'Hair' at the Palace Theater - My Review

Theater goers who remember the sixties probably remember hearing about Hair The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. The show is set in New York City in 1962 "The Fall of Love." The book was written by Gerome Ragni & James Rado with music by Galt McDermot. I had no idea that it was originally produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival and perhaps explains the Hamlet references.

Mr. Rado writes that this new Hair script brings the show back to its origins and he feels that it is the best version that is out there now. The show has a history of perpetual revisions and because I had seen the movie version, I expected a different ending.

I have an old cassette of the original Broadway cast but I had never seen the show, so it was interesting to me how the musical numbers went together, or not, and at least four pieces were added. There were a lot of songs, and the harmonies were rich.

The members of "the tribe" played a variety of instruments onstage as they performed, eliminating a pit orchestra. Because I had a front orchestra seat (thanks to an absent season ticket holder) I had no problem with the sound, but the patrons in the sparsely populated mezzanine were not so lucky. I thought the acoustic numbers and the interaction with the audience gave the production an off-Broadway feel, but for some audience members it might have been a little uncomfortable. We noticed that many season ticket holders young and old left at intermission and the actress who opened the second act congratulated those that chose to stay.  Thankfully, no one was invited to come up onstage at the end for a "Be in" finale; the cast went into the audience instead.

Hair's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene were probably just too much for many to take. I could tolerate most of these controversial elements, but I found the (albeit brief) nude scene to be gratuitous. 

The multi-racial cast embraced the flower child genre and did a good job with the vocals and especially the choreography. I loved the harmonies on "Frank Mills" and the entire hallucination scene was impressive. The joyous elements outweighed the heavier stuff in my mind and I enjoyed hearing the soundtrack that I had memorized as a teen come to life. The set served its purpose and the wild costumes certainly set the tone. The lighting of the magnificent Palace stage was good as well.