[NEohioPAL] Review of "Hair" at Blank Canvas Theatre

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

Receding 'Hair' gets attractive comb-over by Blank Canvas 

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

"What is so likable about 'Hair,'" noted New York Times critic Clive Barnes in his 1968 review of the musical love-fest that occupied Broadway for 1,750 performances, "is simply that it is so likable.  So new.  So fresh. [with an] authentic voice of today."  

 

Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot's patchouli- and pot-scented portrait of the 1960s offered the older generation of that era a taste of the music, drug-altered mindset, anti-establishment politics and sexual freedom of the long-haired hippies they'd been hearing so much about.  "Hair" pushed the envelope on the theater experience while simultaneously offering a group hug. 

 

Today, "Hair" is middle-aged and showing it.  Originally an artistic exclamation point about peace, "Hair" has become a period piece so out of sync with today's youth culture, political scene and economic realities that it borders on farce.   

 

What Barnes believed to be an "authentic voice of today" quickly sold out by becoming Top-40 hits by The 5th Dimension, Oliver and The Cowsills, who forever commercialized the songs "Aquarius," "Good Morning Starshine," and "Hair," respectively.

 

What Barnes found "fresh" is now misty-covered, sanitized nostalgia for those who lived the '60s and a novelty act for those who did not.

 

What Barnes saw as "new" in the show's theatricality - its bold intrusion of the audience's personal space, its nudity and an ear-ringing rock score - have become so normative in the theater that it seemed contrived during a failed 43 performance Broadway revival in 1977 and downright manufactured during a 2009 Broadway revival that featured "American Idol" finalists in the lead roles.

 

Despite this unfortunate but inevitable aging of Aquarius, the Blank Canvas Theatre production has tapped the key ingredient that made the original such a success:  it is extremely likable.

 

For more of this review, go to: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/article_c0d86bb4-3143-11e4-b775-0019bb2963f4.html
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