John Cameron Mitchell. Malik Dupree for Observer
If you were to create a genre calculated for maximum fan-girl impact, you couldn’t do much better than the podcast musical. And that is what John Cameron Mitchell is doing. The Broadway veteran knows a thing or two about attracting legions of disciples through rousing songs and whip-smart lyrics: He co-wrote and originated the title role in the cult hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch, an explosive and trailblazing show for which the term “achingly beautiful” was seemingly invented.
Some 20 years after playing Hedwig, Mitchell is unveiling Anthem: Homunculus, an original musical performed as a podcast over 10 episodes. It centers on a middle-aged gay man who is living in a Kansas trailer park and suffering the effects of a brain tumor because he’s unable to afford health insurance. He launches an online radio “tumor telethon” to pay for treatment and is occasionally beset by visions of family members and figures from his…
