BWW Reviews: Don't Cut HAIR: RETROSPECTIVE From Your Theater Experience

The rock musical Hair has been produced many times over the years in Kansas City, but never has it been presented the way the Kansas City Repertory Theatre brought it to the Spencer Theatre on opening night March 27. Artistic Director Eric Rosen directs Hair: Retrospective, which runs through April 12 at the theater on the University of Missouri at Kansas City campus. Hair: Retrospective may actually be more enjoyable than the musical itself, (not just my opinion, heard from audience members also).

Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot defined what we now know as rock musicals. Love, war, drugs, hippies, burning of your draft card, and Vietnam are a handful of topics covered in the songs of the musical.

Hair created controversy using a racially integrated cast, its depiction of drugs, sex, and nudity. The original Broadway cast was offered additional payment to strip away their inhibitions and clothing. Heather MacRae, original cast member from Broadway said she was okay with the nudity even when her mother came to the show, but not when her father attended.

Hair is the tale of the "tribe," several longhaired hippies living a bohemian lifestyle while protesting the American involvement in the Vietnam War. Hair opened on Broadway in 1968 and received Tony Award nominations for Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical for Tom O'Horgan. In 1969, it won the Grammy for Best Score From an Original Cast Show Album.

Rosen in creating Hair: Retrospective includes all the songs from the original score. Six members of the Broadway production join local talent performing the classic numbers, "Aquarius," "Black Boys," "Manchester England," and "Hair." Heather MacRae, daughter of Sheila and Gordon MacRae, Natalie Mosco, Robert I. Rubinsky, Zenobia, and Larry Marshall performed in the original Broadway production and Michael James Leslie appeared on Broadway in the 1977 Revival of Hair. Mixed between songs the six Broadway performers relate stories of their own lives and those dealing with the show and its production. It has been 47 years since Hair opened on Broadway, yet the six performers sang and danced as if it were opening night at the Biltmore Theatre.

Jared Joseph joined the original cast members, making his debut with the KC Rep. Joseph has appeared in The Book of Mormon and Holler If Ya Hear Me on Broadway. Some of the finest talent in Kansas City, Tim Scott, Daniel Beeman, Emily Shackelford, Shanna Jones, and Linnaia McKenzie join him and the original cast members on stage.

Tim Scott, the former voice of the Kansas City Royals, makes a fantastic debut with KC Rep. He is co-creator of Musical Monday with the Musical Theater Heritage and has appeared with Quality Hill Playhouse, The Coterie, and the Unicorn Theatre among others.

I have enjoyed watching Daniel Beeman perform in several productions in Kansas City, but until Friday, I had not gotten the full beauty of his voice. He has appeared with Spinning Tree Theatre, The Unicorn Theatre, and Egads! Theatre Company among others, but this is one of his finest performances.

Shanna Jones returns to the KC Rep and Linnaia McKenzie makes her debut in Hair: Retrospective. Both performers give strong performances with powerful yet beautiful vocals. Jones has appeared in Romeo and Juliet and the 2013 production of Santaland Diaries at the KC Rep. McKenzie can be seen performing vocally at several Kansas City venues and has appeared with The Coterie, Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, and Spinning Tree Theatre among others.

Emily Shackelford returns to Kansas City and the KC Rep where she has appeared in The Foreigner and Cabaret. It is fabulous to see her once again on a Kansas City stage. Her energy, amazing voice, and stage presence always guarantee a grand performance. She has appeared with The Coterie, Musical Theater Heritage, and Egads! Theatre Company among others.

Hair: Retrospective is a must see for anyone who lived in the era or has seen the musical. As Angela Lee Gieras, Executive Director of the KC Rep, described it before the opening curtain as a musical, a documentary, and a lesson in history. Hair: Retrospective just may be a dawning of a new age of "Aquarius." Hair continues at the Spencer Theater through April 12. Purchase tickets by calling the box office at 816-235-2700 or online at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre website. Photo courtesy of KC Rep.

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