The original Don Hill’s venue was essentially were Hedwig and the Angry Inch was born. Co-creators Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell conceived of their musical at the venue’s weekly Squeezebox parties. But Don Hill’s closed in 2011, before the reincarnation of Hedwig on Broadway earlier this year. But the legendary venue has just been revived as The Hills NYC and, as one of the first events in the space, this show was a “benefit for Road Recovery, a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to helping young people battle addiction and other adversities by harnessing the influence of entertainment industry professionals who have confronted similar crises and now wish to share their experience, knowledge, and resources”. The organization invited the current Hedwig band, Tits of Clay with the current Broadway star Michael C. Hall and co-creator Stephen Trask for the performance along with some special guests.
Arriving early to the unique Road Recovery benefit, I was able to catch some members / successful participants of Road Recovery perform in a band called Type II and then the band Ours fronted by Jimmy Gnecco, who was quiet a wild character on stage. They were musically solid and a pleasure to hear as well as thrilling to watch. Headliners Tits of Clay were up not long after, dabbling in their punk material which included covers and also serving as a backing band for guests like NY Dolls frontman David Johansen and Fred Schneider of The B-52’s. It was only after Michael C. Hall (from Dexter) was introduced that the band visited the Hedwig repertoire, with alternating lead singers as they performed “Angry Inch”, “Wicked Little Town” and “Midnight Radio” amongst others. Check out many photos and a couple of clips below and visit the Road Recovery site to learn more and support a great cause.
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Ours:
Tits of Clay (w/ special guests including Broadway’s current Hedwig, Michael C. Hall, David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter), Fred Schneider (of The B-52’s), Tony Awards winner Lena Hall and Miriam Shor):
