'Hair' lets sun, optimism shine in at Marcus Center 'Hair' lets sun, optimism shine in at Marcus Center
The cast members of “Hair” don’t just sing well, they sing as though they mean it and as if the words and actions in this musical matter as a spring awakening from our own long winter By Mike Fischer Feb. 23, 2011 | It won't stop war, end poverty or usher in utopia. But the touring production of "Hair" at the Marcus Center this week lets the sun shine in, taking us back to a less mean-spirited time when such goals meant more. Despite its reputation and that infamous nude scene, "Hair" doesn't get us there - inspiring scores of Milwaukeeans to climb on stage at the end of Tuesday's show and dance with the cast - through sex and drugs alone. Yes, there's plenty of both, as well as a lot of fun in playfully conceived and well-executed interludes like "Black Boys/White Boys" or the cross-dressing Josh Lamon's "My Conviction." But beneath the torn jeans and aura of anarchy, "Hair" is a marvelous piece of stagecraft, as well-honed as the pecs and abs of its young and good-looking cast, who bring Karole Armitage's gorgeous choreography to life with feats of athleticism that a tripping hippie could never manage. Director Diane Paulus also has sharpened the story at the core of this musical's freewheeling, almost vaudevillian structure: Whether the Tribe's love can save Claude from all those other voices - including his own - insisting that if he truly loves his country, he should be willing to kill and die for it. That's a lot of baggage for Claude to carry, but Paris Remillard has strong shoulders, conveying unbounded enthusiasm in a joyous "I Got Life," while showing enough introspection to earn his haunting "What a Piece of Work Is Man" or launch the show's stirring final medley. Pinch-hitting at Tuesday's opening, Nicholas Belton was just right as Berger, Claude's alter ego. Berger is less complicated and more selfish than Claude, and that's what Belton gives us. Both men love Sheila, and Caren Lyn Tackett's nuanced version of this passionate anti-war demonstrator exhibits traits characteristic of each of them - as well as a voice that is not only technically proficient, but also warm. The same could be said of the entire cast and the 11-piece band, all of whom clearly understand that music is about more than volume. >From Phyre Hawkins' soaring invocation of "Aquarius" at the top of the night to the Tribe's post-curtain reprise of the title number, the cast members don't just sing well. They sing as though they mean it and as if the words and actions in this musical matter - not just as a tie-dyed curiosity from a faraway summer of love, but as a spring awakening from our own long winter. IF YOU GO "Hair" continues through Sunday at the Marcus Center, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call (414) 273-7206 or go to www.marcuscenter.org/. -- http://www.jsonline.mobi/entertainment/arts/116744879.html%3E?ua=android&dc=smart&c=y 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.
