Any fan of Passing Strange, American Idiot, Murder Ballad or The Fortress of Solitude knows Rebecca Naomi Jones has a voice that just doesn’t quit. She’s an absolute powerhouse on stage, which is why Broadway buffs all but lost their minds when it was announced that she would succeed Tony winner Lena Hall as Yitzhak, a once great drag queen who is now enduring life as the put upon husband of the title character, in the Tony-winning revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Below, Jones shares with BroadwayBox the three inspirations that she used to put her own spin on Yitzhak.
I would say the first of the three inspirations I’ve drawn from for Yitzhak is The Clash, in that sort of wild, dark, dirty ‘80s badass way. I would say Charles Dickens—in so far as that he paints a picture of life that is desperate and full of choices that are made just based on a need to survive, and yet a lot his writing does depict occasion scenes of joy and comedy and beauty but it’s always amidst grey and bleak scenes. And lastly—and this one was sort of given to me by the hair department but I’ve taken it on and I love it—Leroy from the Fame movie; just because he’s both a dangerous badass and an artist, and he loves his body and wants to show off.
See Rebecca Naomi Jones kick ass in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Broadway's Belasco Theatre.
