Review: Hair

FILE

SEEING Hair in the 21st century's second decade is like something you grew up with featuring on the Antiques Road Show - it's positively vintage.

Put another way, Hair isn't one of musical theatre's timeless shows, it's cemented into the '60s.

It's doubtful any of those associated with Rotorua Musical Theatre's production were around when it was hip to be a long-haired or Afro'd hippy, living the Age of Aquarius in a psychedelic haze of psychoactive substances.

Regardless, they've done a first class job of replicating the tribal love rock musical that shocked the establishment, but then Hair always was intended to be as provocative as the era it portrays.

The Rotorua Musical Theatre's 2014 version does itself proud.

Director Richard Marshall chose his cast carefully and well.

Seasoned man of local theatre, Alasdair Hay, was exactly the right pick to play male lead Claude, who turns his back on the draft-dodging tribe, predictably to add to the Vietnam war's grim body count.

The Kama Sutra must have received intensive study to produce the simulated sex moves, but to those planning to see the show to slaver over its famed nude scene, forget it - it's so brief, some audience members wondered if they'd missed it.

Maybe musical director Sherlie Dingwall might suggest her unseen band knock the decibels down a notch or two.

At times they did tend to drown out the lyrics.

But that's a minor fault in a production which, to borrow words from the flower power generation, is "groovy" . . . "a gas".

REVIEW
What - Hair
Where - Casa Blanca Theatre, Riri Street
When - May 16 - May 31