Last night I went to see Hair in Central Park. Talk about a NYC experience! Hair is very much about NYC and a bunch of it takes place in the park. It was neat how they used the space: the stage was merely a half moon of cropped grass surrounded by a curved fence which was also used as stage space- the actors were continuously hopping on stage from behind the fence or going back over the fence, or perching on the fence and surveying the audience. It was a reference to Central Park right beyond the stage and the fact that the show was free and open to the public, embodying the hippie ideals of the time.
On the free side, the show was ridiculously easy to get into. I joined the Virtual Line the night before at midnight (which means I clicked a button) and wa-la! I went to pick up my tickets that next day. So it was a bit hilarious to hear the people behind me talking about how they spent the night in the park or got there at 5 am to wait in line for 6 hours for tickets.
Now the show was fantastic. The songs were unbelievably harmonized and full of energy. The leads, especially the girl who sang "Aquarius," were rocking it out of their souls. Berger was sexy sexy and Claude was genius genius. Chrissy sold "Frank Mills" to the audience in a way that stole the show. It was quite touching to hear a girl in the subway after the show singing "But unfortunately, I lost his address...": I thought Mom would have loved that moment when one her favorite songs becomes popular again. Only Shelia was a bit weak and I found her rendition of "Easy to Be Hard" lacking in heartbreak and soul- it was too much of a ballad.
In the second half, the plot got left behind and Hair entered a drug induced haze of random snatches of song, which was enjoyable to a degree. I got treated to the gems "Black Boys/White Boys" and "What a Piece of Work is Man" but other wise there was a major loss of editorial discipline, which I suppose is expected. But it ended on a great bang with "Let the Sunshine In" when the cast invited the audience to come dance on stage.
What an awesome experience! Thank you New York and Hair! :)
Right there in front of the Waverly ... your account of your HAIR experiene is wonderful! I would just like to say, that it is my conviction, that longer hair and other flambouyant affectations of appearance are nothing more than the male's emergence from his drab camouflage into the gaudy plumage that is the birthright of his sex. Geez, I've had my share of gaudy plumage, even flambouant affectations, but I still haven't ever fully claimed whatever the birthright of my sex is.
ReplyDeleteYou, however, seem to have already let the sunshine in.
I love you and I'm never embarrassed to walk down the street with you. YIPPEE!
(and, who needs Manchester?)
They had a great drag queen sing this song at the play- it was hilarious when the dignified older lady ripped open her dress to reveal the sagging body of a hairy man :)
ReplyDeleteyes we all seem to be letting the sunshine into our houses and hearts these days!