By SHARON EBERSON
Pittsburgh-based multihyphenate artist Treasure Treasure has taken on the fearless title role in the ferocious musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch — and graciously accepted the task of answering a few onStage Pittsburgh questions.
Hedwig for 2026 is a first in the revival category for City Theatre. The production, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, invades the Greer Cabaret through June 7, 2026.
with John Cameron Mitchell (center left) and stars Treasure Treasure and Theo Allyn, to his right. Hedwig creator Mitchell visited the first rehearsal during a break
from starring in Oh, Mary! on Broadway. (Image: Louis Stein)
John Cameron Mitchell, who created Hedwig with composer/lyricist Stephen Trask, joined the company — which includes Theo Allyn as Yitzak; director Robert Ramirez, (head of the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University), Music Supervisor Rick Edinger (Co-Artistic Director at the CMU Center for New Work Development), and Music Director Ben Brosche — for its first rehearsal. At the time, Cameron was on leave from his starring role in Oh, Mary! on Broadway.
Relatively recent roles for Treasure have included Hamlet (Quantum Theatre); First Lady (PICT) and Jesus Christ Superstar (Pittsburgh Musical Theater), as well as co-author and star of her original play, Agnus Teaches Acting (New Hazlett Theater). She also appeared in the premiere of Trask’s co-authored musical This Ain’t No Disco at Atlantic Theater Company.
Allyn has been seen onstage for Quantum Theatre, Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and in the raucous POTUS, among other productions, for City Theatre.
onSTAGE PITTSBURGH: What was your familiarity with Hedwig previously?
TREASURE: I remember seeing posters for Hedwig while I was on Broadway as a 9 year old [in Annie Get Your Gun, with Bernadette Peters]. My feelings were generally feelings of confusion and, quite frankly, they still are. Delightfully so! I will begin to truly know Hedwig once audiences arrive. It’s been wild to rehearse a show that will be presented later, as an “event.” Hedwig is a play, yes — but more than anything, it’s a direct exchange between the performers and the audience. Hedwig can be rehearsed up to a point, then we absolutely need our audiences in order to thrive.
oSP: Is this a role you’ve wanted to do, and how did it come about (did you audition, or were you approached about it)?
TREASURE: I’ve always been drawn to characters that take up a lot of space and refuse to leave the stage. I was born to play Hedwig. I have a number of people to thank for the opportunity to play this role at City Theatre. I auditioned with the encouragement of Monteze Freeland, plus a handful of friends, but once I finally had coffee with Robert Ramirez a few months before casting began, I knew it was something I had to pursue. Robert had reached out after catching my turn as Hamlet with Quantum Theatre, and we scheduled a coffee. We spent the first 45 minutes giggling and volleying witty banter, until Robert finally said, “Treasure, we haven’t talked about Hedwig.” The lights definitely bumped up a notch from that point forward.
oSP: You recently got to showcase a character you created, in the CSA program. What is it like going from your own work, and stepping into this role?
TREASURE: Writing and performing Agnus — my acting teacher character — is a lot easier than Hedwig. Agnus is similar, in the way that Hedwig is a character created by a particular individual, with the intention of that particular individual embodying the role. Agnus and Hedwig share a similar experience in that the stakes have never been higher, they demand justice and have no shame writhing in their own special brand of agony for anyone generous enough to bear witness. Agnus was certainly easier to memorize than Hedwig. The character lives so loudly within me, she’s just under the surface of my everyday skin. Hedwig is a heavier lift for many reasons, but mostly because she lives out some truly despicable moments on stage. I have to be able to lead the audience into the parasitic depths of her punk rock bowels, and then usher them back into the light. All in 90 minutes. May God continue to shine her grace and mercy upon me.
oSP: This is the first time City Theatre has done a show twice, and the first time it has done a full production in the Cultural District, and first in partnership with the Trust. Is there added excitement about being a part of that?
TREASURE: I am thrilled (I do not use this word lightly) to join City Theatre and the Trust in this special joint production. I first appeared at the Cabaret in 2009, in a jam-packed review of about 56 George & Ira Gershwin tunes. I was working very hard. So hard, in fact, that a prop ceramic mug flew out of my hands during a chaîné downstage, onto a patron’s table in the front row, and smashed her glasses, plates, bowls and good time to absolute smithereens. I stopped the show and apologized. It wasn’t enough. She was white hot. I believe my triumphant return to the Cabaret stage will make a lot of things right.
oSP: What was it like meeting Hedwig creator John Cameron Mitchell, and did he give you any advice?
TREASURE: It was a pleasure to spend time with John. I asked how his turn in Oh, Mary! was going. He smirked and said, “It’s going well. Easier than Hedwig!”
oSP: I’ve seen Theo Allyn do a lot of comedic work. What’s it like being their scene partner? And Robert Ramirez has really stretched CMU’s role within the professional theater community. What’s it been like working with him?
TREASURE: When I look into Theo’s eyes, there is a shared history that transcends our lifetime. This is someone who is not only an indispensable asset to the stage, they are an undeniable healer, intellectual, confidant, friend, and teacher. I will go to the end of the world with them. Turns out, we’re already on our way. I was just saying to them last night, “It’s a miracle that we get to live out all of these storylines in our relationship as Hedwig and Yitzhak — in the short span of a single night of theater.” That’s the gift of Hedwig.
oSP: LGBTQIA+ rights are under attack, free speech is under attack … I listen to “The Origin of Love,” and it’s all right there. It’s a song that I don’t think has ever gotten enough attention, especially right now. Is there anything specific in the show, a song or a line, that is particularly meaningful to you? Or joyful? Or hopeful?
TREASURE: I’ve always said, “They’re gonna have to kill me.” There is an undeniable spirit in the lovers of this world. Our souls cannot be destroyed, our voices cannot be silenced, our stories cannot be erased, our thoughts cannot be controlled, our grief is shared and that makes it our superpower. Hedwig sings, “That’s the pain that cuts a straight line down through the heart. We call it love. We wrapped our arms around each other, trying to shove ourselves back together. We were making love.” Grief becomes power when it is collectively healed. Love creates something that was not there before. That’s what makes it immortal. No written document by a fictitious state attempting to survive and govern on stolen land can make that untrue.
oSP: What do you hope audiences take away from Hedwig?
TREASURE: I invite audiences to liberate themselves in order to better serve the collective. That’s my work on the stage every night and throughout this experience of Hedwig. I’ll be continuing that work for the rest of my life in this body.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, presented by City Theatre in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is at the Greer Cabaret, Downtown, through June 7, 2026. Tickets: https://citytheatrecompany.org/production/100838/hedwig-and-the-angry-inch or call 412-431-2489.
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