The Wonders of "Hair"

Hair is the complete opposite of what Aristotle would have wanted out of a play: it has almost no plot. The musical is about many things--love, sex, drugs, war, peace, happiness--but there is n central story line that an audience can follow. This doesn't mean that "Let The Sunshine In" doesn't always bring me to tears, it does. The writing of this musical is very much centered in the music and this production was very tailored to the beauty of the music. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in that cast can sing really damn well. There was not one moment where I winced because someone was flat, or a moment where I couldn't have closed my eyes and had a fantastic time just listening to the music. The performances were also very good. Each character had their own identity--and it must be hard staying in character while sandwiching a random girl in the audience or trying to get an audience member to stand up when she really doesn't want to.
I love love love the music in Hair. The lyrics are very clever and have that little spark in them that make you want to listen to what each character is singing. Some of the songs are a little ridiculous like "Sodomy" or "Air". But then there are the beautiful songs like "Easy to be Hard" and the classic "Let The Sunshine In" that get me every time. These songs really speak to the community and almost what we are experiencing right now in our nation. These hippies living in lower Manhattan have a voice in this musical and I love that.
The first time I ever saw Hair, which was not on Broadway, I had a hard time enjoying it because there was no plot. But now seeing it for the second time with so much more audience participation, I see that not having a plot doesn't really matter in this sense. Now, that doesn't mean that anyone can just write random songs and put them together and have it be that moving. I don't think Cats has the same emotional "trip", if you will, that Hair has. The writing brings out an understanding and belief in who these people are, rather than an understanding of what happens next. There is no huge catharsis in Hair nor is there a specific point of climax in the plot (although there might be climaxes in other places...). The score always brings me to tears though. And frankly, after watching people simple enjoy things about each other all day today, it makes me want to be a hippie, or at least be in this musical one day. It must be so much fun, so much hard work, and so fulfilling. Unfortunately it looks like Hair might close soon because they aren't selling out, at all. So if you haven't seen it yet, run TKTS now! Well, only if you aren't afraid of hippies or anything.