“Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
and the mind’s true liberation”…
– Age of Aquarius from the Broadway Musicale “Hair”
LET’S TAKE a break from all those toxic political issues and loose ourselves in art and psychedelic nostalgia, although it’s quite ironic that what we’re revisiting was once considered revolutionary, controversial, blasphemous to the usual self-appointed guardians of morality and, above all, highly political during it’s time.
Of course, in time people appreciated it for what it was – a groundbreaking rock opera and it is now part of Broadway’s repertoire of stage production in this genre alongside Jesus Christ Superstar, Miss Saigon, Godspell, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, and Les Misérables. What was revolutionary then is now mainstream.
If you think we’re talking about Moi’s hair or what’s left of it, we’re not. This is about what is probably the most controversial Broadway musicale first staged in the late ‘60s. It was controversial then, it still is today.
Yes, I know I’m a hairy guy, I’m hairy high and low but this time we’ll talk about other people’s hair, it’s symbolism for freedom and free expression.
Yes, yes, Moi is an ageing hippie and we’ll talk about what a hippie is, or was, and how they changed the world. As what Moi has said before, “What was revolutionary then is now mainstream.”
So what is a hippie?
According to that free online encyclopedia:
A hippie is member of a counterculture originating in the United States in the 1960s, typically characterized by unconventional dress and behaviour, communal or transient lifestyles, typically having long hair opposition to war, and liberal attitudes toward sexuality and the use of marijuana and psychedelic drugs.
Moving on…Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement. The musical’s profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy. The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of “rock musical”, using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience onstage for a “Be-In” finale.
Hair explores many of the themes of the hippie movement of the 1960s. Theater writer Scott Miller described these as follows:
“The youth of America, especially those on college campuses, started protesting all the things that they saw wrong with America: racism, environmental destruction, poverty, sexism and sexual repression, violence at home and the war in Vietnam, depersonalization from new technologies, and corruption in politics…Contrary to popular opinion, the hippies had great respect for America and believed that they were the true patriots, the only ones who genuinely wanted to save our country and make it the best it could be once again…[Long] hair was the hippies’ flag – their…symbol not only of rebellion but also of new possibilities, a symbol of the rejection of discrimination and restrictive gender roles. It symbolized equality between men and women…The hippies’ chosen clothing also made statements. Drab work clothes (jeans, work shirts, pea coats) were a rejection of materialism. Clothing from other cultures, particularly the Third World and Native Americans, represented their awareness of the global community and their rejection of US imperialism and selfishness. Simple cotton dresses and other natural fabrics were a rejection of synthetics, a return to natural things and simpler times. Some hippies wore old World War II or Civil War jackets as way of co-opting the symbols of war into their newfound philosophy of nonviolence.”
The staging of Hair was banned in the Philippines during martial law. Although a much censored and watered-down version was eventually staged, it was largely ignored and forgotten.
A couple of years ago during the 50th anniversary of its first staging on Broadway, Hair, the first ever tribal love-rock musical on Broadway, was the yearend grand musicale of Repertory Philippines’ (REP) 2017 season. The “dazed and confused” days and the free spirit of the ‘60s were revisited with this iconic production which ran for a month at the Onstage Theatre, Greenbelt 1 at the Ayala Commercial Center in Makati.
We had the rare privilege of having tickets as the show was almost always fully booked and watched Hair. And suddenly it was 1969 all over again. This ageing hippie reminisced the heady days of “flower power” and of course “sex, drugs and rock and roll.”
To the credit of Repertory Philippines, the show was completely faithful to the original Broadway staging of Hair, from the music of course, the authentic hippie clothes, the controversial profanity-laced dialogue and the final scene of Act1 where the cast took off their clothes and faced the audience completely naked.
Yup people, it was a full frontal nude scene.
The finale was the cast inviting the audience to join them on stage for a “Be-In” which took audience participation to a higher (pun intended) level.
As the late Joe Cocker sang in Woodstock, “Let’s Get High.” (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
