HAIR
By PHIL GALLO, September 23, 1998
Reprinted courtesy of variety.com
A Candlefish Theatre Co., Michael
Butler and Tribe Capital Partners presentation of a musical in two acts, music
by Gail MacDermot, book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and Rado.
Director, Mary Schafer. Reviewed Sept. 20
Claude - Douglas Crawford
Berger - Walter Winston O'Neil
Sheila - Meghan Truesdell
Hud - Brian C. Diggs
Woof - Bo Crowell
Jeannie - Dawn Worrall
Dionne - Marvette Williams
Margaret Mead/Butch - Agustine Pozo
Crissy - Lorene Noh
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Hubert/Rick - Paul Jerome
Paul - Scott Braddock
Polly Ann - Patrice DeGraff-Arenas
Hemp - John Kinderman
Blue - Tiffany Lynne Puhy
Angela - Andrea White
Suzannah - Marita deLara
Emmaretta - Tamika Katon-Donegal
Sunshine - Neala Cohn
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Energetic in its staging and accomplished in
execution, the Candlefish Theatre Co.'s
30th anniversary production of "Hair" is an
absolute joy to watch. Playful cast is in
impeccable voice, Mary Schafer's direction
cuts through the '60s rhetoric and delivers
'90s theatricality, and Bo Crowell's
choreography makes inventive use of the
small space — three ingredients that
certainly played key roles in getting "Hair"
honcho Michael Butler to sign on as a
producer and extend the run by two
months.
The production takes the musical at face value
— hippie agenda is put asunder — and milks its
primary asset: the score. With a talented cast led
by Walter Winston O'Neil's kinetic Berger and
the vocally stunning Marvette Williams as
Dionne, it more than holds up as a musical revue:
Not only are the famous songs done well but
lesser material, such as "Frank Mills" and "Abie
Baby/Four Score," is done in an affecting
manner.
The music is on the verge of timelessness, the
pinpoint accurate costumes cloaking it in
innocence more than locking it in a time capsule.
To some degree it's the staging that
complements the music so well — there's no
requirement for the audience to have "been
there" to grasp the drugs and the dilemma, a
condition that doesn't necessarily exist in that
other rock musical, "Rent."
The book is still the musical's weak link. Claude
(Douglas Crawford) is indecisive about burning
his draft card and whether to leave his
Greenwich Village pals for Vietnam. The
members of Tribe have sex, get high together,
attend a peace rally and play parts in Claude's
hallucinations: the dawn of Aquarius and little
else.
Williams starts the evening with considerable
pop — she booms through "Aquarius" with the
gospel fervor of great late '60s soul shouters
such as Merry Clayton, then using that model on
her five other solo spots.
As Claude, Crawford plays the lead heavy on
introspection. His confusion is palpable, his
reticence works the room as well as the
full-blown numbers featuring the entire Tribe.
Of particular note in the Tribe is Dawn Worrall
as the doe-eyed and pregnant Jeannie. She
possesses an undeniable charm and a
carefreeness that imbues a tangible hippie ethic.
There's a little girl aching to get out in her solo
turn on "Air"; by the end of the evening, she has
become something of a quiet leader among some
very noisy forces.
Set is basic, a few platforms resembling
concrete blocks, and lighting has its technical
limitations. Psychedelic effects are more
understood than manifested through lighting.
Sound is clear and well-mixed throughout the
house. Onstage guitarist Christian Nesmith —
the rest of the band is hidden in the back — is a
solid accompanist and aces at evoking a
maelstrom of sounds throughout the second act's
drug-induced craziness.
Nudity, a key selling point when this debuted at
the Aquarius here and the Public in New York,
isn't the bold ploy it was 30 or even 10 years
ago. Playwrights have extended its value beyond
a device to shock and here it's the one moment
that reeks of isolation. It's a musical about
togetherness and once the actors have their
clothes off at the end of act one, they stop
interacting and rely on jolting the audience with a
direct eyeful. Its acceptance so significantly
altered, the nudity belongs at the end of the play
when there is joy and celebration and not the
indecision that closes the first act.
Musical directors, Walter Winston O'Neil, Danny
Feldman; choreography, Bo Crowell; set, Short
Story & Tall tale; lighting, Art Street; sound,
Christian Nesmith; costumes, Tribe; band,
Adhesive Strips (Nesmith, Danny Feldman,
Joshua Hilson, Joshua Baldwin, Juliana
DiMaggio). Opened Aug. 21, 1998, closes Nov.
21. Running time: 2 HOURS, 45 MIN.
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