The New York-based theatre company The Civilians will honor Grammy-nominated and Obie-winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch composer Stephen Trask during its 2025 Spring Benefit at Joe's Pub.
Entitled Strange Rock and Rollers, the May 12 celebration will begin at 6:30 PM at the intimate cabaret located within the Public Theater. The benefit will feature the talents of Darren Criss, Will Connolly, Eddie Cooper, David Greenspan, Jinkx Monsoon, Martha Redbone, and Aaron Whitby, who will perform selections from Hedwig, Sex Variants of 1941, and more.
鈥淭aken from the final lines of Hedwig, Strange Rock and Rollers is more than a tribute to Stephen鈥攊t鈥檚 a tribute to all of us,鈥� said Civilians Founding Artistic Director Steve Cosson in a statement. 鈥淭he artists, audiences, and supporters who believe that theatre should push boundaries, challenge perspectives, and spark something new鈥攅ven if it ruffles a few feathers. Stephen鈥檚 fearless creative voice inspires the spirit of the evening: expect audacious performances, original tributes, and all the theatrical mischief you鈥檝e come to expect from The Civilians.鈥�
Trask is best known as the composer-lyricist of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The original production of Hedwig and
the subsequent film version went on to
win an Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding
Off-Broadway Musical, a 1998 New York Magazine Award, Drama Desk
nominations for Outstanding Music, Lyrics and New Musical, a Grammy
nomination for Best Cast Album, and two GLAMA Awards as well as
Entertainment Weekly鈥檚 Best Soundtrack Award for 2001. Hedwig鈥檚 Broadway revival won four Tony Awards in 2014. In 2018, Atlantic Theater Company produced the world premiere of Trask's rock opera, This Ain鈥檛 No Disco. He is currently working on a semi-autobiographical podcast with Aurin Squire entitled American Shtetl.
All
proceeds support the work of The Civilians鈥攆ueling the creation of
ambitious new plays and musicals by the next generation of
boundary-breaking artists.
Tickets can be purchased online at , by calling (718) 230-3330 or by emailing [email protected].
