He created the critically acclaimed 1998 rock musical “Hedwig And The Angry Inch,” which earned him a Tony Award. Now, he’s joining the National Symphony Orchestra at D.C.’s Kennedy Center for a tribute concert for the late, great David Bowie.
John Cameron Mitchell will be a guest artist performing at the “Blackstar: The Music of David Bowie” tribute concert Saturday, June 29.
WTOP’s Jason Fraley caught up with him before he caught a flight into Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
Mitchell’s family has roots in the D.C. area and said they’ll be attending the show.
“I used to live right near Dulles in Arlington as a kid. … My dad grew up there,” he said.
Alongside artistic director Donny McCaslin, who worked on Bowie’s last album, Mitchell will be singing multiple arrangements of Bowie’s work and the “Blackstar” album front-to-back on Saturday night.
“It’s nonstop fun,” Mitchell told WTOP.
He recalled a time when Bowie had attended a showing of “Hedwig,” which he said was “very much” inspired by Bowie’s music.
“He came over and was like, ‘John, you got it right.’ … I could have just died. And he ended up investing in our L.A. production of ‘Hedwig,’ and lost all his money,” Mitchell joked.
Mitchell got his start in theater in Chicago before getting on Broadway in New York in the 1980s. He then moved to Los Angeles, before going back to New York and creating “Hedwig And The Angry Inch.”
“I came back in ’90 — I realized I was a New York boy — and then started writing my own piece,” he said.
He notes Bowie as one of his largest inspirations for the LGBTQ references in “Hedwig.”
“(Bowie) did that famous performance on Saturday Night Live with Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias where he does ‘Boys Keep Swinging,’ and does drag, and he wears this crazy Thierry Mugler outfit. And it blew me away. It was ’79 for the ‘Lodger’ album, and that really set me on my path to becoming the weirdo, queerdo, filmmaker, theater maker performer that I am,” Mitchell said.
The concert is at 8 p.m. on Saturday night. Tickets are available online starting at $67.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Kc6o1otuIAq7FIjEGuvLj?si=XFqsWCdGTKe9t43lTCLIJw
