'Hair' brings '60s to life thanks to great music The Orange County Register
For years, critics used to have a field day when reviewing "Hair," penning headlines such as "Aging Hippies Show Bald Spots." But the first and only "American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" has long since passed from embarrassingly out of fashion into a genuine cultural artifact. Watching "Hair" now is like seeing an Edsel or holding a Buffalo nickel. It unlocks memories about a time that's sufficiently separated from the here and now that its concerns, themes and obsessions seem historical and informative, not groan-inducing. The Tony-winning 2009 Broadway revival of "Hair," which is now touring and opened at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts this week, is above all a reminder that tastes and times have changed in the musical-theater world. After the wild and woolly experimentation of the 1960s and '70s, we've gone back to Broadway tradition – we like a story to go with our characters and songs. Even "Rent," which resembles "Hair" in many ways (East Village bohemians living it up, loving indiscriminately and fighting serious issues), wisely gives us more plot and full-blooded characters to complement its high-energy rock score. The tale is indeed the weakest element of this 1967 relic. It's thinner than a single strand of these hippies' shaggy locks. On a gritty, urban-looking set, we meet a group of hairy twentysomethings living a footloose life in New York's East Village. It's the height of the countercultural movement, and this rag-tag gaggle of leftists supports all the de rigueur causes: a clean environment, free love and – the biggest one of all – opposition to the Vietnam War. Claude, his free-spirited pal Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends seem carefree enough, but their parents' conservatism and the issue of the military draft bring dark clouds into their world. Claude struggles to decide whether to burn his draft card, like the other men in his tribe have done, or live up to his parents' wishes and his obligation to his country by going to Vietnam. It's not much to hang a full-length musical on, and it doesn't help that "Hair" tells its story almost entirely through song. Fortunately, "Hair's" music has always been its strong point. While Gerome Ragni and James Rado's book leaves a lot to be desired, their lyrics perfectly capture the angst, joy and craziness of the late 1960s. And Galt MacDermot's songs, an inventive mix of rock, Motown, country, classical and other elements, are expertly crafted and often iconic. How many people of a certain age can complete this sentence: "When the moon is in the seventh house ..."? I rest my case. Steel Burkhardt, a veteran of the Broadway cast, is memorable as the irrepressible Berger, whose unhinged antics open the show. Berger, the merry prankster of the group, has to be magnetic and mercurial, and Burkhardt fills the bill. He sets the tone immediately with an impromptu strip tease that spills into the audience (the show bursts off the stage frequently). "Donna," a paean to a 16-year-old virgin, is one of the more rambunctious numbers, and Burkhardt has a ball with it. Claude is the most serious-minded member of the tribe, and Paris Remillard brings the right gravitas to the role. Claude's scenes of conflict with his straitlaced parents are sketchy, but Remillard gets an impressive amount of information across in those brief moments. He shows us that Claude feels the pull of societal and familial expectations more than the others do. As Sheila, the most politically savvy member of the tribe, Caren Lyn Tackett owns one of the cast's best voices. Her interpretation of "Easy to Be Hard," one of the show's few quietly reflective songs, is a high point. Playing Jeanie, her comic counterpoint, Kacie Sheik brings whimsy and excellent comic timing to throwaway numbers such as "Air." Director Diane Paulus and choreographer Karole Armitage breathe new life into a show that many creative teams would probably deem impossible to revive. Characters bounce around like careening electrons on Scott Pask's set. It features an old truck which, along with several other ragtag elements, provides the platform for the excellent onstage band. Paulus keeps her large cast moving constantly, and she's not afraid to enlist the audience in the action. If you're sitting on the aisles, don't say I didn't warn you. Armitage's choreography brilliantly embodies the ebullience of the era without looking completely random. The biggest surprise of "Hair" was how well an Orange County audience accepted its once-radical notions and provocations. The nude scene, while toned down, is still there; several black characters express open hostility toward white society; these hippies' strident political views are as left-wing as any expressed in an American musical. The crowd rewarded it with a standing ovation, which brings me back to my original point: If something gets old enough, it can transform from galvanizing social event into a trip down memory lane. Paulus is aware of that; this production respects its source. It's your grandfather's "Hair" – and that's a good thing. Contact the writer: 714-796-7979 or [email protected] -- http://m.ocregister.com/entertainment/hair-285902-claude-brings.html 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.
