Brown's terrific 'Hair' brings back memories
Theatre Review by DON FOWLER
(published in Warwick Beacon
Thu, Mar 16, '06)
I was swept back to the sixties last week by Brown’s Sock and Buskin’s terrific production of “Hair: The American Tribal Love Rock Musical.”
I was one of a handful of people in the opening night audience who was alive when the controversial musical stirred up America’s concept of the Broadway musical. I had first seen the play on Broadway and then again in Providence, where it caused a big commotion. Jim Seaver reminded me that there were attempts to stop its Providence production.
Of course, it seems rather tame today, although the big issues of free love, peace and the anti-war movement sure got the mostly student audience to listen and react.
To their credit, the actors, under the tight direction of Christopher Baynes, played it straight, bringing the audience back to the Vietnam era, and never satirizing it.
Only near the play’s conclusion, when the young “hippies” protested the war, were there direct references to today’s president and the conflict in Iraq. Students’ protest signs carried the Bush name and references to big oil.
Baynes, who is currently Director of Movement and Physical Theatre at the Brown/Trinity Consortium, worked with over three dozen actors and musicians on the Faunce House stage, amazingly keeping them all in constant motion. Michael McGarty created magical scenic designs, enhanced by Tim Hett’s lighting and a background video design by Mark Domino.
A mammoth undertaking for professional theatre, the Brown students and their faculty mentors succeeded in making “Hair” a first-class production. Philip Contic’s costumes (and wigs) were true to the era and added to the spectacle.
There were some excellent voices, led by Steve Levinson in the pivotal role of Claude, and the most talented Nora Blackall, whose “Good Morning Starshine,” gave me goose bumps.
The “tribe” of students gave power to the great ensemble songs, like the opening “Aquarius,” which begins with the lovely voice of Rebekah Philip, a grammar school-age young lady who appears in the opening and closing numbers, tying the musical together.
While I haven’t seen the musical (or movie) in over 35 years, the short songs quickly came back to me (Oh, I wish I still had my original album!).
Seven students make up the terrific band, and they even work during intermission, keeping most of the audience in their seats.
While the closing nude scene has been eliminated, there still are elements that may upset some of the older folks; just remember that this musical was written in the ‘60s. There is profanity, drug use, sex, anti-war sentiments and racial epithets. However, the tone never reaches the vulgar lyrics of today’s rap music.
Bottom line: This production, to use the word one more time, is terrific. The Brown/Trinity collaboration has its stamp all over it. The bar has been set very, very high for any future productions.
If you can get a ticket, “Hair” will be at the Faunce House Theatre, 77 Waterman St. on Providence’s East Side, through March 19. Tickets are $15, $10 for seniors, $5 for students. Call 853-2838 for reservations and information.
