Hair Reviews- Page 4

[sgv123]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:42pm

Not really a big review( or professional)....but a positive one!

http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/stage/blog/2009/03/theater_review_of_hair.html

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:43pm

I smell a massive hit and a Tony or two. This is GREAT news. I'm so excited to see these raves adorning the Hirschfeld in a few days.

[DAME]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:43pm

If anyone needs the discount code.... It wont last long.
Hair Broadway Box

[sgv123]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:45pm

That one has been up before previews started and ends on May 10th. I have gotten great seats with it though.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:47pm

My god this is depressing. I bet ROCK OF AGES will get across the board rave reviews too. I know I'm in the minority on this, but WEST SIDE STORY is a show that is a zillion times better than HAIR. I was bored senseless throughout most of HAIR (save for the excellent performance by Will Swenson). Hopefully the Tony voters will vote for WSS for Best Revival...

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:56pm

Trace, if it makes you feel any better, John Simon doesn't think much of the show either. He'll probably say so tonight.

Oh shoot.

Bloomberg News (with Jeremy Gerard reviewing... sorry, Trace.) is a Rave:

"In New York?s Central Park, where this revival was first presented two summers ago, it seemed perfect. But the move to a proscenium stage has concentrated the effect. I found myself more aware of how carefully plotted this show is, beginning in circus-like chaos but building to its unforgettable denouement. Joseph Papp, who stubbornly chose ?Hair? to inaugurate the Public Theater in 1967, would have approved."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601098&sid=a7UFUAfVyn28&refer=movie

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:58pm

Thanks, BustopherPhantom. It's nice to know that *someone* agrees with me on this show.

[Trish2]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:59pm

WAT...the thing here is that yes, WSS is a brilliant piece of theatre, and Hair a timely one. The difference in the revivals is that HAIR got the better treatment. It has a superior cast, and a young, hip director. Both of which WSS has not.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 10:59pm

There were also critics last summer who agreed with you (although they liked the production). Unfortunately, thanks to the Devil Economy, they were all fired.

EDIT: I gotta learn to keep my ///ing mouth shut. I just checked the list of reviews from last summer: even the ones who know HAIR's flaws either loved or really liked the show.

John Simon was the only one (along with Mr. Murray) who was mixed.

Updated On: 3/31/09 at 10:59 PM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:06pm

I saw it twice in the park, and while I still didn't enjoy it, I thought it played much better there than at the Hirschfeld.

and thank you Trish2 for your assessment as to why one was reviewed better than the other.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:07pm

The Hollywood Reporter is a Rave:

"Led by the sexy and charismatic Will Swenson as the devilish tribe leader Berger and Creel as the innocent Claude, the performers inhabit their roles with such conviction it's hard to believe that they weren't even born when the show premiered more than 40 years ago. The musical highlights are too numerous to mention exhaustively, but they include Bryce Ryness' sly rendition of "Sodomy," Caissie Levy's wrenching "Easy to Be Hard," Sasha Allen's dynamic "Aquarius" and Allison Case's charming "Frank Mills."

Paulus has delivered a fully immersive staging in which the performers stride through the aisles, clamber onto the seats, climb into the side boxes and generally engage with audience members as much as possible. I personally had my hair (or at least what's left of it) tousled and also was the lucky recipient of a tight hug from one of the comely young actresses."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/theater-review-hair-1003957351.story

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:08pm

Great shout out to Joe Papp, who believed, he's smiling down on the stage tonight.

And WAT, your opinions are highly respected but comparing ROCK OF AGES to HAIR is just wrong.

[rwlevin]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:14pm

News 4 New York was positive. Jeffrey Lyons "had a lot of fun."

[A Director]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:24pm

Hair is a better show than The Story of My Life.

[sundaymorning6am]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:30pm

Yay for all the positive reviews!

But I have to be a pain the butt for a second. From Brantley's review: "Having moved indoors to Broadway from the Delacorte Theater in Central Park where last summer they lighted up the night skies..."

Is that grammatically correct? Shouldn't it be LIT up the skies?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:30pm

WEST SIDE STORY is a show that is a zillion times better than HAIR....Hopefully the Tony voters will vote for WSS for Best Revival

Unlikely, WAT. While the writing of West Side may be a "zillion" times better than the writing of Hair, the current production of West Side is execrable: a miscast, mis-directed, poorly designed disappointment.

The revival Tony is given for the production, not the base material, and the Tony voters will be very sensitive to that.

Hair will get best revival not West Side, Haydn Gwynne will get supporting actress not Karen Olivo, and Stephen Daldry will get best director not Arthur Laurents.

Although with that Times review, Diane Paulus becomes a major contender.

Congratulations to Hair on breaking this season's Curse of the Disappointing Revival!

Updated On: 3/31/09 at 11:30 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:32pm

I wonder if Matthew Murray ever feels like the most idiotic critic.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:33pm

Also, I'm guessing that most of the people who saw WSS, and were disappointed in it, weren't just disappointed: WSS, given the source material and how long its been since the last revival and the disappointing quality of the last revival and the director of this revival, should have been a sure thing. And giant expectations create giant disappointments.

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:34pm

WSS is inarguably one of the greatest shows of all time, but the HAIR revival is so insanely superior to the WSS one, it;s not even a contest.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:35pm

Amen Pal Joey!

Congrats to everyone connected with this revival! And thank you for giving me such a joyous night at the theatre!

[Princeton78]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:51pm

Thank you PJ...I know what a big fan of WSS you are, and it takes a big man to separate the production from the source material.
I know the Tony voters also take "tourability" into account, but I think Hair will tour well. Maybe it won't get banned in Boston this time around!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:53pm

CurtainPullDowner: You know what I think about HAIR, but let me say that HAIR is a work of genius compared to ROCK OF AGES. I'd rather sit through HAIR a hundred times than see ROCK OF AGES one more time.

A Director: We can agree to disagree on this one, but I found THE STORY OF MY LIFE incredibly moving and thought it was a wonderful musical. You're allowed to like HAIR more, but I disagree.

PalJoey: Since you were so invested in the 1980 revival, you are unable to give an unbiased assessment of the 2009 production of WEST SIDE STORY. You were destined to dislike it from the start. However, I do agree with you that Haydn Gwynne should win Best Featured Actress (Olivo was great, but not Tony-worthy) and that Stephen Daldry should win Best Director (there really is no contest here).

[wickedfan]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:56pm

PalJoey's investment in the 1980 revival doesn't account for the huge number of posters and critics who weren't impressed or disappointed in the WSS revival.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:56pm

Au contraire. I wanted nothing more than to hear that glorious music and see that glorious dancing.

Had I, I would have been the first to love it.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/31/09 at 11:58pm

PalJoey, have you seen HAIR yet at the Hirschfeld?