Heads-up for Hedwig

Hedheads, put on your heels and grab your wigs. The greatest gender-bending rock star of our generation is coming to town as fledgling company New Helvetia Theatre opens Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Artisan Theatre this weekend. Los Angeles actor Christopher Davis Carlisle stars as Hedwig in this tale of an East German man-turned-woman after a botched sex change who reacts badly when she is abandoned by her rising-star rock-musician protégé, while she and her band languish in obscurity. Directed by Matthew Schneider, the show also features Nanci Zoppi as Yitzhak. Local band—and 2008 Sammie winners for Outstanding Indie Band—the New Humans will portray Hedwig’s band, the Angry Inch.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch shows Thursdays at 8 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., at the Artisan Theatre, 1901 Del Paso Boulevard. Through June 27. Tickets are $25; $35 opening night includes reception before the show and afterparty at Badlands. For more information, see New Helvetia’s Web site at www.newhelvetia.org.