My overall impression
I feel like I just stepped back into 1967 and my eyes have been reopened to the power “HAIR” brought to the stage that year – a year in the midst of Vietnam War protests, free love, and the hope that love could overcome any obstacles humanity might face. So hurry – you have only one more week to catch this inspiring show by The TRIBE Productions, directed with passion and great creativity by Christopher Chase at the El Centro Theatre through June 24 as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
The “summer of love” experience begins when you first walk into the theater and the cast greets you as if you are someone they met somewhere in New York and invited to join them in the park to celebrate life with them. As soon as we sat down, Jeanie (Melanie Wahla) welcomed us saying, “Oh I remember you! We met at Grand Central when you were waiting for the 9 o’clock.” It was fun to jump into the story with her as she proceeded to talk with us about her very obvious late-term pregnancy, inability to see her feet, her wonderful face and toe painting, and her fear that she would not be able to keep up with everyone because of her size. She did not have to worry – like the rest of the cast, she sang and danced her heart out on the stage during the entire 2-hour show.
There are so many great songs to talk about that ring true today in subject matter with the desire to be accepted and loved just for being who you are. I was especially looking forward to one of my favorite combination songs and this cast did not disappoint with Brianna McDonnell (Angela), Melanie Wahla (Jeanie) and Mary Grace Wilson (Ronny) singing the praises of “Black Boys” while Dominyque Dickson-Thorpe (Dionne), LeVanna Atkinson-Williams (Leata) and Princess Eze (Chrissy) countered by celebrating their love of “White Boys.” These girls all know how to sell a song with the best of them and it was a joy watching them put the men through their paces during this celebration of love and sex.
And now to talk about the glorious men! High school dropout Berger is embodied heart and soul by the charismatic Milo Shearer, boldly flaunting his half-naked body and full, glorious head of hair throughout the show. He is a joy to watch and drool over, just as all the women (and several of the men) in the show do so well. Christopher Chase plays Claude as the simple everyday guy that he is from a middle class Polish family who can’t seem to find his way in life and winds up getting drafted and shipped off to Vietnam. The anger his friends feel about his absence at a protest rally and his own shock at the reality of war is an inspiration to all to stand up and chant “Make Love Not War” with the cast.
Yes there is nudity, men in drag, drug use, free sexuality, spiritual exploration and religious questioning. Chase directs his cast well so that the nudity seems to be a natural part of the war protest burn-your-draft-card “Be-In.” But when the show first premiered in 1967, it was shocking to see full frontal nudity onstage. Today I hope we listen to what is being expressed in the song rather than what is being displayed in all its glory.
To quote Chase as the show’s director, “So be shocked, be inspired, sing along, and laugh. And at the end of the night, take some of our 1967 home to replace tolerance with love, and awareness with action. Be whoever you want to be and do whatever you want to do… just as long as you don’t hurt anyone.” See this production of HAIR and you will walk out of the theater as I did, singing the songs and ready to take on the world to make it the place it ought to be for all people.
HAIR
El Centro Theatre
804 N. El Centro (between Melrose and Willoughby)
Los Angeles, CA 90038
$40 – $30
