[NEohioPAL] Berko review: HAIR @ Blank Canvas

Alison Arko via NEohioPAL neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org
Mon Sep 8 18:23:44 PDT 2014


I did not see Blank Canvas' production of "Hair" and I have never seen the
show, so I can't comment on the quality of the production, or the lack of
air conditioning in the theater.  What I can comment on are Mr. Berko's
suggestions that because the director and cast were not alive during the
era depicted in the show, they were unable to relate to and understand the
content. Based on Mr. Berko's review, we should not do shows unless they
are written and based on our own era.

Mr. Berko, today's youth may not have been alive in the '60s to experience
the race riots, the Kent State massacre and the anti-war demonstrations,
but we learn about history by making connections to what we are
experiencing in our lives. At 27 years old, I was not around during WWII to
experience the horror of the Pearl Harbor bombing. But I was a young
teenager when 9/11 happened, and 6 months later I visited Pearl Harbor.  My
experience with 9/11 helped me have a better understanding of my country's
history and respect for Pearl Harbor victims and survivors.

You are right in that what our country is experiencing now is not the same
as what happened in the 1960s, but you cannot fault a new generation for
relating the present to the past.  Our interpretations of events of the
past are based on our present, just how Jonathan Larson took the story of
"La Boheme" and created "Rent."  The events the '60s and today are not the
same, but themes are.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20140908/f1030af6/attachment-0001.htm>


More information about the NEohioPAL mailing list