[NEohioPAL] Berko review: HAIR @ Blank Canvas

Patricia Blochowiak via NEohioPAL neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org
Mon Sep 8 18:31:26 PDT 2014


I must say that I'm not generally a big Berko fan, often finding his
reviews unnecessarily negative, but I must say that I think that this
review of his was overly generous.

This was my third viewing of Hair.  The first was a professional tour in
the 1960s.  The second was Hawken's production in about 1996.

I found it slow and dragging.  The actors generally appeared older than the
characters they played, and there are ways to make them appear younger .

Sooooooo...
I would have favored efforts to make them look and act a little younger.
 More bounce in the steps, for example.  More energy, in general.  More
punch in the singing.  Much less vibrato.  Much, much less vibrato.

The instrumental music sounded more jazzy than rock, and could have been a
little more staccato, less sustained.  Did like the bass, though.

The actors with natural hair, as opposed to wigs, could have used the
center part more typical of the age.  Get rid of the wide hairbands up
above the hair line and use the thinner ones just above the eyebrows that
were in fashion in the late 1960s.  Lighter, pinker makeup on the white
faces might have made them look a little younger.
Longer tops.

The director said that he was looking for a disheveled look, making me feel
that he was playing into the objectionable dirty, unwashed hippie
stereotype.  (Anybody else over 60 who finds this objectionable?)

Some of the tempos could have been sped up just a little, especially the
dirge version of Let the Sunshine In.

I left the other productions with hope after the mass dance at the end.
 Not this one.  I didn't sense any call to action.

A few of these things could still be changed ....


On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 12:12 PM, Christopher Fortunato via NEohioPAL <
neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org> wrote:

> I don;t know.  I think I'm with Berko on this one.  Musicals like "Hair"
> have an attraction to nostalgia for those in the arts that were not alive
> when the sixties were happening.  The "revolution" of sorts was a top-down,
> upper middle class affair where pampered kids that went to places like
> Denison, Kenyon and Oberlin decided to rebel notwithstanding they really
> had nothing to rebel about since they were not part of the oppressed.  How
> within one generation the children of parents that sacrificed during the
> Great Depression and World War II turned into the most narcissistic
> generation this country produced will be the topic of discussions in
> graduate school seminars for decades to come.
>
> Thankfully, the protagonist in the musical followed the law and enlisted.
>  Not all of us smoked up and tuned out in those days.
>
> Christopher Fortunato
>
> ------------------------------
> To: royberko at gmail.com; post at neohiopal.org
> Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2014 19:43:22 -0400
> Subject: Re: [NEohioPAL] Berko review: HAIR @ Blank Canvas
> From: neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org
>
>
> That was the snottiest, most useless review of a show it has ever been my
> displeasure to read. And considering the source, that's saying a lot.
> That's 5 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
>
> "Sorry, my naïve young man, since the you were not yet born..." Seriously?
> You actually took the time to think of, and then write that?
>
> It's time for you to get over yourself.
>
> Sergio Iriarte
> NOT a critic, just a guy who likes theatre.
> ------------------------------
> From: Roy Berko via NEohioPAL <neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org>
> Sent: ‎9/‎7/‎2014 2:51 PM
> To: post at neohiopal.org
> Subject: [NEohioPAL] Berko review: HAIR @ Blank Canvas
>
>
> •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
>
> *No bombs greet this version of HAIR, just heat and a simulation of an era*
>
>
>
> Roy Berko
>
> (member, Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)
>
>
>
> Theatre is representative of the era from which it comes.  Seeing a play
> that reflects a specific time period can reveal the cultural attitudes of
> the people and society of that period.
>
>
>
> Seeing HAIR, “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” can give a film
> clip of the 1960s and early 70s in the U.S.  It was the era of the
> anti-war movement and rebellion against traditional societal patterns.  It
> was the time of sit-ins on college campuses, hippie communes, flower
> children, pot smoking, tie-dyed clothing, long hair, swearing and public
> nudity.  It was a period of rage against the military-industrial complex.
> It was the time of a clear generational divide.  If the young people
> could find a way to upset their elders, it was the “in” thing to do.
>
>
>
> Written by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, the show’s book was put to music
> by Galt MacDermot.  Its slim story was based on the authors’ personal
> experiences.   It centers on Claude, a member of the hippie community,
> who sells out and allows himself to be taken into the Army rather than burn
> his draft card or flee to Canada.
>
>
>
> When the show first opened, it engendered strong protests.  Yes, protests
> about the protests.  On April 25, 1971, for example, a bomb exploded in
> front of Cleveland’s Hanna Theatre during the Age of Aquarius show’s run at
> that venue.
>
>
>
> HAIR broke all sorts of theatrical traditions.  Members of the cast,
> known as the “tribe,” constantly jumped off the stage and interacted with
> members of the audience, invited patrons to dance with them, and they gave
> flowers and hugs to  the unsuspecting.  The U.S. flag was used as parts
> of costumes and burned.  There was full-frontal nudity and simulation of
> sexual acts.  There was an intentional ignoring of theater’s proverbial
> “fourth wall,” a separation of the stage actions from the audience.   This
> was a musical that broke from the tradition of the “nice” musical and took
> on controversy and started a trend in musical theatre of taking on
> contemporary and controversial issues.
>
>
>
> This is not a well-written book musical.  The plot meanders, some of the
> songs don’t fit into the story, often do nothing to move the plot along.  Again,
> a break from the traditional musical of the day. Though often referred to
> as the “grand daddy of the rock musicals,” it’s a mélange of music and
> imagery.  The sounds change from rock to country to ballad to African
> American rhythms.
>
>
>
> The highlight of action centers on Claude’s hallucinatory drug trip in Act
> II where a series of horrifying visions, loaded with historical figures,
> are presented in the oddest contexts. It’s a microcosm of the whole show,
> which essentially unfolds like a tune-filled acid trip that gives HAIR its
> distinctive period edge.
>
>
>
> So, how does the show wear over all those years?  The times they have
> changed.  Reaction to swearing, smoking of pot, nudity, and protest are
> mundane by today’s standards.  Many of the references are beyond the
> knowledge of the younger members of the audience.  Unless you are an
> uptight conservative or an evangelical, who are not candidates to attend
> this show, the goings on won’t evoke much reaction.  Only the wonder of
> “what was all the fuss about?”
>
>
>
> Some of the music has lost its luster.  *Aquarius* didn’t send me off
> onto a journey of effervescence.  *Hashish*, in this age of rampant drug
> usage, is just a song.  On the other hand, *I Believe in Love*, *Easy to
> be Hard*, and *Good Morning Starshine*, have held up due to their
> timelessness.
>
>
>
> The Blank Canvas cast, under the direction of Patrick Ciamacco, was
> enjoyable, with two glaring flaws.  First, Ciamacco states in his
> director’s notes:  “I was drawn to produce “Hair” because I feel our
> country is going through a very similar movement as we did in the 60’s.”  Sorry,
> my naïve young man, since the you were not yet born when the anti-war
> demonstrations and flower-child rebellions were going on, you are not aware
> of the dynamics, power, and out-of-control motivations that lead to whole
> college campuses shut down due to sit-ins, and the take-over of buildings
> due the anti-war vehemence.  Nationally, buildings were burned, students
> were shot for civil-disobedience (e.g., the Kent State massacre).  There
> may be some uprisings and protests today due to individual events, but the
> 60’s movements were national events.  The portrayals by the young cast,
> not imbued with the true feelings the play reflects, were on the surface,
> acting what they thought their characters went through, but not identifying
> with the real motivations, therefore not feeling the actual angst.
>
>
>
> Second, the small space, over sold-out audience, sweating actor’s bodies,
> real smoking, and 80+ degrees of heat outside, led to a sweltering theatre.
>  When the cast shed their clothing at the end of the first act, many in
> the audience were tempted to join them, just to get some personal heat
> reduction.  Either the theatre needs to find a way to cool the space more
> effectively, or change its schedule and avoid producing summer time shows.
> Whew!
>
>
>
> Brad Wyner and his band were excellent, wisely avoiding letting loose with
> the heavy rock sound and drowning out the singers.  Jessie Cope Miller’s
> choreography was creative, especially considering that she was working with
> a large cast on a postage stamp sized stage.  The moves on “Abie Baby”
> were, in era language, “mellow.”
>
>
>
> Perren Hedderson’s projections added to the creation of visual realism.
>
>
>
> Though the choral vocal sounds were mostly volume over blendings, there
> were both individual strong singing and acting performances.
>
>
>
> Scott Esposito was well focused as Claude.  Who knew that this stalwart
> of local dramas (he gave a ”bravo” performance last season in Ensemble’s
> “The Normal Heart”) could sing so well?   Becca Frick (Jeanie) did a nice
> job with “Air,” Jessie Cope Miller, she of big and well-toned voice, wailed
> in “I Believe in Love” and “Good Morning Starshine.” Neely Gevaart
> (Chrissy) tenderly sang “Frank Mills.”  “What a Piece of Work Is Man” was
> the show’s musical highlight.
>
>
>
> *CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   HAIR is a classic musical, which entered the theatre
> into an era of reflection of the turbulent era of the 60s and broke many
> traditional theatrical formats.  For those who want to relive the era, or
> who want to generally get an idea of what was going on during those times,
> the Blank Canvas staging gives an opportunity to take a seldom reprised
> trip through the times.  Due to a generation gap in understanding the true
> angst of the era, this isn’t a great production, but it is entertaining.*
>
>
>
> Tickets for HAIR, which runs through September 13, can be ordered at
> 440-941-0458 or www.blankcanvastheatre.com
>
>
> <http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com/>
>
> ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• <http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com/>
>
>
>
> <http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com/>
>
>
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