Playing at the Athenaeum Theatre for an extended season until November 30. Tickets and information via hairthemusical.com.au
With a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot, Hair premiered in the late 1960s during the hippie cultural movement, sexual revolution and Vietnam War. It broke new ground with its controversial use of profanity and illicit drugs, treatment of sexuality as well as its interracial casting, irreverence for the American flag and full front nudity.
As director Glenn Elston OAM says in the programme, “… [Hair] revealed the voices and emotions behind the “wacky” hippies the older generation saw on the streets. For younger audiences, it was the first musical that truly reflected their reality.”
But it’s been almost 60 years, and these former controversies are covered in the most basic of TV series and films today. So, to an extent, it does take away what made Hair so revolutionary.
So we must look for other things to latch on to.
In the programme it states: “the producers and cast encourage audiences to engage with Hair with openness and curiosity, recognising that its intention is to provoke reflection and dialogue – to ask, how far have we truly come?”
Hair tells the story of a bohemian tribe living in New York City who fight for peace and love and against conscription into the Vietnam War. During Act I we’re slowly introduced to our leading players.
Free-spirited Berger, played delightfully by the charismatic Maxwell Simon, welcomes the audience with such enthusiasm and gusto (and improvisation, directed mainly at a man named Chris in the front row and another who refused to speak adding to the hilarity on opening night) you’d mistake him for the musical’s leading man, but Hair is definitely more of an ensemble piece.
Next up is Jackson McGovern as kind soul Woof, who extols sexual practices; Claude (Alex Cooper), a man torn between resisting the draft and compromising his principles to serve in Vietnam; Claude and Berger’s feisty roommate Sheila (Elizabeth Brennan); militant African-American Hud (by the incredible Clay Darius); and the pregnant and love-struck Jeanie (Rosie Meader).
Following one of my favourite performances in Footloose earlier this year, Maverick Newman once again proves what an immense talent he is. Transforming completely in voice, movement and posture to play a series of memorable characters, he was a highlight to watch.
Also part of the talented, hardworking and diverse cast are Chrissy (Giorgia Kennedy), Max MacDonald (Walter), Zahrah Andrews (Dionne), Larissa Teale (Angela), Linden Trescott (Apache), Bronte Horswood (Linda), Teresa Moore (Natalie), Madeleine Somers (Astrid), Grant Young (Leroy), Tamara Foglia Castaneda (Emmaretta), Cameron Shook (Cammy/Dance Captain).
Most of the tribe perform multiple solo numbers and, with the entire cast is on stage for the majority of the show, they each get to flex their strong vocal, acting and dance skills. Sue-Ellen Shook’s energetic and complex choreography pushes the cast to their absolute best. It’s tight and faultless, as Shook utilises the wide stage better than other recent productions I’ve seen.
Harrison Cope’s lighting design works seamlessly with Zac Krause’s video content, especially during the upbeat Aquarius and Claude’s elongated tripping scene. Entering the theatre, projections show black and white television and news footage from the 1960s – including a heavy dose of JFK (who a nearby woman mentioned to me that “everything changed” after his assassination in 1963).
The song list is where Hair truly excels with its recognisable bops like Aquarius, Be-In Hare Krishna, Good Morning Starshine and the title song, Hair. I spotted a handful of people dancing in their seats, waiting until the finale when, without needing to be ushered, could get up and dance. Notably, several of the songs from Hair became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Although, maybe it was only because we were seated upstairs near the large speakers, often it was difficult to hear the vocals over the loud music. There was also a late audio cue, where the mic failed to turn on during the start of a song, but I figure this isn’t common.
In the true resourceful spirit of the hippies themselves, the sets, props and costumes all came from secondhand stores, marketplaces or past productions. I’m unsure where costume designer Karla Erenbots shopped but she found a treasure trove of era-authentic clothing, laying blue denim, flowy skirts, vests, crotchet, corduroy and beaded jewellery, capturing the tribe’s carefree nature.
The staging is all it needs to be. The on-stage five-piece band is framed under industrial arches displaying a few New York City signs as well as a suspended metal circle which enhances the small space. Centre stage is a yin and yang symbol platform which moves in and out of scenes, along with staircases, ladders and various props like protest signs and a round piece of fabric which raised looks like a jellyfish. It was hypnotic and rhythmic and a calming way to end Act I alongside the powerful Where Do I Go.
I personally prefer musicals with a stronger narrative and Hair feels like hanging out with a bunch of laidback, yet funny, characters who talk about themselves and their day without any driving force or story arc. I clearly remember asking my plus one “when does the plot kick in?” during the interval. I also saw others leave and not return.
Act II was better, despite a third of its run time dedicated to a visually interesting acid trip where Claude confronts his inner demons and conflicting ideals, followed by heavy themes of war, particularly powerful during the haunting The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In).
While far from being a bad musical (in fact, I’ve read many positive reviews), it’s difficult for me to recommend Hair unless you have nostalgia for the original, lived through the 60s or have a keen interest in history. Either it failed to resonate with me or, then again, maybe I’m just missing the point.
Having not been alive in the 1960s, nor in the 1970s when the production first exploded onto the Australian stage, Hair’s cultural and historical significance was foreign to me, as I’m sure it is for many millennials (just as I’m certain many of the 20-something cast needed to be educated on the subject too). But the more I look into it now post-show, the more I’m intrigued to learn more.
But I think it’s important that these stories continue being shared and celebrated. And, simply, sometimes good performances and catchy songs are enough to make a show worth seeing.
There’s also something truly beautiful, powerful and inspiring about people of all shapes, sizes and colours baring all together. The scene was longer than I expected, and the cast should be commended.
3/5 STARS
TINSEL and TAP SHOES 