Sun, Jul 05, 2009
 Lauren Lebowitz, the pregnant Jeanie in Arizona Theatre Company's "Hair," showed a knack for comedy with her rendition of "Air."
Tim fuller / courtesy of arizona theatre company
Dependable Health Services Physical Therapists Administrative & Professional Tucson Urban League CEO/President Mechanical Komatsu Equipment Co Resident Field Mechanic Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Construction West-Press Printing Finance and Accounting Charles E. Gillman Company Accounting Specialist Health Care CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AccentA grand 'Hair,' message and allArizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.07.2008
Time has not grayed "Hair." Forty years after the musical about sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, as well as war, protests, freedom and parental strife hit Broadway, it still plays well.
In fact, the Arizona Theatre Company production that opened Friday night shows it has deepened and become more nuanced.
The musical still lacks in story — it's really a series of scenes about the life of a bunch of drug-dipping hippies who protest the Vietnam War, make love, tune in and drop out.
And it's still an exuberant display of youth, music and dance, all with psychedelic overtones.
But in the hands of director David Ira Goldstein, the heartbreak of war and the huge burden that faces young people who must decide what to do with their lives ripples through the story without ever becoming heavy-handed.
This production bursts with color and energy, authentic costumes by Kish Finnegan, and a John Ezell-designed set that is a bit like an acid trip. It has images of religious icons with glowing eyes, traffic signs warning of danger, Civil Defense symbols, and steel, multi-level scaffolding that the performers climbed and jumped and swung from with incredible grace.
But most of all it has a cast that looks and acts as though they lived in those late '60s days. They were hopeful and they were scared. They were leery and they trusted. They moved with youthful quickness and smoked themselves into slow motion.
Kyle Harris' Claude, the high school dropout who's been drafted, is a sublimely conflicted young man. When he sings the joyful "I've Got Life" he embraces the hopefulness of the song but for a moment, just as it ends, a shadow crosses his face. The fear that maybe he won't have life for long flickers in the back of his mind.
And the song that ends the first act, "Where Do I Go," is a raw, emotional piece that packs a particularly big wallop as Harris sings it with a touch of desperation as the tribe behind him strips down naked. The raw vulnerability of the nudity punctuates the raw vulnerability of the song.
The second act is a strange trip for Claude, who hallucinates a tour in Vietnam. It is also a precursor of what will happen to him. Harris continues to walk around the edges of the fear without ever collapsing into it, which makes the fear all the more palpable.
The final scene of this production is a powerful one that underscores Goldstein's choice to make this "Hair" much more than a story about a bunch of hippies getting stoned.
Joey Calveri as Berger, Claude's best friend, is raunchy and moves with grace. Morgan James' bluesy voice and innocent seductiveness makes her a strong Sheila, the protest leader and Berger and Claude's bedmate. Talented Kyle Taylor Parker stops the show with "Colored Spade." The kid knows how to work a crowd.
This cast, with a large number of University of Arizona students, is a cohesive bunch blessed with gorgeous voices and abundant attitude.
And they, like Goldstein, never got campy or cliché on us.
Way back when, not many of us got that "Hair" could say so much.
But thanks to Goldstein and the cast, "Hair" is wildly entertaining while its message is mighty cogent.
● Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
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