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It's an edgy musical that's as sharp as a surgeon's knife or a drag queen's tongue.

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is a musical about a young man who undergoes a sex-change operation in order to gain freedom from communist Germany. But the surgery goes awry, leaving Hedwig with an "angry inch."

A year after marrying her American G.I., the Berlin Wall falls; if Hedwig had waited a year, the operation would've been unnecessary. And Hedwig, living in a trailer park in Junction City, Kan., is soon abandoned by her G.I. husband.

The musical previews at The Galley (300 Fifth Ave. S.) today and Saturday at 11 p.m., then moves to the Black Angus Grille (4221 Tamiami Trail E.) for a month.

"It hasn't been done here before," says Jonee Dee, co-producer, director and musical director for the production. "Regarding Southwest Florida, this is the premiere. For a community that's very conservative by nature, they're still sophisticated enough to appreciate edgier pieces. This is about as edgy as you can get.

"We decided to put this on based on the response received by 'Rocky Horror' a couple of years ago at the Naples Dinner Theatre. God bless the NDT for taking a risk and taking a chance to do it. It was a wonderful run," says Dee, who was the musical director for the dinner theater's show. "We had such a diverse crowd gay, straight, young, old. A lot of repeat business. We thought this would be the perfect area (to put on 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'). It's never been done here professionally. There was a college production in Gainesville, but a professional commercial production has never been done in Florida, to the best of my knowledge."

Dee feels the show will finds its audience.

"Just the subject matter alone is edgy enough, but when 'Rocky Horror' first came out, it was taboo," Dee says. "Given time, this will be just as mainstream as 'Rocky Horror' is right now. Because the show does have such an alternative following, we decided to put it in front of a predominantly gay audience to see what would work and what wouldn't. And basically to get the word out in the gay community (initially). But, since the show does have fans and audience appeal to those who are younger the teen set are fans as well we wanted to perform it in a place for a regular run where all ages can see it."

Dee calls it "confessional rock 'n' roll cabaret" and says, emphatically, "it's not porno. It's so far from it. It is adult, but we don't have any four-letter words in the show."

But there are plenty of double entendres, such as Hedwig's response to applause: "I do so love a warm hand on my entrance." And then there's her line: "When it comes to huge openings, a lot of people always think of me."

Dee says that "the music is not dissimilar to musicals like 'Rocky Horror' and 'Grease.' There's just good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll. There's nothing musically that would turn people off unless you don't like rock 'n' roll."

The music is heavily influenced by the glam rock of the '80s. And, according to Dee, the plot is loosely based on Plato's "Symposium."

"If you took a Greek myth and replaced the gods with transsexuals, abusive mothers and American G.I.s, you'd come up with 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch,' backed by a rock band," Dee says.

The musical won a Grammy for Best Original Cast Album for the stage production, and Stephen Trask won a Grammy for Best Score. Director/writer John Cameron Mitchell, who was the first stage Hedwig, was nominated for several Drama Desk Awards. The movie version of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" came out in July 2001. Mitchell reprised the role for the movie; he received awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture at the Sundance Film Festival last year and was nominated for several Golden Globe Awards.

Dee is proud to be putting on the show, explaining, "the rights are very hard to come by." They obtained the rights from Mitchell's attorney, through the wig designer who worked on the New York and Toronto productions.

"The wig designer Wanda MacRae is a very dear friend of John's," Dee says. "She was a bridge for us. She designed and built our wigs, which were flown in from Toronto."

Much of the humor in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" stems from gender-bending.

Lori Nuti, a woman, plays Yitzak, a man, and Dean Swann, a man, plays Hedwig, a man who becomes a woman.

"I think it's a challenge, a growing experience for me," Nuti says, reasoning: "If I can do this kind of role, I can do anything."

Nuti says the role is quite a stretch for her because she's more used to classical music and singing opera. She studied for the role by going into bars and observing the young men how they sat, talked, acted. Then she'd go home and try to imitate the look, watching herself in the mirror. "I slouch a lot," she says. "My character has bad posture."

The makeup, which includes facial hair, aids in getting into the role. Stuffing a roll of socks into her jeans also helps.

Nuti says it takes her an hour to get into makeup, and slightly less time to get out of it.

Swann's transformation takes longer approximately 2-and-a-half hours.

"I've gotten it down to two hours," he says. "The false eyelashes are the worst."

He's not too wild about the corset he has to wear either. When he first squeezed into it, he found it difficult to sing, jump around on stage and breathe at the same time.

	IF YOU GO
	"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" When: 11 p.m. today and Saturday, June 15 Where: The Galley, 300 Fifth Ave. S. Cost: $15 Information: 285-6038 THE BLACK ANGUS GRILLE JUNE 20TH Every Thursday through Saturday @ 9PM and every Friday and Saturday @ MIDNIGHT!!!!

Swann went to the Chanel counter at Dillard's at Coastland Center mall to learn how to put on his makeup. "Clayton Brown spent four hours putting on my makeup and showing me how to do it," Swann says. "It was a great show for the people who gathered around. Other people would walk by and grab their kids' hands and walk by very quickly.

"This is where musical theater is going," Swann says. "It's different. It's exciting. It's music I can relate to."

When he saw the show in New York City, "I had no idea what I was getting into. I had an incredible moment. It was a sonic and emotional journey. I will never forget it.

"It's an allegory, absolutely. I see Hedwig as a tragic figure. It's about the origins of love, or trying to find your other half."

"I think people who come to see the show will sit there with their jaws dropped to the floor," Dee says. "By the end they will leave recognizing a bit of Hedwig in themselves. It doesn't outright preach tolerance for other kinds of lifestyles, but it does stress the humanity in Hedwig. Humanity and love are genderless."