WRITTEN BY CAROL LEE.....
How's my HAIR (the Musical)
June 28, 2014 at 12:38am
What do I have to do to see a decent production of Hair? Where do I need to go to see a production of Hair that isn't a ridiculous circus of "acting stoned" and acting the way we think hippies acted in the 60's full of over dramatic "Heeeeey Maaaaaan's" and "grooooovey?" What do i have to do to get a production of Hair that has a group of people make me beleive that it is 1968? The answer is: GO TO MAD COW AND SEE HAIR BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!
From the moment the show began, the Tribe entered and instantly I beleived that this group of hippies, beleived in Love, Peace and Happiness. Too many times Hair is portrayed by people who have no touchstone to the material, and more often today FOR people who have plenty of touchstone to the material, and it comes across as a campy period piece and lacks the heart of the original production. Few people know that i was in the original ORIGINAL production of Hair all those years ago at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in 1967, oh yes.. a full year before it opened on Broadway.. without me, but that is a story for another time. (i'm looking at you Melba Moore)
Before one sees Hair the Musical, you must know WHY Hair was so important, and you must remember, that before Hair.. very few shows had (gasp) BLACK people in them as equals, hardly a show discussed so openly not only SEX.. but DRUGS!!! and HOMO SEX!!!!! And Rock music???? NOT ON OUR BROADWAY STAGE THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! does anyone know how many Broadway theater owners REFUSED to have Hair on it's stage? (the answer is 3) You must also remember that before Hair, Boys had short hair and women had long hair and that is the way it was, and it wasn't hurting anyone... So Berger's Opening line of "is it a boy? or a girl?" might be wasted on the post 1990s Garage Band crowd, but in 1968 on Broadway... a long haired hippie kicking off a broadway show was reason enough to have the refund guy on hand from the time the curtain went up. The people that starred in the Original Cast.. were speaking their own words, were singing their own lives, they were the voices of a generation that had no voice until Hair. The people in the cast lived in fear of actually being drafted, and more often, they had seen their friends get drafted.... and not come back. So.. that said, here is my review of Hair.
Please know that I LOVE HAIR. When one loves something so much, we use a much more critical eye, (don't EVEN get me started on Barbra Streisand in Hello, Dolly!) and often will find the smallest things wrong with it because it is NOT the original (I'm looking at you Gavin Creele.) Before i tell you what was wrong with it, let me light this funny cigarette and tell you what was very RIGHT with it. I have arranged my notes under the titles of how people USUALLY fuck up Hair.
1. THE DRUG USE. too often, Hair is played by people that are "singers" so they have never ever put a joint to their lips, and then they proceed to "act" the way they THINK stoned people act.... (in the late 70's i was a drug runner between Mexico and Venice Beach, CA..i've been around stoned people..) Congratulations Cast... every single one of you had me beleiving that you were pot heads. awesome job. The Acid scene was so real and true, and so well staged, that when Claude asked "what did you put in that joint?" i actually wanted to hear his answer.
2. The Singing. Too often Hair uses the singers that audition.. Musical Theater Singers...the Groan from my belly when i have sat in a theater and heard "Yes ladies and Gentlemen.. at tonight's performance of Hair, Claude will be played by the same Josh Groban like tenor that played Freddie in My Fair Lady last year, and Berger is direct from the National Tour of Phantom of the Opera!" Hair is about Hippies.. not priveledged self indulgant kids that have an JULIARD degree on their wall. Save your perfectly trained (yet forced) vibrato, and your perfect phrasing, and your perfect diction, and your perfect "round O's" for RENT, It's not welcome in Hair. CONGRATULATIONS CAST!!! you all made me beleive that not one of you had ever stepped foot inside a voice teachers house. your singing of the material showed me you understood the material, and made us beleive that you beleived the material. Bravo.
the Hair: Much like when peolpe do, Hello Dolly!, they wear period wigs...it's accepted.. and more often than not.. appreciated. (Don't get me started on the Wigs in the movie Funny Girl...really? a Zeigfeld Follie with a bee hive?) ANYWAYS... so more often than not Hair is done with ridiculous Afros and Terrible straight (cheap) wigs and totally takes me out of the moment. CONGRATULATIONS CAST!!! every single one of you made me beleive that you had not cut or washed your hair in YEARS! Excellent!
The Costumes: Too many times Hair is done with women in ridiculous NEON Muu Muu's and men in vests, that would make Sonny Bono slam himself into a tree.. (too soon?) CONGRATULATIONS CAST! you made me think that your clothes had not been washed in weeks and were completely made of natural organic materials that only a hippie could love. here is my one negative thing to say.. and this is coming from a foot fetishist, so please take it for what its worth.. ...Ankle socks were not around in 1968..while they are the sock of my choice, they just simply weren't around... Tube socks were the thing... up to the knee, more often than not white, or no socks at all. Trust me.. i lived it.
Special Shout Out to the Director Elena Day. A beautiful use of that space, and wonderful choices, you had a very brave cast, and allowing them the freedom that you allowed them, was very brave of you.... we all know you can't trust actors but your choice to do so paid off.
Ellie Potts Barrett: I can't handle you. I would like to live in your head for just a day... i want to see what crazy messed up delightful entrancing world you live in. You are a beacon of light that shines on dancers (and non dancers) and lets them shine like the top of the Chrysler Building.
The cast. Claude, you were ridiculous. Berger.. i wish you hadn't displayed your ass so early in the show, because after i saw it, i couldn't really focus on what words were coming out of your mouth, or anything else for that matter until well into the first act. Sheila... there's something to be said for a natural beauty that can sing her face off... that thing is "...bitch" Woof, you made me wish i were Mick Jagger. Hud... your love, anger and stoner image made me scared of you, and at the same time i wanted to be your friend. Ronny, you kicked off that show the way an earth mother would, with love and pride for her tribe i fell in love with you before you even got to "jupiter and mars." Jeannie, every word you uttered was perfect, and meaningful, like it would be from a pregnant hippie. And the Tribe.. you made me want to quit my job and get naked at the "be in"
Bravo cast of Hair. You made me Long for a Different time, when not everyone was equal, and we had riots in the streets for freedom and civil liberties...wait.. that didn't sound right.... oh.. you know what i mean... damn, Berger.. what did you put in that joint?
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Review: ‘Hair’ at Mad Cow
JUNE 11, 2014 PAM HARBAUGH........BREVARD CULTURE NEWS
While pop culture remains agog with “Mad Men,” there is plenty to consider on opposite side of the 1960s coin — the counterculture that slapped a nation in its face. As the lyrics state “My eyes are open” and nothing remained the same. Yes, it’s the 1960s musical “Hair,” this time 1960s at Mad Cow Theatre in Orlando.
Set in New York’s East Village in 1968 – then a tough location filled with drugs and crime and squatters –the loosely organized musical concerns a group of hippies who burn draft cards, protest the Vietnam War, practice free love and smoke dope.
Lyricists James Rado and the late Gerome Ragni showed some deep talent in crafting songs that painted apt pictures of 1968 hippie life and some of those in the anti-war movement. But, their “careers,” were as ephemeral as the “happenings.” They never did much beyond this musical. And composer Galt MacDermot turned out some unforgettable tunes. These are the iconic songs that resonate so – from the druggy “Walking in Space” and the pop-pounding “Black Boys” / “White Boys” to the lofty “What a Piece of Work is Man” and happy “Good Morning Sunshine.” Afterwards, MacDermot worked on minor projects and drifted into relative obscurity.
But this moment in theatrical time does, thankfully, abide. There are some gorgeous voices in this show, especially Kaylin Seckel (“Aquarius”), Byron DeMent (Claude – “Where Do I Go?”), Heather Kopp (“Easy to Be Hard”) and Joanna Yeakel (“Frank Mills”).
Newcomer Jake Mullen is quite a find. As Margaret Mead, he sails through “My Conviction” with humor, grace and aplomb. And Sean Michael Flynn is a fun ball of energy as a nameless tribe-member. Keep an eye on both of these talented young men.
To my thinking, the best review of this musical was uttered as an aside by Bryan Cranston when he received his Tony Award last Sunday. He said, in part: “My first Broadway play was in 1977. I snuck into the second act of ‘Hair.’ To this day, I still haven’t seen the first act, but they tell me the second act was better….”
Granted, he finished by saying there was supposedly more nudity in the second act. But really, there’s more story in the second act. The first act is basically a “be-in” where you get to know some annoying, self-indulgent hippies. At least they have good songs to sing.
But then, oh my, comes the second act, which actually has a bit of a storyline. This is where director Elena Day and choreographer Ellie Potts Barrett excel. It takes those who are old enough back to the era of Vietnam War. You sink into the reality – again – that it was all for nothing. That all those lives were tossed into political volcanos. That they were the dominoes that fell, not nations.
Certainly, if you love the music – so well performed by cast and musicians — or just want to feel that connection well up within you again, then by all means head to the Mad Cow to see this unusual musical. Hopefully, by now they will have fixed the sound system which screeched and annoyed so on opening night.
WE SAY...from the ORLANDO WEEKLY.......
Despite being arguably the definitive musical of the free-love ’60s, Hair has probably been eroded in your mind by countless high-school productions – or by decades of commercials using “Age of Aquarius,” “Good Morning Starshine” and “Let the Sunshine In” to sell Kias, Coca-Cola and cleaning products. But don’t let that steal the play’s power. The title was inspired by a Jim Dine painting of pubic hair; like that painting, the musical faced legal challenges of obscenity and indecency for its depiction of sex, drugs and flag-spurning. You might have forgotten the acid bite of songs like “Colored Spade” and “Don’t Put It Down,” but the lyrics Gerome Ragni and James Rado wrote over Galt MacDermot’s hummable melodies still shock today. And between choreographer Ellie Potts Barrett and director Elena Day (who brings with her a trove of experience with Cirque du Soleil), you can expect the visuals to thrill along with the songs in this Mad Cow production. – Jessica Bryce Young
Despite being arguably the definitive musical of the free-love ’60s, Hair has probably been eroded in your mind by countless high-school productions – or by decades of commercials using “Age of Aquarius,” “Good Morning Starshine” and “Let the Sunshine In” to sell Kias, Coca-Cola and cleaning products. But don’t let that steal the play’s power. The title was inspired by a Jim Dine painting of pubic hair; like that painting, the musical faced legal challenges of obscenity and indecency for its depiction of sex, drugs and flag-spurning. You might have forgotten the acid bite of songs like “Colored Spade” and “Don’t Put It Down,” but the lyrics Gerome Ragni and James Rado wrote over Galt MacDermot’s hummable melodies still shock today. And between choreographer Ellie Potts Barrett and director Elena Day (who brings with her a trove of experience with Cirque du Soleil), you can expect the visuals to thrill along with the songs in this Mad Cow production. – Jessica Bryce Young
From the former Theatre Critic of the ORLANDO SENTINEL...ELIZABETH MAUPIN...
Hair: I was 16 when I first heard those songs, and they resonate with me still -- the songs, and the naïveté, and those dopey kids' beautiful dreams. Hair is far from a perfect musical, but Mad Cow has done a close to perfect job. Being part of a mostly middle-aged audience standing at the end with that young cast and all of us singing "Let the Sunshine In" -- now that was something. Thanks, Elena Day, Ellie Potts Barrett, Philip King, Mitzi Maxwell and all of the wonderful cast, designers and crew. We loved it.
"Ellie Potts Barrett is a gem. I'm so glad I got an opportunity to wear her choreography.”
...........Felichia Chivaughn Wright
Hair: I was 16 when I first heard those songs, and they resonate with me still -- the songs, and the naïveté, and those dopey kids' beautiful dreams. Hair is far from a perfect musical, but Mad Cow has done a close to perfect job. Being part of a mostly middle-aged audience standing at the end with that young cast and all of us singing "Let the Sunshine In" -- now that was something. Thanks, Elena Day, Ellie Potts Barrett, Philip King, Mitzi Maxwell and all of the wonderful cast, designers and crew. We loved it.
"Ellie Potts Barrett is a gem. I'm so glad I got an opportunity to wear her choreography.”
...........Felichia Chivaughn Wright
FROM FLORIDA TODAY NEWS - June 10, 2014
Put a flower in your long flowing locks — “Hair” is here again. This time, the 1960s musical is on the stage at Mad Cow Theatre, 54 W. Church St., Orlando.
Set in New York’s East Village in 1968 — then a tough location filled with drugs and crime and squatters — the musical concerns a group of hippies who burn draft cards, protest the Vietnam War, practice free love and smoke dope.
Lyricists James Rado and the late Gerome Ragni showed some deep talent in crafting songs that painted apt pictures of 1968 hippie life and some of those in the anti-war movement.
And composer Galt MacDermot turned out some unforgettable tunes. These are the iconic songs that resonate so – from the druggy “Walking in Space” and the pop-pounding “Black Boys”/“White Boys” to the lofty “What a Piece of Work is Man” and happy “Good Morning Sunshine.”
There are some gorgeous voices in this show, especially Kaylin Seckel (“Aquarius”), Byron DeMent (Claude — “Where Do I Go?”), Heather Kopp (“Easy to Be Hard”) and Joanna Yeakel (“Frank Mills”).
Newcomer Jake Mullen is quite a find. As Margaret Mead, he sails through “My Conviction” with humor, grace and aplomb. And Sean Michael Flynn is a fun ball of energy as a nameless tribe-member. Keep an eye on both of these talented young men.
Bryan Cranston, when he received his Tony Award on June 8, said, in part: “My first Broadway play was in 1977. I snuck into the second act of ‘Hair.’ To this day, I still haven’t seen the first act, but they tell me the second act was better...”
Granted, he finished by saying there was supposedly more nudity in the second act. But really, there’s more story in the second act. The first act is basically a “be-in” where you get to know some annoying, self-indulgent hippies. At least they have good songs to sing.
But then, oh my, comes the second act, which actually has a bit of a storyline. This is where director Elena Day and choreographer Ellie Potts Barrett excel. It takes those who are old enough back to the era of the Vietnam War. You sink into the reality — again — that it was all for nothing. That all those lives were tossed into political volcanos.
Certainly, if you love the music — so well performed by the cast and musicians — or just want to feel that connection well up within you again, then by all means head to the Mad Cow to see this musical.
Put a flower in your long flowing locks — “Hair” is here again. This time, the 1960s musical is on the stage at Mad Cow Theatre, 54 W. Church St., Orlando.
Set in New York’s East Village in 1968 — then a tough location filled with drugs and crime and squatters — the musical concerns a group of hippies who burn draft cards, protest the Vietnam War, practice free love and smoke dope.
Lyricists James Rado and the late Gerome Ragni showed some deep talent in crafting songs that painted apt pictures of 1968 hippie life and some of those in the anti-war movement.
And composer Galt MacDermot turned out some unforgettable tunes. These are the iconic songs that resonate so – from the druggy “Walking in Space” and the pop-pounding “Black Boys”/“White Boys” to the lofty “What a Piece of Work is Man” and happy “Good Morning Sunshine.”
There are some gorgeous voices in this show, especially Kaylin Seckel (“Aquarius”), Byron DeMent (Claude — “Where Do I Go?”), Heather Kopp (“Easy to Be Hard”) and Joanna Yeakel (“Frank Mills”).
Newcomer Jake Mullen is quite a find. As Margaret Mead, he sails through “My Conviction” with humor, grace and aplomb. And Sean Michael Flynn is a fun ball of energy as a nameless tribe-member. Keep an eye on both of these talented young men.
Bryan Cranston, when he received his Tony Award on June 8, said, in part: “My first Broadway play was in 1977. I snuck into the second act of ‘Hair.’ To this day, I still haven’t seen the first act, but they tell me the second act was better...”
Granted, he finished by saying there was supposedly more nudity in the second act. But really, there’s more story in the second act. The first act is basically a “be-in” where you get to know some annoying, self-indulgent hippies. At least they have good songs to sing.
But then, oh my, comes the second act, which actually has a bit of a storyline. This is where director Elena Day and choreographer Ellie Potts Barrett excel. It takes those who are old enough back to the era of the Vietnam War. You sink into the reality — again — that it was all for nothing. That all those lives were tossed into political volcanos.
Certainly, if you love the music — so well performed by the cast and musicians — or just want to feel that connection well up within you again, then by all means head to the Mad Cow to see this musical.
June 15....
We had most of the artistic heads of theatres in Florida here today seeing the show at @MadCowTheatre . We got a resounding standing ovation...
We had most of the artistic heads of theatres in Florida here today seeing the show at @MadCowTheatre . We got a resounding standing ovation...