Tonight is the opening night of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. Directed by Amy Seham, the show starts at 8:00 p.m. in Anderson Theater. Hair is considered the musical of the flower power.
“I would consider myself a bit of a hippie,” Sophomore Allison Hosman, who plays the role of Sheila in Hair, said.
Hosman, along with the rest of Seman’s cast of flower-children and political radicals who affectionately call themselves “The Tribe,” have been rehearsing the rock musical since the beginning of January.
First-year Sam Keillor plays Claude, a member of a tribe of hippies living in New York City during the Vietnam War. Claude is drafted and must decide whether to join the military or join his friends in resisting the draft. Throughout the course of the show the Tribe explores themes of war, sexuality, race, and nonconformity.
“When we say ‘hippie’ it usually comes with a grain of salt. It’s got negative connotations as someone who is a flower child that goes around flashing peace signs and smokes a lot of weed. I would say the smoking weed part’s definitely true. But instead of trying to ‘get trippy’ it’s trying to understand something better and in a different light, and we reference that a lot in the show,” Keillor said.
Historically, Hair’s profanity, depictions of drug use, sexual themes, and nudity have caused controversy. Keillor recounted his relative’s reaction when learning that he had been cast in a leading role.
“After Christmas in Christ Chapel, I went out to eat with my great aunt, and the first thing she asked was, ‘How much clothing are you going to take off?’ I just said, ‘I assume that I’ll probably be in my underwear at least’—which she was shocked by. But then she said, ‘Oh, so you’re not really doing Hair.’”
Her response surprised Keillor.
As soon as the musical Hair is mentioned, many people automatically picture a hoard of naked hippies dancing around stage for two hours. However, that image is far from the truth. In fact, the show features over 200 costume pieces deigned by Senior Jessica Van Kempen. The nude scene only lasts a minute or two at the end of Act One.
“The tradition of the nude scene is not about people getting naked on stage. It’s more about trying to break free from the societal constraints that tell you that you need to wear clothing,” Keillor said.
This scene is just one of many moments in the show when the Tribe disregards the norms enforced upon society. Rather than placing value on money and material goods, they celebrate life, love, peace, freedom, and happiness.
“That’s the beauty of Hair. A lot of the undercutting tones and messages of the show still apply—like standing up for what you believe in. It’s anti-war. It’s pro-love. It exposes in a very satirical but serious way the frailties of human life—especially the hypocrisy of [our] culture,”Hosman said.
“I think a lot of what they were trying to express—that idea of trying to look at the world from a different perspective than we have—I think that’s what’s going to stick with me the most,” Keillor said.
Keillor, Hosman, and the rest of the Tribe hope that the ideas presented and questions raised during the performance will resonate with the audience as much as it did for them.
Michael Quinn plays Berger, “the Tribe’s” leader, “a free spirit with a strong detest for authority.”
“The musical’s strong points lie in the music numbers, but the story has well written undertones of political issues,” Quinn said.
“What people need to expect from Hair is that it’s more than just the infamous nude scene—it’s so much more than that. But I don’t think people should expect a show like Grease or The Music Man. Like a lot of other Gustavus shows, it’s made to make you think,” Hosman said.
“The audience should expect a very up-close and personal show. There isn’t an existence of the fourth wall at all. It should be exciting,” Keillor said.