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Review: Let down your ‘Hair’ and ‘just be’
Musical: "Hair"
- Where: G & L Theatre, 13275 Livingston Road, Naples, Fl
- Cost: $35 - $40
- Age limit: 18+
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Almost as if by accident, TheatreZone’s production of “Hair” transforms itself from a shambling, semi-coherent and modestly staged work into a grand bouffant symphony of love that explodes off the stage to perfectly capture the free-swinging, free love and unbridled passion of the 1960s.
The elegance of the original “Hair” was the way it captured the uncertainties of the ‘60s era; the loose structure offered a framework for barbed jabs at nearly every hot-button social issue of the age as the music ranged from rockabilly and funk to mainstream pop. Thursday night’s show snagged a bit of that magic.
Considered one of — if not the first- — rock musicals, “Hair,” with book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, and music by Galt MacDermot, follows a group of New York hippies called the “Tribe” through the fall of 1968. There are only the tiniest threads of a plot dealing with evading the draft; the entire show plays out like a rock opera rebellion that levels the full force of the 1960s counter-culture movement against the crumbling conservative morals of the day.
Ryan James, playing the group’s nominal leader Claude, headlines a cast that’s a fair throw from technically perfect in regards to vocals, choreography and diction yet transcendent in the one area that matters the most — pure giddy enthusiasm. The joyful glee so obviously evident on stage was a concrete touchstone to the free-spirited tie-dyed era and covered for a multitude of minor sins.
Displaying an on-stage attitude that’s a mix of defiance and depravity with a dash of sadness, James is a perfect fit as the show’s conflicted center — a Christ-like figure who struggles mightily to find a place in the world before accepting his eventual fate to die in the jungles of Vietnam.
A trio of performers in key supporting roles uses charm and energy to make up for vocal failings while serving to advance various themes of the turbulent era. Olli Haaskivi (Woof), Shane Daniel Lord (Berger) and Troy Lewis (Hud) use songs to address issues of race, drugs, sexuality, pacifism and religion. Each has their own appeal, but I particularly liked Lewis and the raw sensuality he brought to his role as an African-American militant.
The loose-limbed Lord also displayed an electric stage presence —- a constant limber monkey that served to personify the decade’s free-wheeling attitudes about drugs, sex and sexuality. No nude scenes here though —- just plenty of raunchily simulated three-ways and a fair number of four-letter words.
The music of “Hair” left an indelible mark on the cultural firmament; the Fifth Dimension song “Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In,” now an anthem of the era, is a medley of the opening and closing numbers. Yet, despite the passion of the cast, it is in the songs that the show comes closest to losing focus.
The on-stage band dressed in flower child fashions and tucked underneath an imposing but clunky and little-used iron scaffold set reminiscent of versions of “Jesus Christ Superstar”- often threatened to play the cast off the stage. At the same time, some of the intricate lyrics were lost in battles to maintain multi-part harmony or to keep pace with the frenetic and oftentimes muddled or out-of-sync choreography. The “Black Boys/White Boys” tribute in particular had a “shaggy” quality to it.
Even though the show succeeds fantastically as a grand spectacle, a credit to director Mark Danni, the whip-crack transitions and constant blur of motion can have the effect of papering over or disguising messages that are still relevant today. These same charges were leveled at the original, with Leonard Bernstein and John Fogerty among the critics. Everything works in the end, held together by boundless enthusiasm —- but another week of rehearsals (complete with a trial run for the sometimes problematic wireless mics) wouldn’t have gone amiss.
Quite by accident I think, the production seizes upon the close confines of the tiny matchbox of an auditorium at the Community School of Naples to forge an intimate connection with the audience. Productions of “Hair” often include elements set among the crowd, but here, with the patrons mere feet away, the efforts felt particularly organic, especially the riotous “Be-In (Hare Krishna)” number that saw cast members handing out flowers and parading the aisles with drums and tambourines. It was a thrilling moment that emphasized everything wonderful about the magic of live theater.
“Hair” is ultimately a defiant remonstration of conservative values even as the Tribe wanders aimlessly through life tossing out incendiary sonic bombs on topics such as miscegenation, sodomy, pacifism and the draft, a whole kit of illegal drugs and fluid sexual mores. The spectacle is beautiful —- as long as you’re able to tap into the riotous hippie vibe and “just be.”
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If you go: “Hair”
What: TheatreZone production
Where: G&L Theatre, Community School of Naples, 13275 Livingston Road, Naples
When: 8 p.m. Saturday and June 18, 19, 20 and 21; 2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and June 22
Admission: $15-$40
Information: theatrezone-florida.com or 449-2323
Much ado about the ‘do! Drop me a line at csilk@naplesnews.com.
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