by For real!! I went with Dimitra, Barbara and Lily to see Hair and at the end anyone who wants to can get on stage and sing Let the Sun Shine In so I did! It felt so great, I can’t tell you. I had started tearing up and crying just before too, because I had flashed back to those days, and I remembered exactly how I felt, the joy, the expectation of life, the fear because of Vietnam, and I remembered what I was thinking then, and I was half sad because it’s over and gone, a certain youth and innocence is just over. Done. That’s it. Not coming back. But I was also half not sad because I’m not dead yet and certain feelings can be reawakened at any time and here I was with friends having a fabulous time. And then seconds later they’re urging us to get on stage and sing and there just wasn’t a chance in the world that I wouldn’t get down there (we were on the mezzanine). I danced, I sang, and man this would be such a fun way to make a living. I can’t believe some people get to do this every day.
I can’t urge everyone enough to see this. The cast is just so talented and charismatic. You won’t believe their voices! They’re all so cute and charming and they constantly go out into the audience to sing and interact and it just raises the energy level and the joy for the audience. Go, go, go. And if you do go, don’t pass up the opportunity to go down on the stage and sing.
Update: Found a video of the cast on Conan the night before which captures the fun!
This is 42nd Street and there was a long line of kids camped out on the street waiting to see the new Harry Potter movie.
I saw HAIR when it came to Rockford (don’t laugh)in 1972 or so. IT was great then I hope it at least makes it to Chicago. Quite a scandal then with the nudity and all. I could see you on Broadway. Maybe there’s a book about an inbedded writer in your future.
For one who was never big on musicals, I do have to say that the music from Hair struck a chord back then, and seeing the cast on Conan a few months back, it still resonates.
Of course, it makes me feel even older when I remember that Diane Keaton was in the Original Cast…
Too bad there was never a sequel to track the characters years later(Suggestions? “Bald” “Comb-Over”)
Ha.
I’m sure there must be a touring company, you all have to go!! But it would be worth it to take a vacation and see the NYC cast.
That photo gives me sensory overload! All those lights and all those people… I am not claustrophobic, but I think I would feel a bit disoriented if I were there. Never been to NYC and probably won’t get there, but I do love photos like yours.
And Hair sounds like fun, too. Nice they are reviving it.
Oh, say, can you see my eyes if you can.. thenmyhair’stooshort!
Hahaha. I remember when I first moved to the city (I grew up on Long Island) and even though I grew up coming in and out of the city and I was thrilled to finally live here it still all felt too big for me. Like, how was I ever going to get it down to a manageable, relaxed this is my home feel? But I did, and quickly.
I hesitated to make this post, but finally decided that I might owe it to my buddies.
The production of Hair sounds great, and I’m very pleased that everyone had a good time.
I’m a VietNam vet, and so for us that period has an entirely different connotation.
We came back to people calling us baby killers and trying to spit on our uniforms. What we needed was a little TLC and maybe an occasional slap on the back appreciating our service. It was a very alienating period for VietNam vets.
Of course this is all long ago and far away now. Many of us learned to keep our mouths shut about our veteran status until John Kerry ran for president. That was the first time that many of us ever spoke about our lives during that period.
I’m not trying to bring anyone down, and the play sounds good, but I did want to interject a reminder that that period was not a universally pleasant experience for all of us.
(On the other hand, I knew some former paratroopers in the Galveston skydiving club who liked to drop 4-way sunshine and jump out of airplanes… I guess Tim would have been proud, but those guys were crazy..!)
I am so glad you felt okay enough to post. I think it’s terrible how the vets were treated by some people. I protested the war (because I didn’t want my friends and my brothers to die) but not the soldiers. And yes, there were some bad eggs, just as there are in every group and every war, but to spit on someone and call them a babykiller, to condemn a whole group of people for the actions of a few … if it were me I’d be very bitter. Those assholes made the rest of us look bad.
There was a lot of bad in that period, I know. Thank you for posting. I apologize for all those assholes, and thank you for your service. I’ve always wished there was some way I could communicate to all the Vietnam vets that for most of us, when we protested, it was because we wanted to get you home and hopefully save your lives.
Things are improving as far as making sure returning vets get a little TLC but it’s still pretty bad. There was yet another article in the Times recently about the problems the Iraq/Afghanistan vets are facing. They are not getting the support they need and many are suffering.