Starshines Unite! The official HAIR love thread...- Page 78

[Leia947]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 2:06pm

rwlevin, when I heard WIll was out because he was at the Mets, game, I was like, "Oh, that's okay then!" Mets fan over since the womb; born and bred in Brooklyn myself. (And yes, this season is killing me.) Is it possible to love WIll any more for that?

And every time I see the show, I leave wanting to see it again. It's just amazing.

[IfYouCan]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 2:14pm

A big AMEN to that, wendilin! The entire ensemble is just so perfectly cast and th understudies are all incredibly well-chosen that on any given day, you could have a brilliant cast.

[claudioislove]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 2:48pm

Leia, this is why I like you. We both love the Mets. I just yelled at my dad this morning when I found out will sang and we weren't there, since I'd wanted to go to the 69 celebration. though maybe I'm being greedy, since I was at the last game at Shea. (:

My friend was at the game though, so he started texting me to lemme know.

[singalongsong2]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 2:50pm

I could not agree more. I have seen the show several times and have been fortunate enough to see all of the leads and many understudies. The cast is very deep (talent-wise). I've never been disappointed with their performance.

I saw the matinee yesterday. I was very excited to see Paris!Claude. I thought he did a good job. He is not nearly as touchy-feely w/ Will or the audience as Gavin is. Gavin just has this natural spark...I can't quite describe it. Paris just seems so much more reserved. However, he does have a fabulous voice and it was nice to see him rocking out and letting loose. (Sidenote: I'm not a big fan of his short-hair wig at the end of the show. You could tell they were in a hurry to put it on. Paris' hair was accidentally sticking out in the back. It was strange. haha)

Yes, ALL of the swings were on. I did a double take when Michael came out as one of the nuns. haha I thought Chasten was very good as Dionne. Briana did a fine job as Crissy. Her voice was so pretty in "Frank Mills." Krystal is adorable as Abraham Lincoln. I really like her. I'm so glad she joined the cast!

Updated On: 8/23/09 at 02:50 PM

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 2:54pm

"I'm so glad [Krystal] joined the cast!"
Damn straight! Is she going to be one of the Dionne understudies, as well?

[IfYouCan]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 3:07pm

She probably will be, they're just going to let her get settled into Lincoln a little bit more.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 3:08pm

She probably hasn't had any time to rehearse for Dionne yet.

[rwlevin]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 3:46pm

Wend, I'd be disowned if I ever rooted for the yanks. It's what happens when you're raised by the people who were disappointed year-on-in during every subway series.I got to go to last Sunday's game where the mets actually won...without any of their players! Dude, I just realized that the Mets and Hair have a lot in common. A great show/team sidelined by horrible injuries. (I love you David Wright) (and Wend, your team is more likely than not going to the series this year...oh and you can also hate me 'cause I went to the '99 world series against the Braves because that was the only season all of new york was unified in hate against the Braves)

I think the not-so-touchy feely works with Paris!Claude, as does his playfulness. He just looks so young and innocent and all I want to do is take him home and give him a handmade afghan and hot cocoa to warm himself by the fireplace if I had a fireplace (this is Paris!Claude, not Paris, don't want to seem stalkery, or did I already fail?). Like when he's talking about going to war, there's so much more fear in his voice and maybe 'cause I was a lot closer last night than I was last week, I could see all the expressions on his face, the fear and worry.

Oh, and one thing about Steel!Berger, as much as I much more love Will!Berger I really liked how Steel!Berger played the "I'm your girlfriend and you can't sleep without me" line. Steel's totally awesome and my eye always drifts to him in the show. I kind of missed his Clark Gable, loved how he forgot the toilet paper and went with it by just cutting off the drumroll with his hands. He didn't even mime, which was nice.

On a different, more fiscal note (are you guys sick of my insanely long messages yet? habit of being an english major with ADHD) I was walking by TKTS yesterday after getting lottery (2 for 2, yay for being alone!, oh and my mom paying my speeding ticket so I can afford lotto/SRO...what? I'm poor) and saw Hair on the board for 30% off. I assume that if these tickets aren't sold, they revert back to the house for cancellation sales. Now my question is, what is the discount for the cancellation line and taking in the handling fee at the TKTS booth, which is cheaper? Also, is the cancellation line like TKTS where you get whatever they give you, providing there's a choice of mezz or orch?

Updated On: 8/23/09 at 03:46 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 3:53pm

I don't really know what happens to unsold tickets at TKTS, because the booth stays open almost right up until 8:00, so there's not much time for them to be sent back. That's a good question.

With cancellation lines, you get the tickets as they become available. So whatever pops up when you're at the front of the line is what you get. Cancellation lines are a way to get in when the show is technically totally sold out; people cancel, and then as they do, people on the line get in. They're sold at full price; TKTS discounts.

Updated On: 8/23/09 at 03:53 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 3:59pm

I've never really understood cancellations. Do people actually call the box office and say they're not going to make it and authorise them to resell their tickets? Do they get a refund?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 4:01pm

Well, at places like Lincoln Center, Roundabout or MTC, a lot of it is subscribers who can simply reschedule. So that's why a lot of people get into South Pacific on the cancellation line, for example. In other cases, I think it's mostly industry reservations and house seats that don't get used.

[MelFromLI]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 4:08pm

LOL Who said hippies don't like Beyonce'!! LOL

Epic video with an appearance by Swenson and Creel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIqnLQNeFcQ&feature=related

my apologies if this was posted before!

[rwlevin]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 4:36pm

Well I did the math as I was walking away from the booth yesterday and at 30% off a ticket would cost $122.50 (since it was a saturday) - 12.25*3 = $85.25 plus a handling fee of I forget how much, which goes in line with what the current online discount is-cheaper on weekdays.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 4:38pm

Wait, isn't $122.50 the regular price? I haven't done TKTS in a while, but I don't remember the handling fees being more than a couple of dollars, so I'm not really sure what you're saying. You should probably just swing by there at some point and ask how much it would come out to.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 4:53pm

^ Emcee....your avatar, your signature. We have destroyed you!

[rwlevin]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 4:56pm

yes, and $85.25 is the TKTS price-cheaper when the price is $112.50 though. But I don't know how much is the cancellation price or is that regular price? But what if you have the discount printout, is it honoured in the cancellation line?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 5:08pm

Nah, I've been destroyed for a while. I'm just finally ready to admit it. I wasn't really going to let myself go there and fall for another show and all that, but.... it's time. :)

Cancellation tickets are sold at full face value. If the tickets that pop up are eligible for discount, then I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to use it, but just keep in mind that they might not, since discounts are usually only good for certain locations.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 5:19pm

I'm going to float this out there one more time. Let's suppose you are someone who is theater-aware, but doesn't get to go to multiple performances of the same show. Suppose you are someone who has seen one of the myriad of TV appearances of the tribe and know a little bit about who is in the lead roles and who was nominated for a Tony. Lets suppose one scrimped and saved $500.00 for tickets for a family of four, not counting bridge or tunnel charges, parking fees, food, or concessions.

Injuries happen, vacations are scheduled...I get that. However, no matter what the reason, I'd still feel a little ripped off if both of the most identifiable leads were out.

Now, I've seen Hair five times...and that's included multiple variations of who was out and who was in. Having seen it several times, I understand the appeal of seeing how different people play a certain role.

But the fact remains, that's not how a lot of people are going to react. I don't even have a solution; I'm just saying it's a PR problem.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 5:34pm

Exactly. And whether it's right or wrong, there are people out there who are just going to think, "Ugh, understudies." They won't know who these people are, they won't know how many tracks they cover or how many times they've been on or how insanely talented they are. They're JUST going to know that they aren't the actual leads. I think in blind defense of "but they're so talented, I love them all!, people aren't really looking at it from a casual enthusiast's perspective, only their own. And, I mean, I get not wanting to say bad things about a show you really like, but iflit is right, the fact remains what it is. Regardless, hopefully this resolves itself soon and Gavin and Allison are well before long.

(This brings up the separate issue that this doesn't seem the place to broach many topics past how many times you've seen it, the cast board, pretty pictures and interactions. A fellow poster and I were discussing a few nights ago that we'd been thinking about starting a Hair Deep Discussion Thread, or something. This is meant with no offense to any of you, but I know there are a lot of us who would like to talk about the show past who gropes who when. I like laughing about Gavin and Will as much as the next person, but I also know that there are people out who have really awesome things to share about their experiences with the original production, and I would love to hear what they have to say. But this doesn't really seem the place to do that; that kind of thing gets sort of sidelined here, which makes me sad. Again, no derision meant, nor do I want to kill the thread or be a bitch. I would just love to be able to discuss more.)

Updated On: 8/23/09 at 05:34 PM

[rwlevin]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 6:24pm

That makes sense. This isn't, after all, the first production of Hair I've seen. I saw the City Centers version in 2001 with Idina Menzel as Sheila, Miriam Shor as Jeanie, Luther Creek as Claude and Keith Cahoon-can you imagine how he played Woof? Let's just say he was doing Rocky Horror at the time and then went on to play George in The Wedding Singer. And as much as I love this show and production, the weakest actor in my opinion is Kacie Sheik, but that's just because she plays Sheila so differently than Miriam did. Miriam worked more as a narrator, showing up when needing to give explanations. And while Jeanie is always supposed to be in love with Claude, with Miriam I felt it more than with Kacie. Also, the show made almost no sense to me in 2001. Where was the story? Why was everyone introducing themselves? Who was this random person singing "Frank Mills?" Why are 3 people playing each of the parents? I was so confused, especially during second act. I chock it up now to being an on-book staged reading with no scenery and very little rehearsal. But there was stuff cut from the current production that I remember from this production-which was the script that debuted on Broadway. Like the line from Jeanie: "I wired my parents for money. I told them I was in New York. They said, 'Stay in New York.' I told them I was pregnant. They said, 'Stay pregnant.'" Or the more sentimental line during the trip "They're calling you, son; they're killing you, son."

But I'd love to talk about the intricacies of the show. Like how Jeanie's parents tell her to "stay pregnant" and she does throughout the entire timeline of the story. Like how everyone wants snow at the end so after Claude becomes "invisible" he performs the miracle of making it snow. Or even the timeline of the yip as far as when Claude went to war. Was it the next day? Was it in his head as he lay dying? Am I choosing to read too much into this? Hell, yeah!

[wendilin622]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 7:28pm

I agree rwlevin. i just bought this book off of Amazon that I'm still waiting to come. About the "Genius of Hair." i forget the exact name of the book, but I think it was actually posted on this thread.

I'm really anxious to see the show again in 3 weeks. When I saw it in March, I didn't know much of the story, characters, music etc. I had only seen the god awful movie version of it and I obviously knew the big songs from the OBC. However, now after I've EXHAUSTED my cast recording, and know the characters better, I'm really excited to see what I pick up on during my 2nd viewing of the show. It is definitely an intricate show that I feel you get more and more out of after each viewing.

Which I'm sure my Visa card will enjoy. Bleh.

[rwlevin]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 7:48pm

Ooh, I read that book, it has a green cover, right? They have it at the New York Public Library and I read it sometime between 2004 and 2007. The guy who wrote it was directing a production that went up during the world trade center attacks and he talks about how it gave the show a completely new meaning. He also talks about drug culture and hippie culture and all the like. It's quite a good read.

I personally want to get my hands on Good Hair Days which was written by Jonathan Johnson, a member of many tribes of the 70s including the Broadway tribe and lost his wife and daughter to an arsonist who never got caught. He was in the documentary that premiered on Sundance not long ago and it peaked my interest.

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 7:54pm

i'm almost done reading Genius of Hair. you'll get alot of insight on being in the production and what certain lines mean. its an awesome book.

about the understudy situation, i would think if you care about seeing the stars(like will and gavin)in their roles, theres a slight chance you have some sort of insight on theater. having that might lead to you being disappointed from getting 10 understudies, but after the show you'll see that the understudies are really good(for hair, at least). but regardless, for the people who only go to see the show once, whoever was in for whatever role made their impression on said theatergoer and they'll remember how it was when they saw it so yes the producers should do all they can to keep the leads in, but i doubt there's any shows that don't do that. it all coems down to opinion really. some people might like krystal brown better than saycon or jay or paris better than gavin, which we discuss here but those people who only see it once want to get the best actor playing the role.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 8:03pm

There's a reason I love you, Gerb.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/23/09 at 8:59pm

This brings up the separate issue that this doesn't seem the place to broach many topics past how many times you've seen it, the cast board, pretty pictures and interactions. A fellow poster and I were discussing a few nights ago that we'd been thinking about starting a Hair Deep Discussion Thread, or something.

I tried. You know I tried.