The Musical “Hair,” Now Playing At Capital Playhouse In Olympia

0 Shares

hair castBy: Alec Clayton

The musical “Hair,” now playing at Capital Playhouse in Olympia, debuted Off-Broadway in 1967 and quickly became a world-wide phenomenon and an icon of the ’60s. It was the first rock musical and the first musical with a fully integrated cast.

Called a tribal rock musical, it encapsulated the spirit and the experience of the times – the hippies, the anti-war movement, civil rights, the sexual revolution, drugs, rock and roll, long hair and flamboyant dress. All of that is captured on stage at Capital Playhouse.

There is no cast in the traditional sense. There is a tribe of long-haired youth (played by adult actors) who live, love, sing and dance to the rousing music of Troy Arnold Fisher’s big rock band on an elevated platform designed by long-time Capital Playhouse set designer Bruce Haasl, who also plays the part of Claude – not the main character, for this ensemble show has no main character, but the tribe member who’s indecision about whether or not to avoid the draft is a central focus of the play.

“It’s going to be a fantastic production. It’s more than a show, it’s the whole ‘60s experience,” said –Ned Hayes, secretary of the Playhouse board. Hayes said they encourage people to come in ’60s clothes.

Director Heidi Fredericks said, “Hair IS different, and that’s the point. It was an integral part of the experimental theatre movement. It tests the boundaries of reality and existentialism, and it does it on purpose. The show’s original producers even rearranged scenes to increase the experimental aspects of the show, using devices such as breaking the “fourth wall” and audience participation, and asking its actors to assume several different characters throughout the course of the piece, sometimes during the same scene. What’s more, it asks the audience to accept this unconventional style with fresh eyes.”

For those not familiar theater terminology, “breaking the fourth wall” means doing away with the pretense that what’s going on onstage is real, acknowledging that it’s a play, such as when one of the tribe members admonishes his “mother” to watch what she’s saying because there’s an audience watching.

Fredericks said that “Hair” “borrowed heavily from mass media and then gave back, with several hit songs” including “Good Morning, Starshine,” “Easy to be Hard,” and “Age of Aquarius.”

“Despite the fact that it is intrinsically tied to the ’60s, it is still topical today,” Fredericks said.  “The Occupy movements across the country, the Arab Spring, even the protests against Internet censorship are all connected to the protests that were the inspiration for ‘Hair.’  Like the works of Shakepeare, ‘Hair’ translates to all decades since, regardless of its original setting, we want freedom now as much now as we did then.”

She went on to say, “Perhaps breaking down walls is what ‘Hair’ is, at its heart, all about: the audience’s perceptions of theatrical presentation; pure fearlessness in frankly discussing sexuality, racism, and drug use; and ultimately, voicing the pacifistic principles that still bind our society today.”

Jake Hoff, most recently seen as the big brother in “Brighton Beach Memoirs” at Capital Playhouse, plays another of the leads, Berger. “It’s a role I’ve been wanting to play for quite some time and I’ve been loving every moment of it,” Hoff said. “Part of the exciting thing about doing ‘Hair’ is that some of the music is extremely popular while the script and a number of other obscure numbers are quite unknown to the general public, so bringing the other numbers and the dialogue scenes up to the same caliber as the other numbers (which many of the audience members may already know by heart) is quite a challenge. My character is a young man recently kicked out of high school who co-leads the tribe of hippies with his friend Claude. Berger is extremely energetic and fast paced and always on the go, so my energy levels always have to be high. Berger also rides the line of representing a culture many of the hippies were trying to turn away from. I have a very controlling moment to my love interest that resembles a lot of the sexism and control men had over woman in the 1950s. Berger is also constantly referencing television, pop idols, radio, and other forms of media which I think brings out his playful side but also shows his inability to connect with others in real life. I think people will definitely enjoy the full immersion to hippie life this show brings. ‘Hair’ doesn’t hold back at all when it comes to truly showing life as it was in the Vietnam era, and that is definitely one of my favorite aspects of the show.”

Rochelle Morris, a tribe member who solos on the opening song, said, “ ‘Hair’ might seem like a light-hearted and fluffy show full of hippies dancing around, singing about love and peace and taking their clothes off… but I didn’t fully comprehend the effect it would have on me.”

Morris first saw the show when the national tour came to Seattle in the summer of 2011. “I left the show in tears and with an emotional rawness that’s hard to explain. While the show is light-hearted in many, many ways, it also stirs up some very touchy issues regarding liberty, loyalty to one’s country, war, love, and more. The effect of the war in Vietnam on our country and on individual families and lives is hard for me to comprehend. I just imagine my brother, who is 25 years old, and the fact that he would not have a choice. If he was drafted, he would have to go fight for a cause that he didn’t believe in with no choice in the matter and there would be a likely chance that he would not return. When I think about this hard truth, it sends a chill down my spine and usually brings me to tears. This show just does that to me. It has been such a challenging experience for me, as an actor, both physically and emotionally. I’m sure I will shed many more tears of sadness and joy during the run of this show. Also, there is so much talent onstage, I can hardly stand it!  The show is going to be amazing!”

There has been much ado about the nudity in “Hair.” Fisher, Capital Playhouse’s artistic director and musical director, said that’s the first thing people ask about. He said in effect it’s no big deal. It’s an integral part of the play, and it is brief and not sexual. Fisher said the nude scene was not written into the original script, but the tribe did it spontaneously.

The remaining cast members are: Jeff Barehand, Miles Forte, Alie Dobson, Bailey Boyd, Anjelica Wolf, Emma Barnes,Leland Brungardt, Matt Flores and Sean Stinnett.

“Hair” is a loud, high-energy, musical show. It runs through Feb. 19 at Capital Playhouse, 612 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. For more information call 360-943-2744 or go to www.capitalplayhouse.com.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares