Show: Hair The Musical
Format: Musical
Genre: Comedy
Date: May 20 2019
Location: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
Now, Hair The Musical, showing at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new UK tour. Whilst I have been to see Jesus Christ Superstar and popular musicals of that era and am familiar with the soundtrack, this was my first opportunity to see the show live and I wasn’t disappointed.
Hair The Musical
Synopsis Of Hair The Musical
Set in the mid-sixties in America, it tells the story of youths unhappy about the Vietnam War and ‘square’ lives of everyday people who decide to protest and choose a different life for themselves. We meet members of the ‘Tribe’ and hear about their individual experiences and aspirations. The show opens with the most recognisable song Age Of Aquarius, underpinning a newfound sexual liberation and the need to change the world, all this assisted by liberal hard-core recreational drug use – dropping out and turning on.
There was a little blip not long into the show where a technical problem with the sound prevented local guy Marcus Collins from performing his first musical number, but after a short break to fix things, he was back on the stage and after him checking “Liverpool, are you still there?”, we gave him a big cheer and it was on with the show!
Cast
The cast really engaged with the audience, particularly Berger (played by Jake Quickenden), and there was a humorous segment where Mrs Margaret Mead (played by Tom Bales) popped down into the audience and spent some time on the knee of an audience member. We heard about the story of Claude who was about to be drafted into the army to be sent off to Vietnam to fight, and Paul Wilkins provided a really solid performance with wonderful vocals.
Marketed as ‘wild, colourful, sexually liberated and free’, the production was all of the above, as well as humorous and thought-provoking. The Grammy award-winning score, with music by Galt MacDermot, lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, was stunning, with standout numbers being I Got Life and the fabulous finale Let The Sunshine In. Psychedelic style lighting and effects really add to the atmosphere throughout.
Analysis Of Hair The Musical
The cast as a whole has excellent vocalists, and collectively they are pretty awe-inspiring. My only criticism was that it was sometimes a little hard to understand all the diction and lyrics clearly, as the sound was slightly distorted in the first half of the show, but hopefully that was just my hearing, or perhaps a couple of tweaks after the first night will sort it out.
Incredible riffs, powerhouse singers and charisma poured out from the stage from every performer. This makes it difficult to single any one cast member out. However, Jake Quickenden (Dancing On Ice winner and X Factor contestant) was pretty mesmerising. Indeed, he provided some enviable abs and a few acrobatic moves to display during the show. Daisy Wood-Davis, best known for playing Kim Butterfield in Hollyoaks, is also brilliant as the go-getting educated political activist Sheila.
Set
The set design was fun and colourful. The excellent band remained on stage dressed as hippies in tipis. Their timing and expert switches between fast and slow tempo numbers was very professional. And the audience showed their appreciation to those musicians at the end of the show.
Meanwhile, the full-frontal nude scene at the end of the first half illustrates the sexual freedom and commune style acceptance. This was what members of the Tribe felt, and the cast performed this scene very tastefully. This caused outrage when first performed back in the late 60s. And it’s safe to say it might still be alarming to theatre viewers not quite in the vibe! The scene really needed to accepted rather than understood.
Summary Of Hair The Musical
The show, although 50 years old, is still relevant today. Rebellion, disillusionment with the powers that be and the need to protest makes it a current watch. By the end of the show, the audience had let their hair down (no pun intended). In fact, many joined the cast on th stage to dance to the reprise of Let The Sunshine In. This was joyous, nostalgic and colourful.
