REVIEW: Hair

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

There’s a whole lot of buzz about the current Broadway revival of Hair. Music, fun-loving hippies, drugs, sex, rock and roll—it’s loud, bright, and boasts full frontal nudity (both men and women). What’s not to love?

Well, let’s start with the plot – there just isn’t much of one. In fact, the entire show is really a collection of songs thrown together with the thinnest of connective anything. A few of the songs are standouts, Aquarius, Let the Sun Shine, Easy to Be Hard … hmm, that might be it. I’m sure there are other songs in the show, but they are just not very memorable.

But what’s weak in concept can be balanced out by a talented cast, right? At my performance, Gavin Creel (who usually plays Claude and has been heralded for his performance) was out. His understudy, Paris Remillard, was—I want to be as diplomatic as possible here—terrible. How do actors get cast in Broadway leading rolls (or even as understudies for leading roles) without the ability to sing on pitch? Remillard was consistently sharp throughout the show, sometimes painfully so. It was like he and his Tribal colleagues were singing in different keys.

The Tribe (aka chorus) could not have been less engaged in the show. At several points throughout, one member of the company was so into a private conversation with a co-chorister, that she practically forgot she had choreography. When she realized that other cast members were already doing their move, she quickly jumped in. Right after however, she was back to goofing with her colleague and together they constantly scanned the audience. Were they looking for their agents in hopes of getting out of their contracts?

OK, but did the design save the day? Mostly, the set is fine and the lights are bright. But near the end of the show, when Claude came out in his military uniform after being drafted into the military, I don’t know WHAT was going on with his hair. Yes, his long locks were gone, but he should have been in a perfect military cut. Instead, he was sporting his own contemporary cut, and had a big piece of black tape stuck to his forehead. I assume the tape was to hold his mic in place, but it was just bizarre. It was as if he was a last minute replacement for Creel and the production team didn’t have time to rehearse him (or his quick change into his final look). Was the tape intentional or just a wardrobe malfunction? Who knows!

And just to make sure that everything is balanced in this cosmic mess, the audience also misbehaved. About 45 minutes into Act one, a secret service-looking man appeared on the floor just to the right of the stage. On the other side, just to the left of the stage, a similar looking person appeared. Each had an ear-piece and was clearly very official. As the Act ended and the house lights came up, these two people, accompanied by two more who seemed to magically appear, rushed to the front of the audience and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please stay seated for just a moment.” And then they ascended on a couple in the third row and escorted them (and their video camera) out of the theatre. What were these people thinking? Even with a show espousing peace and love, I still hate people.

The production ends with an onstage dance party and “Be-In.” The audience is invited to go onstage during the curtain calls to dance. Unfortunately, any magic of seeing people dancing and enjoying the freedom of moment is marred by the jackasses who decide they are stars and fight their way down center to prance and mug for the rest of the audience as if to say, “This is my moment. Look at me, damn you.” Another reason I hate people.

I believe that the mind tends to shade everything we experience and help us filter out the bad memories. Maybe that is Hair’s secret. That dance party at the end is meant to leave us with a great feeling of joy and happiness. If we end up dancing and singing in the aisles we will only remember the high and not fixate on how bad the show is. For my money, I’d rather have a plot, some nice music, and a lead that can actually sing.