faux HAIR: Gavin Creel's wig

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 11:53am

To my surprise, I much enjoyed Creel's Claude. He sings the songs gloriously, and has even supplied the character with a more aggressive pan-sexuality than was there before, and makes the "story" arc, such as it is, more emotional.

But that wig. Jeesh. The show is called "hair," so shouldn't his be among the most impressive? In his clingy white top and truly unconvincing wig (when he's tossed around the stage, his locks in turn toss in a most unpersuasive manner)...he looks like a send-up of Christopher Guest in SPINAL TAP.

There's something wrong with a Claude look when you are most appealing in the reveal in uniform. Suddenly, he was given more stage weight in the final moments, 180 degrees away from the intention of "Flesh Failures" (which he sings very effectively, with great passion and placement).

In a show as exciting as this one, a wig lapse is especially disappointing.

Updated On: 4/10/09 at 11:53 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 5:03pm

folks complained about the wig big time when Groff was wearing it as well. It seems to be "better" than his....but I haven't seen it at the Hirschfeld yet. (Another torturous week of waiting.)

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 5:05pm

For a second I forgot Creel doesn't do the nude scene and thought that this was going to be about something else...especially since there was such a fuss over many of the, eh, "bald" ensemble members...

And I suspect I wasn't the only one, seeing as this thread has 2 replies and about 300 views.

Updated On: 4/10/09 at 05:05 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 5:52pm

What do you mean "bald" ensemble members? I did notice that in the promo shots much of the male ensemble had clipped chests and shaved treasure trails and I thought wasn't that the era of things growing wild and free. Hmmm....

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 5:55pm

That's what I meant by "bald".

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 6:50pm

Are shorter wigs really all that bad? I'd rather they have him keep his long hair for the majority of the show and then wear a short hair wig at the end.

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 7:26pm

I thought it was believable, and the best looking of the bunch! But then again, he is, like, my idol, so I'm not unbiased.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 9:04pm

Okay, we'll change this to "wig."

[Jon]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 9:29pm

The reviewer for New York Magazine mentioned the anachronistic lack of pubic hair on many cast members. He said his companion whispered, "I didn't know hippies got Brazilians in the 1960's".

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 9:44pm

Are we talking girls or guys? Or both?

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 9:48pm

he looks like a send-up of Christopher Guest in SPINAL TAP.

HAHA i love that.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 9:50pm

Yeah, Hilton Als pretty much hated the whole thing, mostly the epiction of blacks and women. To me, the women are very much pre-feminist accessories, groupies to narcissistic male characters in the tribes. It's sort of silly to quibble, however -- they are historically accurate because they were written at a moment when counter culture explored sexuality but still saw the male as the center of the universe. Hell, listen to the lyrics of the title song. It's about men having long hair. "...the male plummage..." nails it, in another song.

But back to the wig -- the wig Creel wears is asexual, does nothing to make him more expressively virile. Berger, the 32 year old high school student in this production (!) has the compelling natural hair, and matching 'tude about it. Creel has to shake his bewigged tendrils, limp and stringy, in the face of many people, and the lank locks are not persuasively threatening or even thick enough to suggest the hippie subcultural aversion to grooming.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 11:29pm

is there nudity in the show? do you see male and female privates?


anyone good?? lol.

[dreamz]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 11:37pm

Yes there is nudity in the show both male and female

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 4/10/09 at 11:38pm

Anyone good? REALLY? Please, grow up!!!

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 12:21am

In response to the question about short hair wigs vs. long haired wigs: yes, it would be much harder to make a short haired wig on a guy look good, especially when you wouldn't have time to properly pin curl and tuck up his hair if it was naturally long.

And the hippies and Brazilians comment brought a huge smile to my face. You would think that these actors would be a little more committed to recreating the times and forgo the trips to the bikini waxers.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 11:51am

I have to admit, I've done Hair in the past and I did ponder manscaping vs. wild and free. Not to get too graphic, but it seems that I was more committed than these people on Broadway!

~Steven

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 11:53am

I'm MORE suprised that production team wouldn't demand it.

Its not a big deal, but it does take you out of the moment...for a moment.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 12:05pm

And that's an important moment. That moment is about freedom and rebellion and not necessarily sexuality, so it would make sense for their bodies to reflect that, even (or especially) in today's society of grooming. I mean, those poor actors in the latest Fiddler revival had those awful, but real, beards for the entire run, and that hair was on their face for the world to see. The show is called Hair. A little extra hair never hurt anyone. I too am surprised that it wasn't demanded.

~Steven

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 12:07pm

personally it didn't take me out of the moment. the first 3 times i saw it i didn't notice it at all. the last time tho i did because of all of the discussions of it on here.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 12:17pm

Well, it's just because that's what we're used to. I think if they were really au naturale, it would have been a little more shocking. We're already expecting the nudity, so there isn't much shock factor. That would have been a surprise for some people, and in a good way I believe. Don't you think?

~Steven

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 1:44pm

By the way, the photo of Swenson and Creel at this very site, currently on display, makes the wig look much more effective than it does during performance. Maybe it's been poorly maintained. It just looks very JOSEPH/DREAMCOAT-ish. In other words, expensive, but not really evocative. What if Creel had just grown his? I recall seeing a black Berger in the old days -- HAIR embraced non-traditional casting in ways CHORUS LINE did not until the revival. Needless to say, he didn't have long locks. (Didn't Andre de Shields move into the role of Berger? I think I actually saw him in the Chicago/Blackstone Theater sit-down, circal 1971.)

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 2:14pm

As said before, Creel could not have grown his, for he must have short hair for the end of the show. It is easier to use a long wig and then take it off then to scramble to get a short wig onto a person with long hair. It really isn't that hard to understand!

[sparrman]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 10:52am

Gavin Creel's wig looks more realistic than the one James Rado seems to be wearing these days!

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/12/09 at 10:54am

Worst wig right now HAS to be James Carpinello's in "ROA" !!!