‘Hair’

Rider University is staging Hair through Nov. 19.

By:Stuart Duncan
   Hair had a peripatetic beginning when it opened in New York in late October 1967 — first 49 performances at the Public Theater off-Broadway, then 45 additional performances at Cheetah, a Greenwich Village night club. At this point the production had no nudity, but did have a plot, though it was a thin one.
   From there director Michael O’Horgan took over for a Broadway mounting, replacing Gerald Freedman. O’Horgan pared the plot to non-existence, added new songs, comments and anything else that seemed as if it might fit — pollution, sex, drugs, military service and religion were considered and accepted. There seemed to be only two valid questions: would there really be nudity, and would the public pay $12 for a ticket?
   Hair opened April 29, 1968, to decidedly mixed reviews. Several critics objected to the desecration of the American flag and called the production "vulgar, dirty, offensive and juvenile backyard fence graffiti." Others hailed it as "fresh and frank." Audiences were also divided, mainly by age. Older patrons walked out at intermission or sooner. At first O’Horgan had actors dressed as policemen lurking in the side aisles, apparently ready to shut the show down, then abandoned the idea. Gerome Ragni and James Rado, who had written the piece, began experimenting with new material. The producer had them banned from the theater and replaced them in their on-stage roles. The show ran 1,750 performances.
   It takes an exceptionally ambitious group to stage Hair, so the work is mostly left as a legend. But in 1991, Rider College (not yet a university) produced a fine revival. Rider director Pat Chmel has revisited the work and the strong theater scholarship program at the school has kicked in — there’s talent available at every level by actors, dancers and singers. The result is the best college production in at least 15 years (there is an Equus at Theatre Intime at Princeton University lurking somewhere in my fading memory as the only challenger).
   From the very first strains of "The Age of Aquarius," with a stage full of undulating forms, we are vaulted back to the days of flower children, Haight-Ashbury, pot and a growing awareness of a quagmire in Vietnam. The company is huge — 30 — and they come down ropes, down the aisles, from every direction, singing the more than 30 tunes, plus reprises, angry, passionate, sometimes rueful. They sing about love and war, hashish and sodomy, God and man.
   You undoubtedly will have your own favorites and they might be different than mine. In truth, there is so much young talent it is almost a crime to pick out a few. But Eddie Egan as Berger is a standout; so too is the super talented Kim Hausler. Danny Lane’s performance as Claude is the type that haunts you for weeks. Cristina Farruggia in "the tribe" has a voice that thrills. Rachel Messler sings "Frank Mills" so beautifully you will remember that a long time too. Vince DiMura leads a band of four from the keyboard superbly.
   But that only scratches the surface — it happens over and over and at the final curtain when "the sun shines in," a huge, roaring, greatly deserved standing ovation.
Hair continues at Yvonne Theater, Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrence, through Nov. 19. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10, $5 faculty/staff/students. For information, call (609) 896-5303.