Comments & Curiosities: Revolution in one word: Hair "Gimme a head with hair, long beautiful hair … shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen. Give me down-to-there hair, shoulder length or longer, flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, hair!"
We're not talking about my hair actually, even though it's usually a little long. We're talking about "Hair," the musical. It's back, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts through Thursday — brash, rowdy and, fortunately, as outrageous and funny as ever. The full title is "Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical." But for people like me, who are no longer at any risk of being called young, all you need to say is "Hair." For us, that one word will trigger words and music that were seared into the collective American consciousness 40 years ago and will never fade. For all the 1970-or-later babies, a little context might be useful. But the most brilliant thing about "Hair" was the title itself. That single, four-letter word was the perfect code for everything that was going on in the '60s. If you had long hair, you were one of them … those long-haired, hippie, drug-crazed, communist sympathizers. You were also dirty and smelly, but that was a separate issue. Real women had hair like June Cleaver, or for those a little more daring, Donna Reed. Real men had hair that was high and tight, preferably a crew-cut, a clear sign that you were an upstanding, productive citizen and that you loved this country. Short hair — good person, high morals, excellent values; long hair — drug-crazed hippie, cannot be trusted, should leave country immediately. You were your hair, and your hair was you. Beyond the title, the music and lyrics left most people speechless. We just hadn't heard anything remotely like it before. Need a little poetry? Try "How Can People Be So Heartless?" Need a laugh? Try "Happy Birthday, Abie Baby," in which three ringers for Diana Ross and the Supremes sing the praises of Abraham Lincoln: "Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers, I mean all our forefathers, brought forth upon this continent a new nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the one I love … I mean, dedicated to the proposition that all men, and I tell you all men, honey, are created equal." But maybe the most amazing thing about "Hair" is that more than 40 years later, it is as relevant and shocking and above all, as funny as it ever was. If you've seen it, go see it again, if you haven't, you owe it to yourself. The "Age of Aquarius" may be gone, but a good musical goes on and on. Good morning, starshine. The Earth says, "Hello." I gotta go. PETER BUFFA is a former Costa Mesa mayor. His column runs Sundays. He may be reached at [email protected]. -- http://articles.dailypilot.com/2011-01-29/news/tn-dpt-0130-buffa-20110128_1_american-tribal-love-rock-musical-hair-sexual-revolution Via InstaFetch -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
