"Hair"

Theatre review
"Hair" at the Hangar Theatre
Ithaca Times
July 25, 2007
790 words

"Tripping out on 'Hair'"

full text here

Tripping Out on 'Hair'
By: Mark Tedeschi
07/25/2007

Hair, book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot. Directed by Kevin Moriarty, choreographed by Rachel Lampert and Sara Lampert Hoover, set design by Jo Winiarski, costumes by Greg Robbins, lighting by Tyler Micoleau, sound design by Don Tindall. Starring Gregory Maheu, Robert Adelman Hancock, Piper Goodeve, Danny Mefford, Jonathan David, Derrick Cobey, Joanna Krupnick, Jill Knox, Celeste Sayles, and Tiffany Nichole Greene. Accompanied by IY: Dave Billings, Chris Frank, Nate Terepka and John Zinder; conducted by Joel Gelpe, music direction by Kevin Long.



When I took my seat as I arrived at "Hair," a handful of young guys sat near me. One asked, "Are these our seats?" Realizing he didn't know, he said, "With the spirit of this show, you should sit wherever you want. If you even paid to be here, you're breaking the rules." He made an amusing point (and he did find his real seat), but "Hair" is easily worth the price of admission.

Get there a few minutes early to watch the "Happening" - it helps get the audience ready for some theatrical participation -­ ­­that occurs before the show "officially" starts. The merrily arbitrary activities from the Happening on opening night (they're different for each show) included "soundscape dawn" and "move a giant egg."

Then the actors dance, clap, stomp, bang tambourines, hoot and holler until they collectively decide the show should start - but they're in no rush, and the transition from hippie unpredictability to the booming, energetic opening number, "Aquarius," is absolutely seamless.

In "Hair," plot doesn't really take a back seat to spectacle; the atypical nature of the sights and sounds simply overwhelm it. The story follows a group - actually, tribe - of friends in New York City during the Summer of Love (1967 - this summer is its 40th anniversary) who live together and relish in their happy-go-lucky lifestyle.

The characters include Claude (Maheu), the blond-locked leader of the tribe and the only one who submits to his duty when the men are drafted; Berger (Hancock), a wild kid hell-bent on insubordination; Sheila (Goodeve), a pretty girl with a vigorous voice; Woof (Mefford), a bisexual young man who augments the collective exuberance; Hud (Cobey), a soulful Black Panther with a giant afro; Jeanie (Krupnick), a pregnant stoner who declares her love for Claude; and a flock of others.

Be on your toes; the Happening doesn't stop as "Aquarius" begins. Throughout "Hair," the audience is as much a part of the show as the actors. Winiarski has re-imagined the space of the Hangar to surround the actors with spectators, couches on stage included, as well as to give ample room for the actors to carouse around inside the audience. The connection seems so intuitive and unabashed that if someone from the audience jumped up and started dancing with the cast, the actors probably wouldn't bat an eyelash (but don't really do that - unless you're invited).

A viny ladder leading to the overhead catwalk and an almost-climbable cage surrounding IY's drummer (the band is also right on stage) extend the space further into the third dimension. The walls are lined with pots and pans, an American flag, and paintings of zodiac symbols, huge eyeballs and tie-dye swirls. This setup works closely with Lampert's fierce choreography and Moriarty's confident direction to use as much of the space as possible.

And the music! The song-to-dialogue ratio in "Hair" surpasses that of most typical shows; the stream-of-consciousness, non-sequitor flow of songs mirrors the lack of focus that the characters savor. Some memorable numbers of the first act are "Sodomy" and "Colored Spade" (two satiric jump-right-in numbers about sexual proclivities and racial slurs), "I Got Life" (a high-spirited list affirming one's body parts), and, of course, "Hair" (a hearty celebration of tresses, curls and manes). "Where Do I Go" introduces one of the most memorably surreal act breaks of all time, involving a wealth of nudity aptly softened by low red lighting.

Act two opens with a jam tune ("Electric Blues") by Ithaca's IY, a classically trained band that look ecstatic to be there. Where else would they have the opportunity to play such groovy music from the Golden Age of Rock with this level of enthusiasm? They hold their own during the face-tripping-acid and strobe-light-stoner-rock numbers - which is what much of the second act consists of. "Black Boys," "White Boys," "Abie Baby" and the classic "Good Morning, Starshine" are just a few elements in the hallucinatory compendium of stereotypes, pop culture, history, politics and generally joyful nonsense.

Throughout "Hair" I found myself wishing that I'd been alive during that historic summer. I had to rethink my jealousy when I realized there was a malaise setting in: Claude goes to war, the tribe's trip ends, and they face, well, reality. But when the closer, "Let the Sunshine In," reaches the height of its crescendo, the celebratory free-for-all makes the depressing return to Earth feel worth it.

"Hair," which rivals any rock concert I've ever been to, reminded me of just how different today's youth culture is becoming. But that's not to be pessimistic; I'd say we need our version of "Hair" to wake us up a little, but in the current climate, this one does the trick.

"Hair" will appear at the Hangar Theatre in Cass Park through July 28. Tickets may be purchased at the Ticket Center at the Clinton House, by calling 607-273-4497, or online at www.hangartheatre.org.