All guilty pleasures are, by definition, embarrassing.
But a secret liking for a song by Def Leppard, or even a passion for Enrique Iglesias, is one thing. See, here at the end of the 20th century, musicals are considered the lowest form of art, the sonic equivalent of Hallmark Cards, painting on velvet and collecting stuffed animals. And yet, despite the wretched output of Andrew Lloyd Webber, musicals are really the most exacting form of pop music, the ultimate merging of lyrics, tunefulness and context. Thus, Hedwig and the Angry Inch , a rock opera that opened off Broadway last March, has already far outdistanced its competitors in the field, becoming the best of the breed to date. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a true rock opera, that is, it is an opera that is about rock.