It's been two weeks since I last posted. We just opened our third week tonight to a terrific audience! In fact, almost every audience has been terrific. People are overwhelmed and thrilled by this show every night. It's so wonderful to be back inside this experience after eight years.
After the show tonight, after the audience had come onto the stage to dance with us, one voice rose above the crowd, an audience member, who called out to the rest of us, "Don't let this happen again! Vote Obama!" And the audience and cast cheered. And I thought to myself, yep, this is why we're doing Hair again. I can't imagine a show being more relevant right now.
And not only do audiences love it; the reviewers do too...
Judith Newmark wrote in The St. Louis Post Dispatch, “This is New Line’s third production of Hair in less than ten years, and you know why from the moment you smell the incense. Director Scott Miller has a wonderful feeling for this material; his production delivers the hippie world with sensual precision. It comes through in the exotic aroma, in the eye-popping set designed by Todd Schaefer, in the era-exact costumes by Thom Crain and the dreamy sound of Chris Petersen’s six-man rock band. Most of all, it comes through in the cast, an ensemble known as the Tribe.”
Andrea Braun wrote in PlaybackSTL, “Hair at New Line Theatre is unexpectedly, beautifully, joyfully, mournfully, tragically relevant again. Gerome Ragni and James Rado have turned out to be poet-prophets and their book and lyrics are given life by Galt MacDermot's eclectic rock score. . . I'm happy that New Line chose to produce Hair because I'd never seen it live; I am sorry that it can't just be a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the show but that it still has so much relevance. See it to celebrate, to mourn, and finally to celebrate again for there is hope and light and no matter how hard ‘they’ try, they cannot ‘end this beauty’.”
Chris Gibson said on KDHX-FM, “Scott Miller knows this material well, and his skilled direction keeps the action flowing and the actors focused. The tribe is well cast, and seem completely comfortable with one another. And they make a marvelous sound harmonizing together on this catchy score. Thom Crain's costumes add a nice air of authenticity. Chris Peterson's work on piano and conducting the small ensemble is impeccable. The band provides a solid pulse to this electrified revival meeting.”
Richard Green wrote on TalkinBroadway.com, “Much smoke is blown, and much adolescent naughtiness is waved like a banner. But just to see the glowing idealism on the faces of fine actors like Khnemu Menu-Ra, Aaron Lawson and others is somehow astonishing in this age of bitter disappointment and gloom, and to hear the folksy and dramatic songs of Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot raised so beautifully is a great pleasure. . . . For the generation of psychedelic awakening and sexual revolution, this lock of Hair is a sentimental touchstone and a heart-warming bit of modern Americana.”
What more can I say?
I also have to mention this -- tonight was Ryan's birthday (who plays Sheila) and she brought love beads for the whole tribe, and each of us got a necklace with beads that spelled out our tribe name. Very cool. Thanks, Ryan! After the love bead bracelets that T. Love made for all of us before we opened, there's a lot of love spreadin' around...
On with the Groovy Revolution!
Kerouac
My Conviction
A couple years ago I got an email from a woman named Pola Rappaport, who said she was making a documentary about Hair. She had read my book, Let the Sun Shine In: The Genius of HAIR. Long story short, she and her partner Wolfgang Held, flew to St. Louis to interview me for this film.
Flash forward a couple years. I finally get a copy of the film on DVD from Pola just in time to show the tribe early in the rehearsal process, and it was soooo helpful for them to see what we were aiming at, what the finished product looked like, what the motivations behind it were, what the original production was like, all that stuff. It gave them a head start in understanding this wild show that the earlier Osage tribes did not have.
And yes, it was cool showing them this documentary about this history-making, theatre-redefining show, when every 20 minutes or so, my face would appear on screen. I'll admit it. It was fun.
Today, I get an email that the film (first released in Europe) is finally available in the U.S., from Alive Mind Media. I highly recommend this film. It has quite a lot of archival performance footage, interviews with a lot of the people involved with the original, and it does an amazing job of placing the show in its historical, political, and social context (which was mostly my role).
Kinda cool...
And while I'm blogging, I'll add this tidbit. I just talked with Metrotix and couldn't believe what they told me. A normal show for us sells 100-150 tickets for the run before we open. Our previous pre-sale record was Urinetown, which sold about 220 seats before we opened. But this production of Hair has already sold 386! This first weekend is still pretty light, but we hope for a lot of walk-up. I'll say it again -- get your tickets early!
On with the Groovy Revolution!
Kerouac
Flash forward a couple years. I finally get a copy of the film on DVD from Pola just in time to show the tribe early in the rehearsal process, and it was soooo helpful for them to see what we were aiming at, what the finished product looked like, what the motivations behind it were, what the original production was like, all that stuff. It gave them a head start in understanding this wild show that the earlier Osage tribes did not have.
And yes, it was cool showing them this documentary about this history-making, theatre-redefining show, when every 20 minutes or so, my face would appear on screen. I'll admit it. It was fun.
Today, I get an email that the film (first released in Europe) is finally available in the U.S., from Alive Mind Media. I highly recommend this film. It has quite a lot of archival performance footage, interviews with a lot of the people involved with the original, and it does an amazing job of placing the show in its historical, political, and social context (which was mostly my role).
Kinda cool...
And while I'm blogging, I'll add this tidbit. I just talked with Metrotix and couldn't believe what they told me. A normal show for us sells 100-150 tickets for the run before we open. Our previous pre-sale record was Urinetown, which sold about 220 seats before we opened. But this production of Hair has already sold 386! This first weekend is still pretty light, but we hope for a lot of walk-up. I'll say it again -- get your tickets early!
On with the Groovy Revolution!
Kerouac
Tune In
As with every show, this is the busiest time for me. Saturday, we had our all-day cue-to-cue rehearsal, where we slowly move from one lighting cue to the next. It went very smoothly -- but it usually does with our awesome resident lighting designer Ken Zinkl...
Then Sunday, we had our "sitzprobe" rehearsal, the first time the cast sings with the band. That's usually the hardest rehearsal (by far) on me personally. I have to teach the band all the little nuances and subtleties that we've brought to the score over the last two months -- and I have to do it with the entire score in about four hours. And there are, like, forty songs in this crazy show! It's grueling for me. But again, this time it went pretty smoothly. Our band sounds amazing -- wait till you hear them!
This is also the time during which I have to get all the last-minute details done -- getting change for the box office, picking up the programs from the printer, printing (at Kinko's) copies of my analysis chapter for the lobby, picking up tickets, and lots more. All those things nobody even notices that I do to get a show open... And for this show, I also have to go pick up live daisies every Weds. of the run, for the Tribe to give to the audience as they enter the house. Meanwhile, Ann (house manager) and Vicki (box office manager) are both preparing things as well.
Last night was the first time we ran the whole show with lights, costumes, props, the band, microphones, and everything else. This can be hard on the actors, after so long working in rehearsal without all those distractions. But this cast was ready for it, and last night went really well. I had lots of nitpicky notes for them afterward, but there were really no big problems. So tonight and tomorrow night, it's just about me fine-tuning what I can and then turning it over to the theatre gods. We preview Thursday, and then open Friday. I can't wait!
Also last night we had our first Tribal Council. Our old box office manager Steve, who passed away a few years ago, gave me an Indian talking stick the last time we did Hair. (The idea is that at a council, only the person holding the talking stick is allowed to talk.)
This show is unlike any other show in about forty different ways. But one of those ways is our pre-show rituals, which we started last night. We warm up vocally, then we have the ceremonial Folding of the Tarp (this big stage covering we use at the end of Act I), we do our "Salute the Sun" ritual, then we sit down in a big circle and have a Tribal Council. Each night, one of the Tribe gets to talk, and says whatever they want, about the show, about themselves, about this experience, whatever...
It wasn't until last week, when I really got to see the show up and running, that I was reminded just how unusual this show is. I've gotten so used to Hair over time that I forget how weird it is, and what a wild experience it is for audiences. Nothing about it functions like a regular musical. Or even a regular piece of theatre. It really is its own thing. Come see for yourself -- but get your tickets early!
Lots to do, but I had to check in with my blogosphere buddies...
On with the Groovy Revolution!
Kerouac
Then Sunday, we had our "sitzprobe" rehearsal, the first time the cast sings with the band. That's usually the hardest rehearsal (by far) on me personally. I have to teach the band all the little nuances and subtleties that we've brought to the score over the last two months -- and I have to do it with the entire score in about four hours. And there are, like, forty songs in this crazy show! It's grueling for me. But again, this time it went pretty smoothly. Our band sounds amazing -- wait till you hear them!
This is also the time during which I have to get all the last-minute details done -- getting change for the box office, picking up the programs from the printer, printing (at Kinko's) copies of my analysis chapter for the lobby, picking up tickets, and lots more. All those things nobody even notices that I do to get a show open... And for this show, I also have to go pick up live daisies every Weds. of the run, for the Tribe to give to the audience as they enter the house. Meanwhile, Ann (house manager) and Vicki (box office manager) are both preparing things as well.
Last night was the first time we ran the whole show with lights, costumes, props, the band, microphones, and everything else. This can be hard on the actors, after so long working in rehearsal without all those distractions. But this cast was ready for it, and last night went really well. I had lots of nitpicky notes for them afterward, but there were really no big problems. So tonight and tomorrow night, it's just about me fine-tuning what I can and then turning it over to the theatre gods. We preview Thursday, and then open Friday. I can't wait!
Also last night we had our first Tribal Council. Our old box office manager Steve, who passed away a few years ago, gave me an Indian talking stick the last time we did Hair. (The idea is that at a council, only the person holding the talking stick is allowed to talk.)
This show is unlike any other show in about forty different ways. But one of those ways is our pre-show rituals, which we started last night. We warm up vocally, then we have the ceremonial Folding of the Tarp (this big stage covering we use at the end of Act I), we do our "Salute the Sun" ritual, then we sit down in a big circle and have a Tribal Council. Each night, one of the Tribe gets to talk, and says whatever they want, about the show, about themselves, about this experience, whatever...
It wasn't until last week, when I really got to see the show up and running, that I was reminded just how unusual this show is. I've gotten so used to Hair over time that I forget how weird it is, and what a wild experience it is for audiences. Nothing about it functions like a regular musical. Or even a regular piece of theatre. It really is its own thing. Come see for yourself -- but get your tickets early!
Lots to do, but I had to check in with my blogosphere buddies...
On with the Groovy Revolution!
Kerouac
I Got Life
It's funny. I read the other blogs from my fellow Osage Tribe members, and quite a few of them are talking about how weird it is that they find themselves in Hair at exactly the moment when they're going through major life transitions. Well, I join the ranks of the confused, seeking, and transitional.
But I know it's no coincidence that we're all doing Hair together at this moment in this place, a show that opens up our mystical third eye and reminds us that the rules we're all used to aren't necessarily the best rules to live by, that there is far more to life and living than most people may ever know. And the hardest and scariest thing of all is finding out who you really are deep, deep down, where most people will never look.
I'm going through some rough times these days, and not just because bad things have happened to me, but because my eyes are being opened -- again, bigger, wider -- and while I recognize that this is healthy for me in the long run, it's difficult and scary in the short run. It's tough really facing yourself naked and bullshit-free, and I can't help but think about that scene in "The Empire Strikes Back," when Luke goes into the tunnel on Dagobah, thinking he's battling Vader, but when he takes the helmet off, it's Luke! Yep, that's where I am right now. Wishing I had left the helmet on.
Rebirth always sounds like a good thing, but it's as painful as being born the first time, just in a different way -- this time the pain is all on the inside. But that doesn't make it any less traumatic.
I'm hoping Hair will heal me. It's done it for me before. This wasn't just a good time to do Hair politically; it also turns out to be a good time for me personally -- and apparently, for a bunch of others in our tribe. After all, "walking in space, we find the purpose of peace."
Amen, brother.
On with the Groovy Revolution!
Kerouac
But I know it's no coincidence that we're all doing Hair together at this moment in this place, a show that opens up our mystical third eye and reminds us that the rules we're all used to aren't necessarily the best rules to live by, that there is far more to life and living than most people may ever know. And the hardest and scariest thing of all is finding out who you really are deep, deep down, where most people will never look.
I'm going through some rough times these days, and not just because bad things have happened to me, but because my eyes are being opened -- again, bigger, wider -- and while I recognize that this is healthy for me in the long run, it's difficult and scary in the short run. It's tough really facing yourself naked and bullshit-free, and I can't help but think about that scene in "The Empire Strikes Back," when Luke goes into the tunnel on Dagobah, thinking he's battling Vader, but when he takes the helmet off, it's Luke! Yep, that's where I am right now. Wishing I had left the helmet on.
Rebirth always sounds like a good thing, but it's as painful as being born the first time, just in a different way -- this time the pain is all on the inside. But that doesn't make it any less traumatic.
I'm hoping Hair will heal me. It's done it for me before. This wasn't just a good time to do Hair politically; it also turns out to be a good time for me personally -- and apparently, for a bunch of others in our tribe. After all, "walking in space, we find the purpose of peace."
Amen, brother.
On with the Groovy Revolution!
Kerouac
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