the origin of love

Last night me and my lovely friend Allan went for dinner and a show. We headed downtown for delicious food at Jungle Jim's (and multiple delicious cocktails that tasted like yummy tropical juice), and then headed to the Rock House for HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH. This was a really special night; Allan and I have been in love with the movie almost since we first became friends. I didn't know what to expect at all, really; I knew the play would obviously be very different from the movie.

It was incredible; the actor who played Hedwig was perfect. He looked the part entirely, and he was such a diva. I'd imagine its an incredibly difficult part to play; basically putting off a concert while in character, as a female, and he didn't break character once. He was sexy, hilarious, perfect really. It was essentially a one-man show, just Hedwig and her band, the Angry Inch. They even added a bunch of jokes about St. John's into the opening of it; it was basically supposed to be a concert, with Hedwig telling her story. The music was sensational, the acting was astonishing, and I loved how interactive it was.

If you've never seen the movie, I'd get on that. If you like musicals, its definitely a treat. A very sad story, sassy, hilarious. So many things. Hedwig had a sex change operation performed so as to able to leave communist East Germany and get married (a marriage which collapses rather quickly), but the operation was botched, leaving Hedwig with a mound of flesh that leaves her neither male nor female (her "angry inch"). Its a story about finding love and finding yourself. Super smart and funny. And the music is so goddamn catchy. 

My favorite part of the movie, and one of my favorite songs, is when Hedwig is telling a story that his mother told him, which is actually Aristophanes' speech from Plato's Symposium. Its about how humans used to be beings with 2 faces, 4 arms, 4 legs, and how the Gods were angered with them and cut them in half. Now we spend our lives trying to find our other half, and sex is how we try to put ourselves back together again. Its a beautiful story, both the song and its original philosophical manifestation.

Thats enough gushing for now (I could write a lot more, trust me). Now I'm going to go listen to music and read about the Athabasca oil sands (for academic reasons). I hope everyone is having an amazing weekend.


XO