch of work. And the audition was so great, they were so great in the room, I felt really confident in it. And then the next day, I got the call, and it was kind of like, Okay, fantastic. Here we are, now. All that work hasn’t gone to waste. Let’s get into this thing.

I had heard that there was a worry when they’re doing the audition that they weren’t quite sure they were going to find anyone until you showed up. I know it was such a popular show, the first production of it. What did it feel like to play that role?

It was really special. The reception of it was so wonderful. After every show, I would go out into the lobby and grab a drink and hang out, and people would come up, people who either had never seen the show before or loved the show—Those are the people that are the hardest people (to please) because they love the film, or they love the stage production. So you go in wanting it to be really good. And whenever those people go, “I love this show so much and you did it justice” that feels so wonderful.

People would come up—you know, the tattoo from the movie, the little face—people would come up, probably four or five people over the course of the run, and go check this out, and they’d pull their pants down and show me their little butt tattoo with the face on it. And then they give me a big hug. If you’re marking this stuff on your body, it means a lot to you. And so it meant a lot to me that it connected with so many people.

Yeah, I was a big fan of it before, and I agree you did a great job with the role. What was your favorite song to do in the production?

Probably “Wig in a Box” or “Midnight Radio.” I think those two. “Wig in a Box” is just such an amazing song of the journey from being broken through deciding to just to take the cards that you’re dealt and to become yourself, rather than masking, which I think is just fantastic. And then “Midnight Radio” is so triumphant. After all this, Hedwig’s getting beat down and beat down, and then breaks, and then the end of this show ends with such a high note.

It’s a show that really relies on one person. The whole cast is pretty much just Hedwig and Yitzhak and, of course, Tommy Gnosis, who is always played by the same actor as Hedwig. It feels like a lot of pressure to carry so much of it on your own.

Yeah, it is. There’s a lot of pressure, but that’s something that’s so rewarding about it, too, is to go, I’m capable of this. There’s a lot of weight on the person playing Hedwig, but the band’s up there with me, Emma’s up there with me as Yitzhak, and the audience is there. I’m the engine for it, but there’s a lot of input and personalities that affect everything.

My understudy, Trevor Targowski, he never got to go on as Hedwig, but we spent so much time talking about it, me and him together, which completely changed how I did it. There’s so many ad libs, there’s perspective pieces that are Trevor’s ideas that then I’ve been able to adopt to my performance of it and get it out. But it is a lot. There is a lot, but that’s also what’s so rewarding about it.

What was, what was your reaction to the idea of remounting it? Were you immediately on board with doing another run?

Yeah, even last year, before the first run ended, we were all talking about, this is a show that I could do for a long time. What’s so special about it is (that) every night is so different. You saw it twice, you said, so I’m sure you noticed some differences within them. Every night has its own fingerprint with the crowd and with whatever happens. So it’s not like a show where I’m hitting my marks, which you can get bored of. I feel like this is something you could go do for a long time and stay really excited about it and passionate about it. And so I was delighted to bring it back. There’s so many people that I want to see it who didn’t get the chance to see it. It’s a special show. I left every night proud, feeling like we did something in the moment. And that’s so special. So I’m really looking forward to doing it again.

There’s a lot of improv involved in it and ad-libbing. I definitely saw you doing a lot of interesting things with ad-libbing. Does that come naturally to you to be able to do that improv element of it?

Yeah, I’ve been doing improv in various forms for the majority of my life, since I was in school, honestly. (In) elementary school I was doing this program that had a lot of improv things. So I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I love it, and that’s what’s so fun about it. What’s nice about this kind of improv is that you’re not having to invent a bunch of things. You’re not having to invent a character. You get to sit in Hedwig’s perspective and demeanor and the vibe of the show, and how she sees the world. You get to go off of that, which is, honestly, a weight taken off, which is really nice.

To people who haven’t seen it yet, what are you hoping that they get out of this?

I don’t know if there’s something specific I want people to take out of it. I think something that’s so beautiful about this show is that you can do a lot of thinking about it, and there’s so many concepts and there’s so many opinions to be had, but you can also come in, watch it, and be delighted by it, and be moved by it. But it’s also just so open ended, which is so nice. I want people to come and interface with it however they are, come as they are and let the piece affect them whether that be life changing or like, “Oh, well, that was a great night, and I enjoyed it.”

And then you’re also moving to a new venue for this remount, Ballyhoo Table and Stage in LoHi. Have you been practicing in the new venue?

Not yet, but I’ve visited a couple of times.

Are you excited about trying out this new place?

Yeah, it’s a beautiful spot that Julia (Tobey) has been working on. It’ll be cool to see how the space changes. I’ve got the script right here, and in the author’s note, before the proper script starts, it talks about ad-libbing and keeping the show free flowing and improvisational, and there’s a point in it where it talks about—here’s an excerpt. “We feel that every production should be site specific, so that the character of Hedwig is actually performing in and commenting on the space the production is occupying.” So last year, at the beginning of the show, there’s this large monologue at the beginning of the show that talks about a location in New York where this show was once put up that, now, every production changes.

So I got to write a little set about last year’s venue, The Arch, and about last year’s climate, and about Denver and all these things. So now I’ve been enjoying working on the updated version for this year, for 2025 and for Ballyhoo. So that’s a very tangible way in which it will change. It will change some of the dialog, but it’ll also change where it is, when we are, and how people are feeling coming into this space that’s owned by the the woman that’s producing this show, that will change it in less tangible ways, and I’m excited to see how it does that.

I didn’t know that that was an author’s note in the script. That makes sense, because there is always some sort of commentary on on the location, especially if you ever hear the Broadway recording, it’s really funny because they have this whole thing where they say that it’s an abandoned theater because someone tried to put on a production of something called Hurt Locker the Musical that closed before it finished its opening night, and Hedwig took over the theater. I always thought that was the funniest idea.

Yeah, I saw an interview with John Cameron Mitchell and Neil Patrick Harris talking about that. And they talk about Hedwig is not a Broadway performer. Hedwig is somebody who’s traditionally performing in dives and anywhere that she can. So they’re like, how do we justify her being on Broadway? Well, she just snuck in there and got the place after the other (production) closed, which I think is a great solution to that problem.

That’s hilarious. Well, thank you very much. It’s been very nice talking to you. I look forward to seeing the remounted production.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch starts tonight and runs through November 23 at Ballyhoo. Tickets and information available at HedwigDenver.com

Photo Credit: Amanda Tipton Photography