Tonight, prepare to let your hair down.
At 7:30 p.m. in Vilas’ Mitchell Theatre, University Theatre will open its three-week run of the musical “Hair.”
“Hair” first opened on Broadway in 1968 as a result of the hippie culture, Vietnam and the emerging sexual revolution. It is the story of a group of politically active hippies fighting the constraints of the current society. Claude (Andy Talen), his friend Berger (Eddie Grey) and their roommate Sheila (Katie Olsen) struggle throughout the show to balance youth, personal beliefs and the surrounding culture.
When the show first opened, it brought to the forefront just some of the issues the American youth were dealing with. The original Broadway show opened in the midst of conflict, beginning only two weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. It also fought the stereotypes of the traditional theatre of the time by denying traditionally trained musical theatre actors in the first run of the show. The majority of the performers were found on the subway or street and were, as original cast member and composer James Rado stated in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” “naturally talented.” The cast was also one of the first on Broadway to be racially integrated. There were parts specifically for black actors and even songs geared for them, like the “White Boys/Black Boys” montage.
“Hair” was one of the first rock musicals of the time. Many of the songs featured in “Hair” are still admired today, like “Aquarius” and “Let the Sun Shine In,” which many may know from the end of “The 40 Year Old Virgin.”
“Hair” has also recently opened as a revival on Broadway for the 40th anniversary of its Broadway debut. This was also part of the reasoning for University Theatre choosing this for their 2008-09 season.
Another reason for the choice was the opportunity to have University of Wisconsin alum and original cast member of “Hair,” Andr? DeShields, direct the show. He had to pass on this opportunity because he was cast in the Broadway show “Impressionism” alongside Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen. As a result, Stephen Rothman, professor of Theatre Arts and Dance at California State University Los Angeles, was brought in to direct.
But the main reason for choosing to perform the show was the nature of University Theater’s repertoire of actors.
“The play selection committee felt that this was a terrific choice?for our undergraduate population to perform in,” general manager Michele Traband said. “The characters are almost all 18- to 22-year-olds, (which is) exactly the age of many college students. It is the type of show that supports a large cast, and we have many talented undergraduates at UW performing in the show.”
Not only was this show a unique experience the first time it came to the stage 40 years ago, but it was also an exceptional opportunity this time around.
“Working on a show like this has been an eye-opening experience for the whole cast,” freshman Nick Barsuli said of the experience. “Obviously, none of us were alive during the late ’60s, and we’ve all kind of grown up in a world where things are kind of taken for granted.
Personally, I’ve never even thought of being drafted into the army. However, this show is very much about that — the fear of being drafted at any time. It’s really fulfilling to know that you’re representing people like your grandparents or even your parents during those rough years.”
Today, while the specific topics in the musical, like Vietnam, may not be directly relatable to the lives of UW-Madison students, the ideas that stem from it — like a controversial war — are subjects we can all relate to. It also gives students the chance to better understand what earlier generations dealt with.
“Hair” opens tonight with a sold-out performance and will be running until May 2 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with two Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $14 with a valid UW student ID and $20 for community members.