Head Out to See "Hair"

Wild and crazy hair, love beads and even nudity are some of the1960s emblems that identify the spirited, irreverent musical "HAIR." But the current production, which opened on Broadway in 2008 and won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award, is no fossil from an earlier era. Time magazine said, "Today, 'HAIR' seems, if anything, more daring than ever."

When the original production opened on Broadway in 1968, "HAIR" turned the typical musical on its head. It was the first "rock musical," featuring songs more akin to rock 'n roll than traditional Broadway. And "HAIR's" themes weren't frothy. Political issues such as the Vietnam War, the draft and even drugs are its subjects. The show was such a departure, it made many people uncomfortable. Others, however, caught on that they were witnessing a momentous shift and the birth of a new, more plugged-in genre. Clive Barnes, the NY Times critic at the time, was one of the latter. He wrote in 1968, when "Hair" opened, “The show is the first Broadway musical in some time to have the authentic voice of today rather than the day before yesterday.” Several of its songs, by Galt McDermot, ("Let the Sun Shine In," "Aquarius," "Hair" and "Good Morning Starshine,") became Top 40 hits and are familiar to many generations.

Catch this buoyant award-winning production on tour, when it stops by New Haven's Shubert Theater on October 22-24. Tickets are $15-$71. Young -- and old -- will want to see this mold- breaker. For more information, visit the Shubert's website.

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