Bring It Home, Sugar Daddy! Hedwig Creator & Original Star John Cameron Mitchell Will Don the Wig on B'way

We've got a sweet tooth for John Cameron Mitchell! The Hedwig and the Angry Inch book writer and original star will light up Broadway as the East German transgender rock goddess at the Belasco Theatre. He takes over for current Hedwig Michael C. Hall beginning January 21, 2015 for an eight-week engagement; Hall will play his last performance on January 18. The news follows the previously reported speculation that the Hedwig star of off-Broadway and screen would put on some makeup once more on the Great White Way.Tony winner Lena Hall continues with the production as Yitzhak.

“I am in equal parts thrilled and terrified to be returning to Hedwig. 15 years ago she kicked my butt so hard that I quit acting," said Mitchell in a statement. "But like an expertly face-lifted ex-wife, she's lured me back. The killer new work by Neil Patrick Harris, Andrew Rannells, and Michael C. Hall have left much larger pumps to fill. Here's hoping I don't need a walker by the end of the run.”

Mitchell wrote the book for Hedwig alongside composer Stephen Trask, and the stars performed early versions of the musical at Don Hill’s and the Westbeth Theatre Center. Mitchell later starred in the off-Broadway incarnation of the hit musical at the Jane Street Theatre in 1998. He directed, wrote and starred in the 2001 film adaptation of Hedwig, garnering a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. Mitchell has appeared on Broadway in The Secret Garden, Big River and Six Degrees of Separation, and was most recently seen on the small screen in Girls, playing David Pressler-Goings, Hannah’s book publisher.

Directed by Michael Mayer, the Tony-winning Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch opened April 22, 2014, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Lena Hall. Andrew Rannells subsequently stepped into Harris' heels. The musical tells the story of a fictional rock ‘n’ roll band, fronted by Hedwig, a transgender woman from communist East Berlin. Between rock songs, Hedwig regales the audience with both humorous and painful stories about her life, including her botched sex change operation.