Penn State Thespians Present HAIR, 4/8-10

The Penn State Thespians will be spreading peace and love April 8-10 with their production of Hair at Schwab Auditorium.  Performances take place at 7:30PM with a matinee on the 10^th at 2PM.  Tickets are $8 for students and $12 for adults, and can be purchased at the door or at any CPA ticket center.  

With direction by Meghan McNamara, Hair includes a cast of: Jim Dickey (Claude), Ryan Howell (Berger), Amanda Lippert (Sheila), Erin McCullough (Dionne), Nicole Rosky (Jeanie), Kerry Brunner (Woof), Rachel Rivera (Crissy), Jarrett Smith (Hud), Kaitlin Boland (Mom), Steve Travis (Dad), and Chris Gamble (Margaret Mead). Additional tribe members incude: Yonatan Oettinger, Shaun Umpleby, Mike Weakland, Andrew Baglini, Shana Lombardi, Juliet Carrasquillo, Amy Davidowitz, Maggie Eder, and Erin Lee.

Hair debuted on Broadway in 1968 with book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of the show's songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement. The musical's profanity, depiction of the use of illegal drugs, treatment of sexuality, and inclusion of a nude scene caused much comment and controversy during its initial run. The musical broke new ground by creating an entirely new genre of musical theatre, using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience to take part in the experience.

Hair tells the story of a tribe of politically active, long-haired hippies of the age of Aquarius, living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War. Claude and his friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war and their conservative parents. Ultimately, Claude must decide whether to resist the draft as his friends have done, or to compromise his pacifistic principles and risk his life by serving in Vietnam.

For additional information about the production, visit: http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/thespians.