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In the late ’90s, John Cameron Mitchell rocked the theater world with the punk musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In the years since, he’s directed a movie adaptation of the show and starred in a Tony Award–winning revival on Broadway. And now, he’s created a new genre-defying piece of theater. This time in the form of a podcast.
Anthem: Homunculus is a collaboration between Mitchell and composer Bryan Weller. It tells the story of Ceann, a man hosting an online telethon to raise money for his cancer treatment. The 10-episode, five-hour saga features more than 30 original songs as well as an impressive list of Broadway and Hollywood stars: Patti LuPone, Glenn Close, and Marion Cotillard, to name a few.
Mitchell originally conceived the show as a sequel to Hedwig but found that his own life history was at the heart of the story. “The whole thing is kind of an alternative autobiography,” he says. “It’s what I might be like if I hadn’t left my small town.”
This podcast was produced by Studio 360’s Tommy Bazarian.
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