BWW Reviews: HAIR Needs a Trim

The National Tour of "Hair", the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, is currently playing at Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall, through April 6th, 2013.

"HAIR" opened Off- Broadway in 1967 at The Public Theatre. In 1968, it opened On Broadway and ran for 1,750 performances. It was revived again on Broadway in 1977 for a limited run. The film adaptation was released in 1979 and once again it was revived on Broadway in 2009, and won the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best revival of a musical. Many of the songs became popular standards, including "Aquarius", "Good Morning Starshine", Let the Sun Shine In", Easy to Be Hard" and the title song, "HAIR".

"HAIR" was a revolutionary production when it opened in 1967. It was non-traditional. Heck, it was scandalous! It broke all boundaries. Broadway had never seen such a radical, cutting edge musical before. It was about "change", long-haired- "hippies", drugs, the draft, burning draft cards, the war in Vietnam, racism, the sexual revolution, and fighting the establishment. And to top off these very controversial themes, there was swearing and total and complete nudity.

I remember seeing the show on Broadway, in its opening years and I can still hear the gasps from the audience (my own included), not only from the profanity, the illegal drug use, the truth in the reality of the war, but many times over, with the sexual innuendos, during the course of the show. I even lowered my eyes, from embarrassment, during the nude scene.

My generation was use to the lilting, family-friendly Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. "HAIR", was by far, "THE" most shocking live, entertainment, I had ever seen. And I wasn't the only one. I was just one of the masses that experienced the same thing and felt the same way that I did. Shock. And, it was classified as a Broadway Musical; just like "The Sound of Music"....NOT!

46 years later and by today's standards, the content of "HAIR" is extremely tame. We have seen it "all", including the film version. Profanity and nudity is just a part of our reality, every day on cable television, in films and in Broadway shows. Nowadays, marijuana is even legal in some states. It's a new world. "HAIR" is no longer a "cutting edge" musical.

The musical revolves around three main characters, Berger, Claude, and Sheila. All are a part of the "tribe"; young Americans, (hippies), looking for peace and love during the challenging, turbulent Vietnam war, in the late 1960's.

I anticipated that the theatre would be filled with excitement, with all of the "new" retirees and baby boomers, who remember the "dawn of Aquarius"! To my surprise and disappointment, the half empty theatre was relatively quiet, while waiting for the show to begin. A few patrons were dressed in sandals, headbands and their tie-dyed best.

The lights on the show curtain made it a deep, emerald green, with a slowly, rotating globe of the earth at center. The lights dim, the onstage band plays, the curtain comes down, reveling a vivid rainbow, colored sun and the exuberant, young, energetic cast enters onstage and through the audience, for the opening musical number,"Aquarius", sung by the powerful voiced Danyel Fulton, as Dionne.

The 2013 national tour company of "HAIR" is filled with a talent cast and an exceptional ensemble. It is a non-stop succession of vignettes and monologues, combined with an extraordinary amount of dance, exquisitely choreographed by Karole Armitage, with innovative scene direction by Diane Paulus.

Berger, the androgynous leader of the tribe, played by Brian Crawford Scott, was clearly an audience favorite. Mr. Scott took command of the stage, with a freedom that would intimidate any veteran performer. His good looks, agility, and strong singing voice, made him a stand out. He was especially effective in his acting scenes with Sheila, played by Mary Kate Morrissey.

Miss Morrissey has a silken, well trained voice, in addition to being a fine actor. Her simple, true to the score, rendition of "Easy to Be Hard" was a show stopper.

Understudy Jason Moody, as Claude, gave an excellent performance. Mr. Moody's waif-like frame, soft features, combined with his sincere, acting abilities and lovely singing voice, made him immediately become the "heart throb" of the production.

There were other outstanding performances, by understudy Michael Linden as Woof, Carl James as Hud, Dana Gitlin as Chrissy and Merissa Czyz as Jeanie.

That said, "HAIR" unfortunatly looses some of its intimacy in the hall. I would have preferred the intimate Capital Theatre for this production which would have allowed the audience to "really" become a part of the show.

Call me a purest, but I winced when one of the cast members, (from this "Broadway Revival) made an unnecessary, local reference to the Tampa Bay BUCS. I also found the tempos to be slow and the musical numbers were very long and could have used a "little trim" here and there to keep the pace of the show... moving. The first act especially, was very long.
In addition, the updated vocal riffs and free-style singing in some of the vocals, took us, as an audience, right out of 1967 and into a 2013 American Idol audition. Consequently, some of the "standard" melodies became irrecognizable. It was stunningly jarring. Add to that, some poor diction and/or the technical sound challenges with the band overpowering the singers, and some of the lyrics were indiscernible.

The set design by Scott Pask, was very effective. The costume design by Michael McDonald recreated the perfect wardrobe for the period. The lighting design by Joel E. Silver was captivating in itsellf. Extraordinary.

"HAIR" is a musical that should be seen and this production, for the most part, will give you a history lesson and a unique piece of American Musical Theatre.

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