Brief comments on HAIR- Page 2

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:32am

No, I'm referring to them offstage. Have you seen them around town? Many of them have taken the hippie thing a little too far.

and you don't count Allison Case among them?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:45am

^ Oh, I do! Trust me, I'm not saying she doesn't do the hippie thing too. In fact, she does it more than most of the cast. I'm just saying that at least on top of that, she gives a stellar performance in the show. But thanks for putting words in my mouth though.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 4:32am

I know MY health insurance doesn't cover anything but doctor's bills...doesn't cover disability.

But yes, I'm sure that as a Equity member there IS disability insurance and possibly even Workman's Compensation (which covers injuries caused AT the job)

[winston89]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 10:27am

I didn't realize that Case was injured and only making appearances here and there. I did the lotto a while back and she was picking names I am guessing because she was on that night. I did know that she was out for a while and was just assuming that it was due to vacation because even though she was out for a while, she wasn't out too long to cause any worry.

[saveusmike]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:05am

Jenna-

I dont really know why I didnt like it. Its one of those things where you cant say you didnt like it because of acting or signing etc, I just was bored throughout the entire production.

I felt the main plot took WAY to long to get to and was just stretched out when they finally started it.

I mean I honestly wanted to like this production ecspecially how so many of you go in and have a good time, but I couldnt.

I have said this once and I will have to say it again,(THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO EVERYONE BUT) I think a large majority of users only like it for the simple fact of audience interaction.
I remember people would start threads i.e "Will I get interaction in the mezzanine?". and then the same people would come back here and post their reviews which included "I got a flower!" or "A triber member dance in my lap!" etc.

The audience interaction is only a small part to me yet I guess for some people its bigger than it really should be.

I did however like the ending with Claude dead on the American Flag. It was very symbollic and very powerful.

And then to make up for that sad and real life ending, the tribe invites everyone on stage to dance, which completly kills and overshadows the ending.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:13am

If you wanted a plot-centered musical, you should have known to stay far away from HAIR. It's one of the original plotless musicals.

They would still have to do a curtain call, which would ruin the ending anyway with all the clapping and cheering, so they might as well turn it into a party.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:24am

I think it's a brilliant show. I think the reason I love it so much is because it's got such a scattered plot. It's not straight forward and it's a little messy, and I like that. There are def. some parts of the show I don't care, and a few songs I wish were cut or replaced, but I still think it's a great show, and it only gets better with multiple viewings. I've seen the show a few times and I'm still discovering things about the show. Little words here or there that comment on the greater theme of the piece. It's a great show, but it's not for everyone. I took some friends thinking they would be like "woah" like I was, but they didn't really care for it, so who knows? No harm done. At least you went and saw it and THEN made a decision about it.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:48am

I have to say that I wasn't expecting to like HAIR. I like the score, but just don't get the druggie, free love, hippie thing. I'll have to say, that for about 2/3rds of the show, I thought, "nice score, great performers, I'm not into this druggie, free love, hippie thing. . . . " But then "Let the sun shine in" was performed and I NEVER associated it with complete despair. The staging and performance of THAT NUMBER flipped a switch in my head and I was like "NOW, I get it!!!!" I couldn't stop crying. IMHO, the celebratory dancing on the stage version of "Let the sun shine in" HORRIFIED me. I stood in the aisle and cried and thought "does no one get that people died due to a senseless war then and it's STILL happening now?" I just couldn't bring myself to get up on stage and dance, because it was almost like blocking out the effects of war. I know that was the REASON why the free love, drugs, anti-establishment thing happened, but I just couldn't forget and 'celebrate.'

Now I know that my reaction was just that . . . MY reaction. I wasn't expecting to be moved. I don't think it's a perfect show, but the purpose of theatre is to move you and take you somewhere unexpected. HAIR did that for me. Definitely think it was the Best Revival . . . no question.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 11:54am

"If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution." -- Emma Goldman

[SNAFU]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 12:29pm

You dance on stage at the end to celebrate what the Tribe celebrated all the way through the show, LIFE! That precious commodity we all have for however brief of time. That the foolishness of an unjust war robs some of.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 3:17pm

I agree with SNAFU.
Also, while I enjoyed myself dancing on stage and celebrating with the actors, I don't think any on stage dancing could ever make me forget the haunting feeling of despair that the cast truly captures at the end of the show. After I left the theatre, all I kept thinking about were those last 10 minutes or so, with Sheila and Berger looking for Claude, Claude laying on the flag, and then the tribe singing "Let the Sunshine In." The dancing may have allowed me to celebrate what I thought was a brilliant production with a superb cast, yet it never made me forget what I had seen in the hours before that.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 3:42pm

I saw the show last Wednesday. It's an experience - not a plot driven piece. (I first saw HAIR at the penultimate performance of the short-lived 1977 revival. The original had only closed 5 years earlier - it was too soon and seemed strangely dated.)

It's the cast that make this HAIR so enthralling. Caissie and Gavin are fantastic but so are the erst of the leads and ensemble. Their energy really helps gloss over a book that could otherwise be wrapped up in a half-act. I still don't care for the extended drug-induced dream that makes up most of the 2nd half, but the final tableau was stunning.

I see why it won the Tony award over WSS - WSS is a better written show but poorly directed and incredibly altered from its original to the determent of the overall show. HAIR is not as cohesive, but the direction and the performances elevate the show to that special "experience" level.

I also did interviews with Gavin Creel and Caissie Levy and will have them on my program this Sunday morning.