Remember Jones is a very memorable Hedwig in ‘Angry Inch’ musical at Bell Theater in Holmdel

DAVID ROSS LAWN

Remember Jones stars in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at The Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel.

Remember Jones is a rock ‘n’ roll artist who performs with theatrical flair, and who has presented shows paying tribute to larger-than-life personalities such as Freddie Mercury, Meat Loaf and Amy Winehouse. He constantly records and tours, yet he has also found time over the years to star in productions of musicals such as “Hair,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita” and “Jekyll & Hyde.”

He is now starring in the wild “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at The Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel — in addition to serving as the musical’s co-director (with Sean Matthew Whiteford), co-producer (with Andrew DePrisco) and music director — and it is hard to imagine a better vehicle for his talents.

The androgynous Hedwig, whom he plays, is a rock ‘n’ roller with a big personality, and Jones belts out the songs (written by Stephen Trask) with authority. Between songs, Hedwig displays a strange combination of old-fashioned showbiz hamminess and brutally honest introspection — it’s not an easy thing to make both these elements seem convincing, but Jones pulls it off.

The 1998 musical — which is being produced in collaboration with The Asbury Park Theater Company — takes the form of a nightclub concert by Hedwig and her band, The Angry Inch. The musical’s book, written by its initial lead actor John Cameron Mitchell, is basically Hedwig’s rambling monologues, relating the tortured path of her life. She grew up in poverty in East German, during the era of the Berlin Wall. She has been unlucky in love. Her career has never taken off. And as she lets us know, in graphic detail, she has endured a botched sex-change operation.

DAVID ROSS LAWN

Remember Jones in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

The angst just pours out of Hedwig, but so do self-deprecating jokes, which lighten the mood. Hedwig is introduced with the line, “Ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not … Hedwig!,” and claims to be an “internationally ignored song stylist.” She has her own fragrance line called Atrocity.

“So nice to be here with all of you in a fucking basement in Holmdel,” Hedwig cracks. It is one of many lines that have been added in order to reflect this production’s location, and current events. There are brief references to President Trump and Wegovy. And when a door at the back of the stage is opened, we can hear a show at The PNC Bank Arts Center (“right up the Parkway,” Hedwig says), where Hedwig’s ex-lover, Tommy Gnosis, is headlining.

Using songs written by Hedwig (but not offering public acknowledgement of that), Gnosis has become a big star, and we hear snippets of his inane between-song patter when the door is opened.

Hedwig remains rooted in rough-edged, charged-up punk and glam-rock, while Gnosis seems to have sold out and gone full-bore hair-metal. It is one of many ways in which the world, and the people in Hedwig’s life, have let her down.

DAVID ROSS LAWN

Hannah Bonnett in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

Hannah Bonnett plays Hedwig’s spouse, manager and bandmate, Yitzhak. The character is belittled by Hedwig — cowed into near-silent submission — throughout most of the evening, but finally steps into the spotlight with a powerhouse performance on the musical’s final song, “Midnight Radio.” It is a huge transformation — and arguably the show’s climactic moment — and Bonnett executes it perfectly.

The musical’s six other characters are the members of Hedwig’s Angry Inch band: keyboardist-guitarist Arlan Feiles, drummer John Kelly-Kiefer, guitarist Louis D’Alotto, bassist Kyle Rowe, trombonist Evan Amoroso and saxophonist Tessa O’Boyle. (Most have worked with Remember Jones before, on other projects.) They occasionally interact with Hedwig but mostly just stick to their instruments.

Costume designer Beck Jones, wig designers Andrew Elliot and Conor Donnelly and makeup Daniel Klingler deserve credit for making Hedwig’s many different looks as wild as her personality.

There are a lot of complexities to this musical. Hedwig is compared to the Berlin Wall in the song “Tear Me Down”; she is “standing before you in the divide between East and West/Slavery and freedom/Man and woman/Top and bottom,” Yitzhak asserts. And the song “The Origin of Love” touches on mythology and metaphysics.

The ending of the musical finds both Hedwig and Yitzhak evolving in ways that are, frankly, a bit hard to follow, if you are seeing this work for the first time. I would advise anyone who falls into that category (i.e., a first-timer) to spend some time acquainting yourself with what the musical is about — and maybe listening to some songs, and/or looking over the lyrics — before you go, in order to get the most out of it.

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch” will be presented at The Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel through June 29. Visit belltheater.org.

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