{"id":456,"date":"2009-04-06T09:21:55","date_gmt":"2009-04-06T13:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=456"},"modified":"2011-10-10T23:50:39","modified_gmt":"2011-10-11T03:50:39","slug":"hair-the-early-morning-singing-song-still-sings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=456","title":{"rendered":"HAIR: The Early Morning Singing Song Still Sings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forty years later, Hair <\/em>is still letting the sunshine in. \u00a0Anyone involved and\/or educated in musical theater writing will tell you that on a structural level, Hair<\/em> is seemingly a disaster. \u00a0If it were pitched today, its inherent riskiness would appear imminent to a producer. \u00a0There’s relatively no script and the lyrics are largely incomprehensible. \u00a0The music in-and-of-itself is the only aspect of the show that can entirely stand alone. \u00a0But the reality is that the script and lyrics DO work, and particularly well with the score. \u00a0In fact, Hair<\/em>, as a whole can be beautifully executed. \u00a0It creates an environment that is contagious to the multi-generational audience, and leaves them laughing, crying, and fulfilled. \u00a0<\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to music direct a version of Hair<\/em> last summer in Asbury Park, New Jersey (I will be music directing The Full Monty <\/em>there this summer). \u00a0It finally became clear to my why this show works: there is great a similarity between the rehearsal process (as always, invigorating but difficult and painful) and what you ultimately see on stage. \u00a0The sex, drugs, and rock and roll mantra of Hair<\/em> does not differ terribly much from the lives of many of the actors involved. \u00a0The characters in the show, who are ecstatic at times, but also unstable and unsure of their anxious lives, parallel the lives of all actors (and most people in general). \u00a0\u00a0What you get is a wild display of the human condition: concurrently joyous and sad, triumphant and tragic, thoughtful and flawed. \u00a0Add a rockin’ score, nudity, and the Draft, and you’re in for a night that everyone can relate to.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luckily, the phenomenal “happening” that was Hair<\/em> this summer in Central Park has transferred in all of its greatness to Broadway. \u00a0If shows with the ingenuity and power of Hair <\/em>continue to be written and produced today, we can hope for a true dawning of the Age of Aquarius for the musical theater.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andrew Hertz is a composer\/lyricist, music director, and professor of musical theater.
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