Hair
It is absolutely mind-boggling. How can a small black-box
theater, off the beaten-track in the Anaheim Hills, create such
professional provocative productions? How does it mount demanding,
large-scale musicals with confidence and skill, while operating on
a miniscule shoe-string budget?
We're talking about The Chance Theater, of course-- the ten-
year-old success story that has taken Orange County by storm. Now
that word has spread across the L.A. border, the little theater
that dares to take "chances" is packing them up to the rafters.
Currently on stage is "Hair," and if you miss it you'll never
forgive yourself. Written in 1968 by Gerome Ragni and James Rado,
with music by Galt MacDermot, "Hair" opened in New York to shock,
disapproval, and long church picket-lines. Then six months later
it traveled to the Aquarius Theatre in Los Angeles, where it ran for
two years.
It's hard to believe that our first "American Tribal
Love-Rock Musical" is forty years old. It's even harder to realize
that none of the passionate, knock-em-dead performers are old
enough to have participated in the turbulent events of the sixties.
That's a different story, of course, for those in the
audience. Some of them remember "the hippie generation" and want
to relive it; while others are content to experience "flower power"
vicariously--to view what the "peace-niks" and Vietnam activists
were rebelling against. Regardless of age, "Hair" is guaranteed to
excite you. And since The Chance is a such a small intimate
space, all the action takes place up close right in your face.
If ever there was a collaborate project where the whole is
larger than the sum of its parts, this is it. Under the passionate
direction of Oanh Nguyen, this sixties cult classic is performed by
15 multi-racial actors who dance up a storm and belt their songs to
the ceiling.
Bill Strongin heads the live four-piece band on stage from
behind a scrim, while Kelly Todd choreographs the cast in fabulous,
synchronized body movement through 23 non-stop routines in Act I,
and 16 more in Act II. It's hard to give credit to individual
performers since they interweave and interchange throughout the
two-act play.
Everything begins with Dionne (Amber Snead) and Berger
(Armando Gutierrez) leading "The Tribe" in "Aquarius" ("When the
moon is in the seventh house")--followed by songs that may be
familiar to many readers of this review. James May portrays Claude,
the blond conflicted young man who gets drafted. Should he burn his
draft card and drop out, or must he report for duty and go to Vietnam?
Sheila (Michaelia Leigh), Wolf (Cody Clark), and Hud (David
LaMarr) all play pivotal parts; but as mentioned before, "Hair" is
one seamless, interwoven musical from beginning to end.
In Act II, the tribe gets high and each one hallucinates about
life, culture, politics and history. After their all-night,
strung-out party, "Good Morning Sunshine" has the group up on their
feet looking forward to the future.
As "Let the Sunshine In" revs up for the final number, the cast
roams into the audience, pulling people on stage where they dance
their hearts out. Don't be surprised if you discover yourself (or
someone sitting next to you) crying for joy--or hope for the future.
Credit must also be given for the superb design team:
Christopher Murillo (set); KC Wilkerson (lighting); Erika Miller
(costumes); Casey Holm (sound), and John MacDonald (projection) .
"Hair" continues at The Chance Theater, 5552 La Palma Ave.,
Anaheim Hills; Fri., 8:00 pm; Sat., 3:00 and 8:00; Sun., 2:00 and
7:00; through Aug. 16. Tickets available at (714) 777-3033 or
www.chancetheater.com.