A Flash From the Past

Hair

It’s hard to believe that it’s been just shy of sixty years since the theatre world was first introduced to HAIR, Gerome Ragni and James Rado’s “Amcrican Tribal Love-Rock Musical.” The show is remembered for an infectious musical score by Galt McDermot and lyrics by Ragni and Rado. Joseph Papp wanted this brand new style of rock musical to open his new Public Theater in New York’s East Village. The show drew huge curious crowds and proved popular with theatergoers, but the antiwar musical didn’t immediately impress the critics. 

After the show closed Off-Broadway the book, which was already light on plot, was revised and made even more vague and disconnected. Several new songs were also added to the score. Experimental Theatre master Tom O’Horgan was brought in to direct the production, which opened on Broadway in 1968. His revamped version of HAIR impressed younger audiences and many critics. They called “sensual and savage,” saying the show was filled with “sensory bombardment”  and labeled the musical “a flash from the past.”

The young cast was encouraged to continually improvise and express their freedom, to go for spontaneity in their portrayal of a tribe of hippies. The musical’s antiwar demonstrations were the primary focus. The far-left sentiments concerning the controversial War in Viet Nam were balanced by scenes of unabashed sexual frankness and the use of recreational drug, especially in the second act. Almost all of Act II is a “Be-In,” a drug trip that engages the entire cast. “Where Do I Go,” the powerful musical number that ends Act I, became famous for its nude scene. In a passionate act of defiance and freedom, the entire cast ultimately shed their clothes. They brazenly confront the audience, full frontal with their naked boldness, which makes a powerful and lasting statement of audacity and bravado. However, Kokandy’s  production which launches their 2026 season, differs in this and in several other ways.

Brennan Urbi creatively directs and choreographs the production, with superb musical direction by Kara Olander. She also conducts the talented, six-member backstage band, and can be heard on keyboard. HAIR is one musical that I revisit whenever it’s produced because I love the songs. I also have a history with the show. Ever since I saw the original production as a college undergrad, the musical has both captivated and irritated me. I saw the 2009 Broadway revival. I’ve also lived through the Viet Nam War years, the military draft and the protests against the United States’ prolonged involvement in the conflict. HAIR conjures up so many memories and speaks to me in a visceral way, like no other musical from my youth. So I acknowledge that on opening night I probably experienced this production differently than many of the younger audience members.

Part of the problem with the piece itself is that it’s a concept musical, rather than a song-and-dance-filled story. Stephen Sondheim’s FOLLIES and COMPANY are more recent examples of this style. First and foremost, HAIR is a period piece, musical that’s completely of its time. The show’s themes of a Hippie Counter-culture, unlawful marijuana and drug use and a newly discovered sexual freedom might be foreign concepts for contemporary audiences. I don’t believe that the sketchy story of Claude, an amiable young peace-loving American, who’s about to be drafted into the military, will hit home as hard with today’s younger theatergoers. Second, the book for HAIR lacks a narrative structure; it’s full of rambling dialogue that often seems to go nowhere. Without a strong central plot or a clear story arc, any production of this musical is frustrating to understand. So, even the finest presentation of this show will seem chaotic, a little self-indulgent and somewhat confusing in its spectacle. And although Brennan Urbi brings the fearless, raw grittiness of the 1960’s into Kokandy’s presentation, today’s audience might find it difficult to connect with that particular time and place.

Kokandy’s cast, however, is nothing if not energetic and talented. Some of Chicago’s finest vocalists lift their trained voices in a tribute to the Summer of Love. However, some of the production’s creative casting and/or costuming choices were anachronistic. Certainly, there have always been gay men and women in society throughout time. In the late 1960’s young people began expressing themselves through unconventional clothing and long hair. But, as one theatergoer whispered to me, “I don’t remember seeing men wearing dresses at that time—even if they were gay.” During the Swinging Sixties, LGBTQ+ individuals may have leaned toward the style of the gender with whom they most closely identified, but you didn’t see men dressed full out in women’s garments, except at drag shows. Today that’s not as shocking. However, there are some characters in Kokandy’s production who were costumed as crossdressers, something which simply wasn’t accurate for that time period. The choice constantly took the savvy theatergoer out of the musical’s time period. Other than that, the colorful costumes by talented designer Rachel Sypniewski beautifully represented the Counterculture Era.

HAIR is the story of Claude, an idealistic young man who, like his tribal friends Berger, Sheila (talented triple-threat Catherine Rodriguez O’Connnor), Hud (handsome Joshua Emmanuel), Woof, Jeanie and Crissy (lovely Amy Yesom Kim), despises America’s military involvement in Viet Nam. The play begins at a Be-In, a recreational drug-laced spiritual gathering, peppered with incense and free love, and told through songs that jump effortlessly between episodes of confession and exposition.

 Through musical numbers like “Hair,” “I Got Life” and “Where Do I Go?” audiences learn that Claude is terrified of going off to War. He continually questions why he’s been drafted and how that will play out. Other characters share their feelings musically, such as Crissy’s heartbreaking “Frank Mills,” Sheila’s powerful “I Believe in Love” and, especially, her power ballad “Easy to Be Hard.” In addition to being disjointed, the musical spends a disproportionate amount of Act II exploring the effects of Claude’s drug-induced hallucination (“Walking in Space,” “Good Morning Starshine”).

The strength of this production is really Brennan Urbi’s faithfully created, intense tribal camaraderie. The close proximity between the audience and the action creates an immediacy to the situations. Gavin Rhys truly leads this cast as a multi-layered, honestly-portrayed Claude. He’s contrasted by gutsy Zac Richey as a loud, bombastic Berger. An outspoken Nicki Rossi is comical and affecting as Jeanie. Other highlights include the show’s powerful opening number, “Aquarius,” ably led by Chosen Mitchell’s Dionne, as well as well as the tribal trio “Black Boys/White Boys.” Woof, a hilarious Stone TeSelle, leads the company in a rousingly pseudo-religious “Sodomy” and then doubles as a prim and proper Margaret Mead, with her operatic “My Conviction.”   

HAIR, theatre’s first Rock Opera, is definitely light on plot but heavy on ideas. The production feels a little long-winded, especially during Act II, which wears out its welcome long before the conclusion. In depicting the Hippie Culture, this first concept musical presents controversial anti-war sentiments, depicts blatant drug usage and boldly portrays the sexual revolution. On the upside, this cast is always in the moment, earnestly conveying the feeling of community and totally present in everything they sing, say or do. While this group of young performers may only be drawing from stories and research found on the internet about the era, the cast has captured the immediacy and reality of that time as a real flash from the past.

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented July 2-September 13 by Kokandy Productions at Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division Street, Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the Chopin box office or by going to  kokandyproductions.com or bit.ly/HairChicago.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Photos are by Michael Brosilow