HAIR

Book & Lyrics by Gerome Ragni

Music by Galt MacDermot

Uptown Players

*REVIEWED 03/09/07 Performance

Directed by Cheryl Denson

Choreography by Vicki Squires

Music Direction by Scott Eckert

Set Design by Clare Floyd Devries

Costume Design by Robin Armstrong

Lighting Design by Ross Moronney & Julie Simmons

*CAST:

Zodiak………................…Malcolm Beaty

Leta…………...............…..Alexandra Kay Buchen

Star…………….................Melody Denoia

Eclipse…………..............…Ashley Deplechain

Apache/Margaret Mead....….Tyler Donahue

Stone………………...............Carlos Gomez

Jeannie……….............…….Lisa-Gabrielle Greene

Dionne…………..............….Crystal Hannah

Claude……………...............Sean Patrick Henry

Skydancer………...........…..Joi Jackson

Ivy Rain…………............….Kelly McCain

Sheila…………….............….Claire Menger

Zipper………………..............Jason Moody

Sunflower………...........…..Desiree Munoz

Taurus………….............…..Marcus Nicholson

Woof…………...............…….Chad Peterson

Berger………….............…..Timothy Riley

Hud………………................…Darius Anthony Robinson

Purple……………...............John De Los Santos

Crissy………………..............Carrie Slaughter

Sniper……………..............…Philip Hearne

______________________________HAIR_________________________________

 Uptown Players currently is mounting a revival of the tribal love musical, HAIR, which basically is about hippies, drugs, sex, and Vietnam. HAIR premiered on Broadway at the Biltmore in 1968, running for 1750 performances. A 1977 revival opened also at the Biltmore, only to flop with 43 performances.

Having seen several versions of this rock musical, Friday night I left the theater with most of the same viewpoints I have had from past viewings.

The book…oh wait…..was there a book? I didn't smoke anything and I don't think I ate any brownies laced with Mary Jane, but all I saw were the fragments of what barely resembled an actual book. This was a major problem with the musical in the past for me and it still is today. None of the characters have a true, honest, definable arc, except for maybe one (Claude), and even that is painfully thin. We have an entire first act overstuffed with lackluster songs without a solid storyline or true character development to grasp onto. Midway through the first act you get frustrated because you keep waiting for plot or emotion to kick in to help you understand, relate, or feel anything for the tribe.

You instead have to pick at and sift through the lyrics to find any real meat on the book. So the audience is left looking like kids digging & peeling away to find any meat on the remains of the Thanks -giving turkey, leaving you only with scraps.

As for the score, I'm sure back in 1968 it was bold, original, and fresh. But for today's musical ears, it sounds drastically dated, lukewarm, and hardly exciting at all. It is overloaded with filler songs, thereby leaving maybe 2 or 3 great songs placed here and there. Too many of the songs are composed to end abruptly, while others sound like they ended right in the middle of a measure. You can't help but think that maybe that's when the buzz from the LSD wore off that the composers were doing while writing the score.

What does help the production rise above the material are its director, choreographer and cast. Director Cheryl Denson does see the lack of book, thereby adding subtext and character development with her staging and direction. It also helps greatly in storytelling by casting (for the most part) a young company. Denson's staging and direction for Act Two in particular is superb. That is when the prod -uction becomes riveting, engrossing, and you finally find organic truth. Denson's direction is marvelous in its detail and its sense of reality.

Thank god for choreographer Vicki Squires! There are 24 songs in Act One alone, and Squires choreographed each number with terrific dance.

It is very clear that Squires did her homework in creating period choreography. There is iconic pop culture references coming in and out within her dance vision: American Bandstand, LAUGH IN, Woodstock, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, even the Supremes. Her choreography is like a splash of vibrant color thrown onto the music to make it shine brightly and be thoroughly entertaining. It is her choreography that elevates many of the filler songs to make them visually dazzling and crowd pleasing.

Kudos must also be paid to the trio of designers as well. When I open a playbill and see that Julie Simmons is its lighting designer, I know I will not be disappointed in the lighting, and I never am. For HAIR, she and fellow designer Ross Moronney design layers of gorgeous color, special gobos, and light movements that give the production amazing beauty. These designers used every gel available to splatter the stage with funky, trippy colors that help you get into the state of mind of this tribe.

Robin Armstrong's costumes are authentic and rich in detail for the era of 1960s. Loud prints, vests of yarn & leather, jeans, flowing skirts, and lots of love beads.

Clare Floyd Devries creates Central Park right there on the intimate TRAC space. There is a stone bridge with graffiti, rocks and mini hills, a tent, and even a small pond with flowing water. However, I was perplexed as to why there were no trees or shrubs. Central Park serves as a metaphor for the Garden of Eden for the tribe to live in and love. But society and the war are pushing them out of their garden into the cold reality of war & society. But alas no hint of a garden is on the set. Nonetheless the scenic design is exquisite.

Chris Robinson's multi media design also deserves a gold star as well.

Flashing images and pictures aided greatly in filling in the large pot holes that in the book had to help the audience understand what is going on within the story.

The energy and chemistry that the entire cast displays in HAIR is another major factor in what saves the production. You can feel from them such unity, strength, and pure enjoyment of being part of this company, you can't help but applaud their terrific efforts. When the entire company sings, the vocals were robust and rich. Their rendition of "Let the Sunshine In" was outstanding. This ensemble is first rate.

Within in this large cast there were several standouts. Providing some stellar performances include Chad Peterson as "Woof", Darius Anthony Robinson as "Hud", and Carrie Slaughter as "Crissy". All three talented thespians also delivered impressive vocal work within their solo songs, in particular Slaughter. Her solo number, "Frank Mills", was both sweet and endearing.

The performance of the evening though belongs to Sean Patrick Henry as "Claude". Henry's wide eye innocence works superbly within the inner workings of this boy who has been drafted to go to Vietnam. Instead of making him just another pothead with a "Hell no we won't go"

attitude, Henry wisely creates a more conflicted youth who seems out of place within the tribe and the war. Henry also has electrifying stage presence that never dims once on stage, he is completely in character from beginning to end. Henry's tenor vocals are crystal clean and pure, which crests on a sublime vibrato that never becomes uneven or machine gun like. You truly see Claude's inner personal battles and demons flash across Henry's eyes and facial expressions.

Henry gives a radiant performance here.

While it is obvious that I'm not a fan of HAIR, Uptown Players once again turns out another winner. The score and book does not hinder this cast or production staff, instead they rise beautifully over the humdrum material to provide a resounding evening of musical theater.

GRADE: B

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HAIR

Book & lyrics by Gerome Ragni/James Rado & music by Galt MacDermot Uptown Players Through March 18, 2007

John F. Garcia, Jr.