Review: Questionable High from HAIR

It's a complicated time in a confusing culture for members of the New York City Hair tribe; the Vietnam War has brought a counterculture revolution that vexes many of these youthful Americans. Still, as an audience member watching the conflicted free spirits, I felt more confused about the overall production than any individual characters felt about their choices.

Hair, a musical that was revolutionary in its time, still holds light to many social issues today. Presented by University of Pittsburgh Stages, the rock musical follows group members Claude, Berger, and Sheila as they go through their anti-establishment lives, joints in one hand and unmarked pills in the other. Division and existential questions arise when Claude is poised between burning his draft card, under the peer pressure of the tribe, or not, under the pressure of his parents and society at large.

The show is mostly sung, with over two-dozen songs, but the segmented shifts in between were unnecessarily hard to follow. Halfway through the first act, I had to question if this show was meant to be episodic because of how disjointed it seemed. Add on top of that generally weak and mediocre vocals by a cast of about 30, and the two plus hour show became patronizing.

The actor that truly carried the show was Matt Keefer; his suave and lively portrayal of Berger was always a welcomed sight when he took to the stage. Additionally, the songs "Hair" and "The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)" were high points for the cast. It was only during these songs that I felt a true connection with the cast, possibly because these were some of the few times the auditorium was filled with strong voices.

Credit must also be given to the design team. The crew had made use of projections in a fresh and holistic manner. The saying "Love Trumps Hate" was also an interesting touch painted over a tire and having doubly applicability in 1968 and 2016. Aside from that and some images on the screens, I anticipated a real promise for drawing a half-century of parallels, but many aspects fell short of my sobering high expectations.

As a part of Pitt's Year of Diversity, Hair serves as the perfect production to lighten and question some of the same struggles and qualms of generations ago, yet a clear disconnect was present between actors and patrons, despite the audience interactions and aisle usage. Hair begets many questions, but unfortunately for me, the distractingly wrong questions were begotten.

To see or not to see score: 4/9; Moderately Disapproved Show

Photo Credit: University of Pittsburgh Stages

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