Sexual Expression In Hedwig And The Angry Inch

Humans, by nature, are sexual beings. While religious values and social norms cause society’s view of sexual expression to be mostly negative, sex and sexuality are very common themes in art of all forms, such as sculpture, painting, and literature. It is also often seen in performance art. Musical theatre is one of the main outlets of sexual expression and has been for centuries. While this expression goes back generations, it has evolved greatly along with theatre and society itself.
Musical theatre is defined as “a genre of drama in which singing and dancing play an essential part” (Oxford Dictionaries). This unique art roots centuries back to ancient tribal civilizations, in which dance rituals were performed as a religious celebration
Twice as many shows involve some form of sexuality during this era. The musicals follow Rent’s lead and make the issues surrounding sexual expression much clearer than before. For example, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is one of the only shows to follow a transgender woman and her struggles with love and life, yet it has a hilarious twist to it despite the heavy topic. This is a common occurrence in contemporary theatre. A similar show, Kinky Boots, follows the unlikely friendship between a man who wears drag and an old fashioned shoemaker. They find similarities in one another despite their differences and soon become coworkers. One of the themes is individuality and the show pushes for people to “just be who you want to be,” as the closing musical number states. These two shows are generally light hearted despite their serious themes, leading to a new view on LGBTQ+ issues. Another show, like Rent, that humanizes people of the LGBTQ+ community is Fun Home. This show follows the true story of Allison Bechdel and her family throughout their small town life and the discovery that two of their family members are gay: Allison and her father. The most important aspect of this show is that the main focus is not on the main character’s sexuality, but on her relationship with her father. This humanizes her and makes her more than just another lesbian character. She has dynamic as a character aside from her love life. This show is not as light hearted as the other shows of this era and that is what makes it so important. A different aspect of this era is the reintroduction of clear sexual humor. Shows such as Avenue Q, Book of Mormon, and Heathers demonstrate blunt and crude humor very well, relating all the way back to Shakespeare and Greek