EXTENDED! Must close August 23rd
Hair
The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
Book and Lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado
Music by Galt MacDermot
Directed by Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen
Choreographed by Kelly Todd
Musical Direction by Bill Strongin
- 06/03/09 ARTICLE: Preview of summer musicals - OC Weekly
- 07/06/09 ARTICLE: 'Hair' the musical comes to the Chance - Anaheim Hills News
- 07/06/09 ARTICLE: 1960's hit musical opens this weekend - OC180News.com
- 07/13/09 REVIEW: StageSceneLA.com
WOW! - 07/20/09 REVIEW: OC Weekly
- 07/21/09 REVIEW: Stage Happenings
- 07/22/09 REVIEW: EDGE Publications
- 07/22/09 REVIEW: Orange County Register
- 07/22/09 REVIEW: Back Stage West
- 07/22/09 REVIEW: Fullerton Observer
- 07/26/09 REVIEW: OC Examiner
- 08/12/09 REVIEW: LA Weekly GO!
- 08/12/09 ARTICLE: Celebrate Woodstock's 40th Anniversary with HAIR - Examiner
THEATER ARTICLE
This Offbeat Summer Theater Season Features Camp and Carnage
by Joel Beers, OC Weekly
June 3, 2009
[ Link to OC Weekly l Post a review ]
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
The Chance Theater does musicals as well as anyone in Orange County, if not Southern California, and this time around, it tackles one of the genre's biggest. This ode to recreational drug use, anti-war protests and buck-ass-naked hippies is in its 40s now, but apparently it isn't slowing down. It played more than 2,000 performances on Broadway in the late '60s and early '70s and opened as a revival on the Great White Way this March. It immediately earned eight Tony nominations and garnered an appearance on some late-night TV show hosted by David Letterman. The Chance Theater, (714) 777-3033; www.chancetheater.com. July 10-Aug. 16.
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THEATER REVIEW
HAIR
by Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
WOW!
July 13, 2009
[ Link to Stage Scene LA l Post your own review ]
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
It was mid-1968. LBJ was still President, with Richard Nixon's election and seven more years of war in Vietnam yet to come. Already, though, there were "tribes" of young people in their teens and twenties whose dissatisfaction with an America riddled with racism, poverty, sexism, sexual repression, and political corruption led them to create the hippie movement of the 60s. More than anything else, though, these "new American patriots," as they saw themselves, were in revolt against a war they believed to be unjust, unnecessary, and un-American.
Meanwhile, on Broadway, conservatively-dressed New Yorkers, housewives from the suburbs, and out-of-towners from the Midwest were enjoying musical fare like Mame, Sweet Charity, and Promises, Promises. Imagine, then, the reaction of these traditional-looking and thinking theatergoers when Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical opened on Broadway on April 29, 1968. The show seemed to celebrate profanity, illegal drugs, pacifism, sexual adventurousness, and a disrespect for all things "American." Just the kind of show for Broadway playgoers to thumb their collective noses at, right?
Well, as anyone with any knowledge of Broadway musicals knows, the answer to this is a big fat WRONG. Hair ran for four years and 1,750 performances on the Great White Way, spawned an unheard-of simultaneous L.A. production which played two years on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, and had an additional eight productions across the U.S. all running at the same time as the show was selling out night after night on Broadway.
Cut to 2009, a full forty-one years later, and Hair is back on Broadway in a Tony-winning revival and (in the tradition of the original production) concurrently playing at the Chance Theater in Anaheim. With wonder-director Oanh Nguyen at the helm, it's no wonder at all that the Chance's revival is one of their best musicals ever, and I'd venture to guess, one that can rival (and perhaps even surpass) the original Broadway production in energy, excitement, originality, and performance. Even for Hair "non-fans" like myself, this is a thrilling, inspiring night of theater and one well worth a trek to the O.C.
Galt MacDermot's music and Gerome Ragni and James Rado's book are in awesome hands as performed by fifteen of Southern California's finest young musical theater talents and a sensational four-piece band* led by musical director Bill Strongin. Add to that one of the most spectacular Chance Theater lighting designs ever (by KC Wilkerson), Erika C. Miller's spot-on 60s hippie garb, Casey Holm's terrific sound design, and Christopher Murillo's great, grungy brick and corrugated steel set and this is a Hair that will rock the socks off baby boomers of the Hair generation and their children and (hard to believe) grandkids alike.
Hair unfolds as a series of nearly forty songs running the gamut of emotions and styles from the joy and optimism of "Aquarius" to the sad introspection of "Easy To Be Hard" to the sunny innocence of "Good Morning Starshine," each a production number in and of itself - strung together with a shoestring of a plot. In a nutshell, roommates Claude (James May), Berger (Armando Gutierrez), and Sheila (Michaelia Leigh) share a complex three-way friendship/love triangle complicated by a national draft that is likely to send one, if not both, of the men to Vietnam. That's it. Other major characters include Hud (David LaMarr), a proud representative of the 60s Black Is Beautiful movement; Jeanie (Emily Clark), a pretty blonde impregnated by "some crazy speed freak" and in love with Claude; Woof (Cody Clark), a self declared non-homosexual with a love thing for Mick Jagger; and Chrissy (Jenna Romano), a flower child hoping for a second chance meeting with "Frank Mills," who "lives in Brooklyn somewhere and wears this white crash helmet."
Easily the Chance's best musical since the equally imaginatively staged Assassins, Hair once again proves Nguyen to be one of Southern California's most gifted directors - whether staging an intimate drama like Rabbit Hole or a forty-scene musical like Hair. Nguyen makes sure that each and every one of Hair's dozens of musical numbers has its own unique style, incalculably abetted by Wilkerson's award-worthy lighting, a psychedelic blend of multi-colored lights and spinning lasers, hand-held electric candles, and in one particularly memorable moment, a rotating mirror ball filling the theater with dancing stars for "Good Morning Starshine." Kelly Todd's groovy choreography (could a 60s musical have any other kind?) lets each performer/character express his or her personality through dance.
The original Broadway cast had a then revolutionary multi-racial cast with fully one-third of the ensemble African American. The Chance being in the O.C., one of Nguyen's challenges was to find ways to stage numbers like "Black Boys" and "White Boys" with only three black performers in a cast of fifteen. In this, the ingenious director is largely successful. A gorgeous-voiced Amber J. Snead (who opens the show with a powerful "Aquarius") lead sings "White Boys," backed by Asian Leigh Louise Kato, Latina Alex Bueno, and White male Clark (he of the Mick Jagger crush). There being only two African American males in the cast, "Black Boys" lead singer Ashley Nordland must content herself with a photo while lucky backup singers Romano and Raleigh R. Bisbee get the real thing, LaMarr and Dez Rhoden. Filipino American Sean Cruz is featured in two very funny blackouts which make gentle light of the fact that the original Hair was Asian-free.
Nguyen's most striking and memorable directorial inspirations are the finales to the show's two acts. Yes, Act One does end with the famous/infamous 20-second-or-so nude sequence that became one of the show's biggest selling points, and yes it is so brief and artfully lit that to paraphrase Jack Benny's reaction to the original staging, you probably won't be able to notice if any of the boys are Jewish. But unlike most Hairs, the tribe doesn't undress under a scrim and then emerge in their birthday suits. How the nude scene has been restaged by Nguyen won't be revealed here except to say that it makes beautifully clear that for the tribe, nudity, protest, and freedom were inextricably linked. As for the Act Two ending, I'll simply credit Nguyen's brilliant imagination and the contributions of projection designer John MacDonald for a climax that hits like a punch to the gut (and one that could not have been staged in this way before 1982). If you want to know why the tribe were protesting, this Hair's final fade-out will leave no doubt in your mind.
Hair try-outs brought out the largest number ever of Chance Theater auditioners, ensuring that the cast would be composed of the very best young musical theater talent the O.C. has to offer, beginning with a stunningly dynamic star performance by Gutierrez. The young triple threat, whose comedic/dramatic turn as Eugene in Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues was one of the finest of 2007, seems liberated by Berger's shoulder length mane (a wig). He performs with unrestrained animal energy, commanding the stage with gender-crossing sex appeal. May brings a natural sweetness to the role of Claude, making him a perfect counterpoint to Gutierrez, and sings the emotional "Where Do I Go" to powerful effect. Leigh does excellent work in the largest female role, and gets to sing two of the show's best-known songs, "Easy To Be Hard" and "Good Morning Sunshine."
As he did in The Girl, The Grouch, and The Goat, David LaMarr steals every scene he's in. That his macho, badass Hud couldn't be more different from Girl Grouch Goat's flamboyant narrator is proof of the young actor's talent and versatility. "Colored Spade," "I'm Black," and "Yes, I's Finished On Y'alls Farmlands" are Hud/LaMarr highlights.
As pregnant Jeanie, Clark's combination of beauty and comedic chops makes her performance and her rendition of "Air" standouts. Clark's brother Cody is an endearing Woof, and gets to sing "Sodomy," which has more three-and-four-syllable sex terms in it than any song in memory. Kato is very funny as a gray-haired matron named Margaret Mead, who believes that people should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as they don't hurt anyone else, and says so in song, in "My Conviction." (Kato has the show's most gorgeous soprano.) Romano's rendition of "Frank Mills" is at once sweet, touching, and funny. The all-around sensational cast is completed by Michael Lopez as Hiram.
Though in many ways the once oh-so-contemporary Hair has become a period piece, the issues it raises remain as relevant as ever. One can't help wondering how much more politically involved 2009's American young would be if today's volunteer American army were made up instead of hundreds of thousands of draftees (many of them not particularly willing to go over and die in Vietnam). Hair reminds us of a time when simply being a young American man in his late teens or early twenties was a matter of life and death. The Chance's Hair is a joyous but ultimately thought-provoking look back at that time.
*Strongin (Bass), Alan Corcoran (Keyboard), Kyle Cahill (Guitar), Bryan Barton (Drums).
The Chance Theater, 5555 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. Through August 16. Fridays at 8:00, Saturdays at 3:00 and 8:00, Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00. Reservations: 714 777-3033 www.chancetheater.com
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THEATER REVIEW
'HAIR' at the Chance Theater
by Diep Tran, OC Weekly
July 20, 2009
[ Link to OC Weekly l Post your own review ]
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
In the middle of Act II of Hair, the "American Tribal Love-Rock Musical," a thought pops into my head: "This is what getting high must feel like." What spawned this revelation? Sitting there, I had only a vague notion of the storyline. In spite of this, I was more than happy to go where the musical was taking me, which was a psychedelic cornucopia of lights, music, dancing, and all manner of revelry that characterize human beings as social animals.
Presented currently at the Chance Theater in Anaheim, Hair is one of those rare pieces where a lack of coherent storyline is not only deliberate, it is revered. Yet what draws you in is not so much the characters, though they are all strangely three-dimensional despite the fact that the musical never gives too much emphasis on their backgrounds.
The story is about a tribe of long-haired, politically active hippies living in New York City in 1968. The focus is particularly on Berger, Sheila, and Claude. You can call it a love triangle but it's more of a menage-a-trois in the purest sense of the term. Unfortunately, Claude gets drafted to Vietnam and cannot decide if he wants to serve his country or compromise his pacifism. That's the central story, amid all the asides about hippie doctrines and societal commentaries.
Stand-out performances include Armando Gutierrez, who gives Berger a ferocious edge, and Emily Clark, who is eccentric yet beautifully fragile as Jeanie. Amber J. Snead also gives a stunning rendition of "Age of Aquarius." Yet it is the entire cast which are to be commended for keeping up an energetic performance for 2.5 hours through all of the interconnecting dance numbers.
The musical naturally lends itself to the intimate setting of the Chance Theater. It allows the actors to get close and to naturally pull the entire house into the tribe so that the night is something that everyone is sharing, cast, crew, and audience alike.
Yet Hair is not really about the individuals within it as it is about the ideas. It does not follow musical conventions such as a clear and linear storyline and hummable tunes. Instead, the songs are dissonant at times, a bit random at others, and there are no kick-lines.
Yet the messages behind them are what makes the musical work today and still be successful on and off-Broadway--besides songs such as "Age of Aquarius" and "Good Morning Starshine" that have seeped into pop culture. The musical contains criticisms of American society; from pollution, in the darkly hilarious "Air" to war. As one character curtly puts it, "The draft is white people sending black people to make war on the yellow people to defend the land they stole from the red people."
With a note on today's situation, it is also a criticism of society, one which puts more emphasis on material gain than the value of human life. Above all that, the musical celebrates humanity and all its beauties and follies. Coupled with the performances from the entire cast, Hair is one of the most memorable and electrifying musical productions in Orange County this year.
Just a slight warning, this is an adult musical with some nudity, language, and drug use so leave the kids at home.
HAIR AT CHANCE THEATER, 5552 E. LA PALMA AVE., ANAHEIM, (714) 777-3033. http://www.chancetheater.com/ FRIDAYS AT 8:00 P.M., SATURDAYS AT 3:00 P.M. AND 8:00 P.M., SUNDAYS AT 2:00 PM. AND 7:00 P.M. THROUGH AUG. 31.
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THEATER REVIEW
'HAIR'
by Shirle Gottlieb, Stage Happenings
July 21, 2009
[ Link to Stage Happenings l Post your own review ]
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
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), Woof (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 Starshine" 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.
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THEATER ARTICLE
'Hair' the musical comes to the Chance
Controversial story line to be played out on Anaheim Hills stage
by Jonathan Josephson, Anaheim Hills News
July 6, 2009
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
The Chance Theater has taken on what has long been deemed one of the most adventurous, controversial and bizarre of Broadway musicals - "Hair." The production will follow in a successful line of Chance musical revivals that include Evita, Assassins, and Sunday in the Park with George - a series of productions that the Chance was able to engage with and re-envision for our 49-seat space.
Our production of Hair will put you in the same room, and into the lives, of our intrepid band of free-moving adventurers, a group of people with a story that must be heard and that wants to inspire today's populace as much as it did over 40 years ago.
Hair tells the story of a band of free-moving hippies and their outlandish escapades, rants, acid-trips, and private dreams that embody a generation's reaction to one of the most unpopular military actions in the history of the world. Long censored and tagged "taboo" by mainstream America for its seeming support of drug use and free love... and, of course, nudity.
Was Broadway ready for this epic-love fest in 1968? Probably not. But the music, heart and spectacle of the show won over critics and audiences alike. The public probably wasn't ready either for the subsequent revivals of the musical in 1977, 2004, or, most recently, the production that just won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Frankly, I'm not sure that Broadway will ever be ready for Hair - and here's why:
Hair unapologetically expresses its unbridled passion for change with an audacity that has not been matched. Hair may have a story that is set in a time and a place and seem to be only about the reaction to a war, but it's really about the ability of people - artists, non-artists, thinkers, feelers, movers, shakers, and doers - to be free, to express themselves, to demand attention, and to make the hard decisions that lead to progress and change.
It is for these reasons (and many others) that this show is so enticing to us at the Chance. Our theatre company takes great pride in our ability to do any show (classic or world premiere, musical or drama) that moves us to emotional places and sets our inner fire ablaze. Hair also possesses some of the most intoxicating, inspiring, and beautiful music and best songs ever written for the musical theatre.
I dare you to see this show and stay in your seat throughout the final number; the epic "Let the Sunshine In." It won't happen. And that's why we can't wait for you to join the tribe, and come see Hair.
See you at the theatre.
The production runs from July 10 - Aug. 16 on Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. The theater is at 5552 E. La Palma Ave. Information: 714-777-3033 or www.chancetheater.com .
Jonathan Josephson is the Literary Director for The Chance Theater. He can be reached at jonathan@chancetheater.com.
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THEATER ARTICLE
Revival of the 1960's Hit Musical 'Hair' Opens in Orange County This Weekend
by Dolores and Dave Barr, OC180News.com
July 10, 2009
[ Link to OC180News.com l Post a review ]
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
The Chance Theater of Anaheim Hills opens a 5 week run of the 1960's hit musical Hair, The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. Although the Chance will kick off the production with a Gala Opening Night July 11, there are no seats available until next weekend. This show was considered so radical at the time it was first produced that it had to wait until censorship laws were revoked before it could be produced in London. If you don't remember the 1960's, Hair was the source for several top 40 hits, including "Aquarius", "Let the Sunshine In", "Hair", and "I Believe in Love".
According to Casey Long, Managing Director at the Chance, "We have some great voices on the show. We have some really talented singers/actors." The music will all be live, with a four piece group (keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums) providing the backup.
Not only will the cast be special, the Chance's production has something not available to earlier productions of Hair. The show had its Broadway openning in 1968, when the United States had 553,000 troops in Vietnam. It was when the US involvement in Vietnam peaked, the year of the "Tet Offensive", and the time of the phrase "It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it." As Hair was gaining acceptance and multiple national productions, the US was trying to find a way out of the Vietnam quagmire. This ultimately ended with the evacuation and fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
The Chance's production is directed by Oanh Nguyen, a survivor of the evacuation of Saigon as it was falling to the North Vietnamese forces. Nguyen, in addition to directing the show, is also the Artistic Director at the Chance. "As a Vietnamese-American that came to this country as part of the evacuation of Saigon in 1975, this time in American history is very personally important," says Nguyen. "Our production will focus on who these young people were and what they were so passionately fighting for. We want to go beyond nostalgia, and find the root and the engine of the work: the pride, loyalty and subversive nature that are inherently a part of the American spirit. It's easy to be patriotic when everyone agrees."
Long added "Nguyen has really brought something special to the show. He's really found a strong narrative and has put together a really awesome design team as well. The lighting goes from atmospheric to rock concert in the blink of an eye. I think our audiences are going to have a great time."
Please note, this show could very easily still be considered radical and may not be suited for everyone.
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THEATER REVIEW
'HAIR'
by Obed Medina, EDGE Publications
July 22, 2009
[ Link to EDGE Publications l Post your own review ]
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
From the moment the young, energetic and handsome cast of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is done with the opening number "Aquarius," at the Chance Theatre, the infectious tribal beats of Galt MacDermot's score has firmly rooted the direction of this sleek and timely revival of the very first rock musical.
It's been 41 years since the original Broadway cast staged their now infamous and much talked about nude "Be-In," and while at the time, its controversy was basis for censorship, its deeper message of (as stated by director Oanh Nguyen) "pride, loyalty and subversive nature that are inherently a part of the American spirit" remains as relevant today as it was back then.
For Nguyen, America's involvement in the Vietnam War is a part of history very personal to him. The Vietnamese-American director came to the U.S. as part of the evacuation of Saigon in 1975 and for that reason, the production of Hair relies less on nostalgia and, instead, focuses on "who these young people were and what they were so passionately fighting for."
While firmly rooted in the flower power era of the volatile and changing era of the late 1960s, under the very capable direction of Nguyen, the whole design, starting with Erika C. Miller's costumes that cleverly mixes some modern and vintage costumes, yet retaining an overall feel for the 60s; Christopher Scott Murillo's New York gritty street scene; and KC Wilkerson's psychedelic lighting design all work seamlessly to achieve the overall feel of a fresh, hip, and fun revival.
Hair's almost bookless (book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado) story revolves around a group of politically active hippies collectively known as The Tribe, led by the free spirited Berger (Armando Gutierrez).
Through a series of musical vignettes, a story unfolds in which Claude (James May), a member of the tribe, is torn between burning his draft card in protest of the war or actually going off to fight for his country.
In the meantime, Sheila (Michaelia Leigh), a student at NYU is in love with Berger and Jeanie (Jeanie), is in love with Claude, but carrying someone else's baby.
Woof (Cody Clark), self-proclaimed gardener, is hung up on Sheila and Berger. As a group, they aimlessly haunt New York's Central Park and other areas staging Be-Ins, taking illegal substances, protesting the war, and pay satiric tributes to the American Flag.
As a whole, the strength of this musical is in the catchy and diverse musical styles that sample a wide range of musical genres ranging from folk rock, rockabilly, rock and roll, R&B, acid rock, and pop music.
The cast of this production is so versatile and talented-vocally and kinetically, that they are able to fluidly weave in and out of the musical numbers revealing an almost awe-inspiring feat of choreography under Kelly Todd's supervision.
Notable in this production is David LaMarr as the militant African-American Hud. He was last seen along with Gutierrez in the Chance's production of The Girl, The Grouch, and the Goat, where he demonstrated his comedic timing. Here, LaMarr shines with attitude and full vocal cords (he wears two hats in this production as Vocal Captain, too.)
Gutierrez shows that he can be versatile, going from shy and awkward in Goat to sexually charismatic in this production. Leigh Louise Kato, Amber J. Snead, and Jenna Romano head a strong female cast as various members of the Tribe and other characters.
Hair just won a Tony for the Broadway revival earlier this year. It's just one of those shows that, when done properly, it is a definite crowd pleaser. If there is to be any fault in this production, it is that the space is too small to contain such a burst of energy and celebration.
Luckily, The Chance sees no limitations and carries on their mission of "exploration of intimate live theatre."
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is playing at the Chance Theater, 5552 East La Palma Avenue, Anaheim Hills through August 16. For tickets, please call 714-777-3033 or visit them online at www.chancetheater.com.
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THEATER REVIEW
'Hair' flows with hippie-era vibes in Anaheim Hills
Review: The Chance Theater's staging is colorful and vibrant
Selection from review by Eric Marchese, Orange County Register
July 22, 2009
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
"When Hair first opened, most of the kids in the Chance's production weren't even a gleam in someone's gleam. Still, director Oanh Nguyen's cast and crew get it right (er, that is, right on).
"As Claude, James May has a megawatt smile and a goofily disarming persona. Armando Gutierrez is eccentric and extroverted in the role of Claude's best buddy Berger, who expresses himself more vehemently, distancing himself from anything that impinges on his freedom.
"Berger interprets his girlfriend Sheila's love as nagging, and Michaelia Leigh's plaintive style in that role is effective. David LaMarr's Hud is crazily inspired, and Amber Snead, Emily Clark, Jenna Romano, Ashley Nordland and Leigh Louise Kato contribute mightily to the production's vocal tapestry.
"The title number 'Hair' is positively exuberant and 'Aquarius' is a lovefest of positive vibes. Leigh and Snead lead 'Let the Sun Shine In,' with its unforgettable verse and incantatory chorus, and 'Good Morning Starshine,' led by Leigh, is one of the show's most memorable songs.
"The Chance's talented ensemble seems genuinely joyful while showing off their considerable song-and-dance skills. Choreographer Kelly Todd's dance moves are loose, free and wonderfully extravagant. The offstage four-man combo led by musical director Bill Strongin is amazingly versatile, with a quintessentially sixties sound of amplified electric guitar, synthesizer and bass, while the nude scene at the end of Act One is handled tastefully, the cast glimpsed fleetingly against strong backlighting.
"Erika C. Miller's costumes feature vintage hippie fashions. Christopher Scott Murillo's set design uses metal steps, railings and platforms upon which the actors climb, pose and dance. KC Wilkerson's lighting design uses a wide spectrum of colors and is especially psychedelic during Claude's lengthy hallucination-dream.
"The net effect is a visual and aural feast of bodies, words, fashion, music and lights that surround and envelop us."
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THEATER REVIEW
'Hair'
Selection from review by Eric Marchese, Back Stage West
July 22, 2009
[ Link to Back Stage West l Post your own review ]
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
"Oanh Nguyen's staging leaves plenty of room for admiration. The 17-person ensemble is well-chosen for its musical skills: solid singing under music director Bill Strongin and era-evocative dancing in outstanding numbers created by choreographer Kelly Todd. The rock music we now take for granted was in 1967 something shockingly new, especially to the Broadway stage, and many of the score's songs-"Ain't Got No," "I'm Black," "Hair"-represent the culture clashes so prevalent in the '60s, while memorable numbers "Aquarius," "I Believe in Love," "Good Morning Starshine," and "Let the Sunshine In" bespeak the counterculture's (perhaps impossibly) high ideals.
"James May brings a winning smile and kooky charm to the role of Claude, the hippie so deeply conflicted about being drafted to fight in Vietnam. Armando Gutierrez's Berger, Claude's best buddy, is a free-spirited longhair who resents any encroachment upon his freedom. As Sheila, Michaelia Leigh injects her songs with strong, melodic vocal work, while Amber J. Snead and David LaMarr, with their powerful vocals, lead the roster of secondary characters who work strongly as a unit, having mastered lyrics that are often dazzling displays of wordplay. The four-man combo of Strongin (bass), Kyle Cahill (guitar), Alan Corcoran (keyboard), and Bryan Barton (drums) creates an amazing variety of sounds."
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THEATER REVIEW
'Hair'
by Joyce Rosenthal, Fullerton Observer
July 22, 2009
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Photo by Doug Catiller, True Image Studio |
Hair was the first rock musical. It ultimately became the symbol of the "hippy" era, a time when young people believed they could change the world with their new views of what life could and should be. The show, with music by Galt McDermott and book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado opened on Broadway in 1968. It had something to offend everyone i.e. nudity, profanity, sexuality, drug use, strong anti-war statements and oh---all those long haired boys!
It takes place during the time the United States was drafting young men to fight an unpopular war in Vietnam. The story follows a group of young people who call themselves the "Hinun Tribe." Berger, one of the leaders, is comfortable in his role as a rebel. He is not dismayed by his expulsion from school and is a willing participant in a draft-card burning.
Claude, the other leader, seems to fit in with the Tribe, but is a very conflicted character. He has long talks with his parents who are unhappy with his current life style and when he receives his draft notice he anguishes over whether to sign up for the draft or burn his card.
The Tribe includes Hud, a militant African-American; Woof, a gentle soul who loves both plants and Mick Jagger; Sheila, a political activist in love with Berger and Jeanie who was "knocked up by a crazy speed freak." The rest of the Tribe is a diversified, multi-ethnic group, they are prejudiced only against those adults who want them to give up their way of life and act more like their parents.
That was then and this is now. Today, there is nudity, profanity, sexuality etc. in movies and to a lesser degree on television so Hair is less shocking. However, it still has relevance and is a fun musical to watch and even take part in.
Director Oanh Nguyen has captured the original spirit of the play beautifully. The Set Design by Christopher Scott Murillo, Costume Design by Erika C. Miller and Lighting Design by KC Wilkerson all enhance the show. There is a large cast and all performed well. There were standout performances by James May (Claude), Armando Gutierrez (Berger), David LaMarr (Hud), Cody Clark (Woof), Emily Clark (Jeanie), Michaelia Leigh (Sheila), and Amber J. Snead (Dionne).
Hair plays at Chance Theater through August 16, 2009.
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THEATER REVIEW
'Hair' rocks Chance Theater with nostalgia
Selections from review by Jordan Young, OC Examiner
July 26, 2009
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"When a musical has little or no plot, as with Hair - currently playing in a zesty revival at the Chance Theater in Anaheim through August 16 - it depends heavily on the strength of its songs."
"It takes a magnetic personality such as David LaMarr (a hoot as the slave in the Chance's recent The Girl, the Grouch and The Goat) to tackle a dicey number like 'Colored Spade,' with its mockery of racial slurs, and put it across. Amber J. Snead sends the show into orbit with her dazzling rendition of 'Aquarius' at the outset."
"Four decades after it first opened on Broadway, the so-called 'American tribal love-rock musical' is clearly an exercise in nostalgia for many in the audience. It is to director Oanh Nguyen's credit that he makes the show a celebration of the '60s without treating it as a museum piece; he uses colorblind casting to poke fun at our preconceived ideas, and finds ironic humor in the practice itself."
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THEATER REVIEW
Hair in the O.C.: Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
Sassy cast draws sellout crowds in Anaheim
by Steven Leigh Morris, LA Weekly
GO!
August 12, 2009
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It's one thing to see Hair on Broadway, where it won this year's Tony Award for best revival of a musical. The first rock opera, Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot's snapshot of a fleeting social movement in the East Village showed up at New York Shakespeare Festival in the autumn of the 1967 and transferred to Broadway the following year. It's quite another thing to see it at the Chance Theatre, a small venue in Anaheim Hills, where the production's extended run is bringing the best box-office returns in the theater's 11-year history.
It makes sense on Broadway, even 41 years later, as an homage to a wondrously, impossibly idealistic affront to the prevailing family values of chastity until marriage, and unquestioning trust in the military and the ways it was being deployed in Vietnam. New York and San Francisco were always hubs of the antiwar movement, and here is a musical about a tribe of naturalist-pacifists barely out of their teens, the children of presumably affluent or at least financially comfortable parents, who, in a time of rare economic bounty for the United States, chose to live in the streets of the East Village and San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury; who believed that personal hygiene and shaving legs and arms were the overrated and pointless habits of their clueless parents. Of course this would play well on the coasts.
But everything this tribe mocks - professional dress codes, traditional morality, patriotism, and the treadmill of labor, consumption and raising a traditional family - were and remain cultural bedrocks in Orange County. One might imagine that the show is drawing the rowdies from nearby conservative Chapman College, but that wasn't in evidence the performance I attended. Though the actors appeared barely beyond childhood, the audience was very much a graying-haired, ponytailed crowd.
Among the reasons for the sellout crowds is the sheer, sassy exuberance of the 15-member ensemble. Audience participation was always part of this show's rite, particularly at the end, when patrons are invited to dance with the ensemble to the strains of "Let the Sunshine In." But as part of his sleek staging, with KC Wilkerson's lighting design of automated, roving beams, and with Kelly Todd's taut choreography, director Oanh Nguyen pulls out all the stops of actor-audience interaction, with performers dancing in the aisles and cavorting into the crowd throughout.
Another reason for the show's draw is the clarity and quality of the voices. When Amber J. Snead belts "when the moon is in the seventh house," from the opening number, "Aquarius," it's a clarion call, one that sets the tone for this production. As the stoic Crissy, Raleigh R. Bisbee conjures Joan Baez in "Frank Mills," Crissy's only song - and it leaves you aching for a reprise, or at least another Bisbee solo.
Finally, there are the larger reasons that this revival would speak to the O.C.: its depiction of unrequited love's pangs amidst a sexual revolution ("Easy to be Hard," beautifully rendered by Michaelia Leigh); and the drumbeat of the War in Vietnam, which here snags a bewildered soul named Claude (James May, looking very Aryan), who, after receiving his draft card, can't or won't flee to Canada.
Truisms about the War in Iraq are revealed by this Hair's reflections on the War in Vietnam: that the lack of an antiwar movement in the 21st century was directly related to the lack of a military draft (the pressures of which are depicted here), and a press wearing blindfolds (images of U.S. casualties and coffins in Iraq were banned). Compare also the expressed torment of LBJ and even Nixon over the quagmire of Vietnam with the deafness and hostility of the Bush-Cheney team to all criticism, even to the early rallying cry of hundreds of thousands of protesters in Washington at the outset of the War in Iraq.
But neither the complicity of the press nor the paternalistic despotism of the Bush administration could quell the slowly growing perception that the underlying, official reasons for the War in Iraq were as much a sham as the strategy for winning there. The underlying purpose for that war, and our previous wars in Nicaragua, Vietnam - and the reasons in the 19th century that we annexed huge chunks of Mexican territory, including California, with our troops armed and ready in Mexico City in case there was a problem - was to establish bases of commerce. This was no different from what the British, French and Dutch had done previously all over the world. We won the land-grab tug of war with Mexico unfair and square. No qualms of national conscience about that.
The only reason Vietnam has been so ridiculously characterized as the place we "lost our innocence" was, as in Iraq, we lost confidence that we could win there. That's the main reason both wars turned so unpopular. Nothing stifles reflection or qualms of conscience faster than a military victory.
This is why one of director Nguyen's closing images in Hair at the Chance is so wrenching. It's a scenic picture accented by John MacDonald's Projection Design in which Claude, blond locks pinned back, and dressed in full military regalia, stands at attention, with a name tag beamed with pinpoint accuracy onto his chest. Slowly, the image melts into a projected image that comes up behind him. In the blink of an eye, as the anthem "Let the Sunshine In" begins to swell, Claude is surrounded by names until he becomes a ghostly silhouette, at one with the black wall of the Vietnam War Memorial, with all those names of fallen soldiers from Orange County.
Nguyen's idea is an expansion on a similar image in Milos Foreman's 1979 film of Hair, in which the hippie tribe visits at Arlington National Cemetery the grave of their fallen friend. From there, "Let the Sunshine In" provides the segue to the antiwar March on Washington, a gathering of hundreds of thousands, as American flags and peace signs are hoisted side by side.
After his blistering War Memorial image, Nguyen follows the script and strains for that show-closing feel-good "sunshine" chorale with the audience dancing on the stage. But there is no March on Washington here, just a party on the heels of a very moving funeral. If it was meant to be like an Irish wake, it came too soon.
We're coming up on the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, a historic event where hippies from around the world gathered at a farm in upstate New York to listen, largely stoned, to their generation's best musicians, free of charge. It was an anomaly that defied human nature: Despite muddy, bracing physical conditions, the hippies lived up to their mantra of making love not war. An unprecedented tribe of 400,000 gathered for a rock festival at which not a punch or a stone was thrown. There was a common, if not communal, understanding that this event would defy commerce - and define a generation.
It was a moment as complex and fleeting as the hippies themselves, because somebody was watching, somebody who quickly understood that these baby boomers were a perfect target for marketing. Within a year, hippie chic was for sale in shopping centers across the country; with that, the hippie ethos became meaningless. In another year, it was out of fashion anyway, and we were on to punk. And now, tie-dye is back and all the rage.
That funeral near show's end is so moving, not just because it's for Claude, but because it's also for the quixotic idea that people with mere desire and a flower can stop the profit machine in its tracks. As we've seen recently, only the profit machine itself can accomplish that.
HAIR | Book and lyrics by GEROME RAGNI and JAMES RADO | Music by GALT MacDERMOT | Presented by CHANCE THEATER, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills | Through August 23 | (714) 777-3033
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THEATER ARTICLE
Celebrate Woodstock's 40th Anniversary with 'HAIR'
by Jonathan Josephson, Examiner
August 15, 2009
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Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first day of Woodstock - the seminal, three-day music festival that has long been considered one of the greatest, iconic arts events in American history; great because it brought together 32 of the most sought after musical acts in the country including Santana, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez and so many others, but iconic because of the down-and-dirty, semi-impromptu nature of the massive event that saw over 400,000 people overtake the small town of Bethel, New York.
But just a few years before, a different free free-loving, free-wheeling music event got its start in another part of New York - right smack in the middle of Manhattan at New York's Public Theatre. Conceived by then-actors James Rado and Gerome Ragni and inspired by the Hippie movement and the hatred of war and overseas conflict, one of the most beloved productions in the history of the art form - Hair, The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical was born.
What Woodstock was to pop music, Hair was to the American Theatre - a celebration of life, love, music as well as a passionate, unavoidable testament to the power of art to inspire, engage, and demand attention.
If the shear number of subsequent productions following the off-Broadway debut in 1967 and the vast number cast album sales hadn't already cemented the legacy of this emblematic show, the numerous Broadway revivals of Hair (including this year's Tony Award-winning production) clearly signifies that the ideals, the attitudes, and most importantly, the sound of that time and place are still as resonant to Americans today as they were forty years ago.
While there were many productions of Hair in recent years that coincided with various anniversaries of the musical, there are only productions two running now that fall in line with the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock. Locally, Orange County's own Chance Theater is in the sixth week of an extended seven-week run which ends next weekend, August 23.
The production is directed by Chance Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen who says "Our production will focus on who these young people were and what they were so passionately fighting for. We want to go beyond nostalgia, and find the root and the engine of the work: the pride, loyalty and subversive nature that are inherently a part of the American spirit. It's easy to be patriotic when everyone agrees."
With all of the retrospectives, feature films, and radio shows reliving the golden days of Woodstock, it's a great time give that Sha-Na-Na album a listen, check out Hair, and in all ways - get groovy.
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PATRON REVIEWS
Far surpassed a casual day at the theater.
It was a Be-In event!
posted by Jim Carleton on 7/28/09
Last Sunday afternoon we thoroughly enjoyed another golden experience at The Chance, this time coming forward as "Hair", one of a very few musicals I'd never seen in live performance till this day.and what a day!!!
Finding our way to our favorite vantage point in front row seats, we were warned that we might become "involved" in the production, as the cast has a way of getting "up close and personal" with the audience.
From the opening number to the finale, the singers and musicians kept a fast pace! Musically, the entire score was rendered superbly with some more-than-excellent type-casting of typical urban hippies from the 60's (Ah, such callback to memories of those treasured times!)
The trio of lead cast members surpassed any expectations we held of this musical, with the style, temperament, and rock-solid singing AND dancing we've become accustomed to expect in The Chance productions! All held such passion and "right-on" note-by-note expressions of the superb score that we were ecstatic to have waited so long to see this musical that was so controversial in its time. The Chance troupe seemed extraordinary and immensely focused as they brought "Hair" to life right in front of us.
Exciting, fun-filled, and tremendously enheartening from start to finish, our experience with "Hair" far surpassed a casual day at the theater. It was a Be-In event!
The Chance continues to set the bar high high high in Orange County.
posted by Wayne Lemon on 7/27/09
My appreciation for musical theater begins with Sweeney Todd and ends with Assassins so to say I was mesmerized by the Chance Theater's production of Hair is high praise indeed. Impeccably directed by Oanh Nguyen, an amazing cast, brilliant choreography by Kelly Todd and lighting by K.C. "The Myth, the Man, the Legend" Wilkerson and a tight quartet led by Bill Strongin--what's not to like? The Chance continues to set the bar high high high in Orange County.
GO SEE IT!!!
posted by Carol on 7/27/09
I am a 60's era Grandma and saw HAIR this evening...it was FABULOUS...I last saw it at the Aquarius theater in Hollywood in the late 60's....what a treat to see such a wonderful production 40 years later....everyone GO SEE IT!!!
We were blown away!
posted by Valerie Randall on 7/26/09
What all the critics said and more...we've been proud attendees to the Chance for several years now and while we are rarely, if ever, disappointed, this time we were blown away! Beginning with the powerful opening and finishing with the chilling finale, each moment was electric. We are so grateful to have a theater troupe of your caliber in our backyard and continue to be impressed by the quality of your productions. I've told all my friends they shouldn't miss this one and I hope to see it again! I see by the many sold out performances the word has spread. Bravo!
A journey that will truly touch your soul
posted by Robert on 7/26/09
In a show both heartwrenching, beautiful, and unafraid of its raw nature, the Chance Theater has taken us on a journey that will truly touch your soul.
I have never enjoyed a stage performance more
posted by Gail Shendelman on 7/26/09
I have never enjoyed a stage performance more - my cheeks actually hurt from smiling so broadly for such a long period of time! The energy in the room was palpable - the room literally vibrated with the joy and sheer pleasure of the cast. I loved it!!!
Definitely a Broadway quality show
posted by Fran Carlson on 7/19/09
With the opening song I got goose bumps down my back and tears flowed down my cheeks. It was mesmerizing. Everyone in the show had fantastic talent. It was very moving, full of fun, and tears again for me with it's very strong and emotional ending. It was definitely a Broadway quality show in this theater, and every seat is a great one. This show will stay in your mind long after you go home, it has for me. Bravo!
This was the best night of theater I can remember
posted by Dr. Allen Golbert on 7/19/09
This production is AMAZING. It is total energy and fun.....thanks to an incredibly talented cast.
This was the best night of theater I can remember. Don't miss it!
The individual and group performances are all excellent!
posted by Steven Harvey Hirsch on 7/19/09
From the opening guitar notes and Amber Snead's very powerful scene-setting AQUARIUS through the chilling visual of an ending staged stunningly by Oanh Nguyen, this local tribe of counterparts to the members of the group pulling down awards back on Broadway has no reason to feel second best. The individual and group performances regardless of whether singing, dancing or acting, are all excellent.
Special thanks to Armando Gutierrez for bringing back a ton of memories to a Berger of 34 years past and for sharing an impromptu duet at the closing, and to Amber for everything.
Start to finish, this production is a winner!
posted by Christopher Stone on 7/18/09
I'm glad I took a chance on this theater. So much talent in such a little theater. I've attended productions of "Hair" since its first West Coast incarnation at the Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood.
Start to finish, this production is a winner. The cast is appealing in so many ways. Armando Guiterez's Berger has star quality - and then some, lighting up the stage with strong vocals, athletic dancing and his smooth thinly muscled physique.
Amber J. Snead was born to sing "Aquarius" and play Abraham Lincoln. I'd love to spend a evening getting to know the whole tribe.
My niece was so moved by the piece that she was too emotional to get up and dance with the cast after the performance.
This was an 80-mile round trip for my party of six, and worth every mile.
Buy your "Hair" tickets right now. Don't chance missing this splendid production.
A show that we will never forget
posted by Howard on 7/18/09
A show that we will never forget. Great performances by all!!!
One of my all-time favorite things I've seen this year!
posted by Tara on 7/17/09
OH my gosh...excellent show...laughed, cried, sang, clapped...i want to see it over and over again... such a great performance... one of my all time favorite things i've seen this year!
A bonafide hit!
posted by Michael M. Landman-Karny on 7/13/09
A cohesive directorial vision drives this young and talented cast to musical theater nirvana. Sets, lighting and musical direction are all first rate. This production merits an "A" on all fronts!
Go see Hair!
posted by Brooke on 7/11/09
I like the dancing, the jokes with the asian and that Armando kid isn't bad either. But really this show is a must, the talent is impeccable and (as always) Oanh Nguyen's direction is amazing. Kelly rips it up with choreography as well.
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