THE BUSHNELL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
IS PROUD TO PRESENT
THE BUSHNELL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
IS PROUD TO PRESENT
the Tony(R) award-winning revival
HAIR
The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
APRIL 26 - MAY 1, 2011
Book & Lyrics by
GEROME RAGNI & JAMES RROO
Music by
GALT MacDERMOT
The Designers
SCENIC/SCOTT PASK
COSTUMES/MICHAEL McDONALD
LIGHTING/KEVIN ADAMS
SOUND/ACME SOUND PARTNERS
Choreography by
KAROLE ARMITAGE
Directed by
DIANE PRULUS
REVIEWED BY DONNA BAILEY-THOMPSON
The more some things change, the more some stay the same.
If the energy expended during a HAIR performance could be measured, the amount would be off the chart. Such activity belies hippy critics complaining hippies were sloths. No one in the cast need fear gaining weight. They tear around the stage. With few exceptions, the cast of 32 (16 featured performers and 16 Tribe Members) are in almost continuous motion throughout 2 hours and 15 minutes of music. Forty songs delivered at full throttle average out to one every three minutes. “Aquarius” opens the show; midway through Act One, “Hair” ups the energy. Towards the end of Act Two, the respected “Good Morning Starshine” grabs those who were there back when as does the final number, “The Flesh Failures/Let the Sun Shine In.”
There are a few interruptions by non-hippies – the parents, Mother (Allison Guinn) and Father (Josh Lamon) who from the perspective of their middle class conservatism cannot understand why their son Claude (Paris Remillard) is so conflicted about serving his country. Should he burn his draft card or report for duty? Angst enshrouds his body.
HAIR saturates the audience with the counterculture of the notorious Sixties when the young and young-at-heart were dropping out to make sense out of a world that teemed with contradictions. Little has changed during the ensuing 50 years. Aspects that shocked – shocked, I tell you! – are now woven into the mainstream – interracial marriages and/or cohabitation sans clergy; the much broader acceptance of homosexuality. The frustration exhibited by the toll of the Vietnam War has been replaced by lamenting the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and speculating about the uprisings in the Middle East, the threat of Iran, all played out this week against the backdrop of The Royal Wedding’s pomp and ceremony. When a warmonger and a flower child meet, the gun’s barrel is neutralized by the insertion of the flower’s stem. Voila, Flower Power. Wouldst it could be that easy.
The rock music, its driving beat, feeds into the surfeit of adrenaline. The large cast is talented, well trained, enthusiastic. Clips from their bios suggest they are direct descendants of the Sixties. Consider these quotes: “If everyone had an open, accepting heart like Jesus (the first real hippie), the world would undoubtedly be at peace.” “Born Sun in Leo*Moon in Aries*Aquarius rising*”.”The world is a book, ye who stays home reads but one page.” “[Everyone] should follow their truth and celebrate their spirit.” “Loves this earth and all the creatures on, above and below it.”
Overheard while exiting the Bushnell: “I can’t tell if I enjoyed it.” The audience’s rousing cheers signaled that an overwhelming majority did.
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