"Hair" At the Hollywood Bowl- Page 2

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/2/14 at 7:04pm

Good god Benjamin Walker looks stunning in that loincloth. I'm still jealous of everyone who got to see him in Les Liaisons.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 8/2/14 at 7:05pm

CarlosAlberto I think they used the film orchestration on Aquarius simply because they had a larger orchestra than your typical Broadway orchestra. It actually worked in that setting. It was a nice full sound.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/2/14 at 8:32pm

I know the original lyric was "Tripping from potsville to mainline" and that was changed tonight to "Tripping from potsville to starline".

They changed the lyric as far back as the movie. In the late Sixties, early Seventies, heroin wasn't yet known as the menace it's considered now, and so the trip from pot to heroin was more easily glorified. They changed it to "Tripping from Potsville to starlight" because stars lead to the moon and trippy imagery blah blah blah.

Also... they might have used the movie arrangement of "Aquarius" to allow them to use the new verses Rado wrote. Does anyone recall if a verse that began "As our hearts go beating through the night" was performed?

[lovebwy]

Posted: 8/2/14 at 10:28pm

Thanks for the info, g.d.e.l.g.i. Not sure I how I feel about that kind of sanitization, but it does make sense.

I don't recall hearing that extra verse. I would think it would have stood out for me. Still, it might have been there. Hopefully there will be more videos coming from tonight's show.

Updated On: 8/2/14 at 10:28 PM

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 8/2/14 at 10:50pm

Does anyone from this have a complete cast list? I saw a familiar face or two in the ensemble, but I'm curious who was involved.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:40am

Those pictures look pretty terrible. Those wigs? oof.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:59am

I'm not a huge fan of musicals at the Bowl's 17,000 seat venue, but this is one I would have liked to have caught because it's one of the few truly great rock scores. And what better place for a summertime rock concert in LA than the Hollywood Bowl.

Also...



Gosh, speaking of loincloth-worthiness, Mr. Shankman looks great. Some dancers age very well.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 2:40am

"In the late Sixties, early Seventies, heroin wasn't yet known as the menace it's considered now…"

This statement is absolutely untrue. Categorically incorrect. The lyric was describing a menu of trips, not glorifying, just listing. Not unlike the activities in "Sodomy."

Updated On: 8/3/14 at 02:40 AM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 7:51am

Given the prevalence of "skag" among the original Hair cast (Lorrie Davis' Letting Down My Hair, for all the people who felt betrayed by its tone, is an excellent portrait of the original Broadway production and the attendant behind-the-scenes drama), it's safe to assume that maybe what is categorically untrue for one poster was not so for others. But then again, I'm responding to someone I've blocked, so I'm not exactly gaining points for brains, am I? :P

[lovebwy]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 11:46am

I don't think there is any question that there is truth in your explanation. I understand that hippies were anti-speed ("Speed Kills") but I can certainly believe that other drugs were MORE acceptable. In more recent years there has became a sort of drug "political correctness" where pot is the ONLY drug people are allowed to admit to use without social stigma.

[jwsel]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 12:42pm

I went Friday night and agree with a lot of what Someone in a Tree2 said in his/her review. Overall, though, I had a great time at the show and thought the show was extremely well done for a semi-staged production with such limited rehearsal time. The ensemble was very tight and thought the performers in the featured roles -- Amber Riley as Dionne, Jenna Ushkowitz at Dionne, Jonah Platt as Woof, Mario as Hud, and some of the unnamed tribe members who had key moments in the second act (if anyone knows the name of the actress who played Abraham Lincoln/sang in What a Piece of Work is Man, I would really love to know it).

The leads were a bit more mixed, yet also had great moments. For instance, I found Hunter Parrish's vocals weak on I Got Life and Flesh Failures, but did a phenomenal job on Where Do I Go. Similarly, I get what Someone in a Tree2 meant in describing Kristen Bell's Shiela was the "blondest" Shiela ever. On the other hand, I thought she did a wonderful job with Easy to Be Hard. And I generally thought Benjamin Walker did a good job with Berger in Act I, but he brought very little to Act II. Some of that has to do with Act II being more Claude's story, but I still think Berger should have been a bigger presence. In Act I, though, I think Walker did very well, bringing a strong presence to his opening presence, Donna and Goin' Down.

Updated On: 8/3/14 at 12:42 PM

[jwsel]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 12:51pm

Someone wanted a full cast list. Here were the names and roles listed in the program:

Benjamin Walker – Berger
Hunter Parrish – Claude
Kristen Bell – Shiela
Sarah Hyland – Chrissy
Amber Riley - Dionne
Mario – Hud
Jenna Ushkowitz – Jeannie
Jonah Platt – Woof
Kavin Chamberlain – Claude’s Dad/Margaret Mead
Beverly D’Angelo – Claude’s Mom
Carly Bracco – Ensemble
Jennifer Foster – Ensemble
Taylor Frey – Ensemble
Courtney Galiano – Ensemble
Nkrumah Gatling – Ensemble
Rhett George – Ensemble
Kyle Hill – Ensemble
Jeremy Hudson – Ensemble
Joanna Alexis Jones – Ensemble
Adrianna Rose Lyons – Ensemble
Yani Marin – Ensemble
Kimberly Moore – Ensemble
Maurice Murphy – Ensemble
Jane Papageorge – Ensemble
Louis Pardo – Ensemble
Matthew Peacock – Ensemble
Corbin Reid – Ensemble
Jonny Rice – Ensemble
Haylee Roderick – Ensemble
Cailan Rose – Ensemble
Constantine Rousouli – Ensemble
Rustin Cole Sailors – Ensemble
Hanna-Lee Sakakibara – Ensemble
Isaac Tualaulelei – Ensemble

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:03pm

It was pouring rain last night. Curious how that affected the experience.

[theaternut]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:10pm

On instagram everyone has ponchos on.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:10pm

What about a song list? Anyone, anyone?

[keb2]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:14pm

The cast handled it pretty well. A lot of people left pretty early, because many Californians are afraid of rain. After about 10 minutes, Ben Walker came on stage and told people not to leave, and there were free ponchos. It did definitely pull focus, but the audience's focus seemed to be pretty far gone by then anyways.

Hunter Parrish also changed the lines "I hate the ****ing ____" (I forget what it is) and "I wish the **** it would snow" to "I hate the ****ing rain" and "I wish the **** it would stop raining" and that got some big cheers from the audience. The whole experience gave "Let the Sun Shine In" new meaning!

I suppose if you're going to watch a musical outdoors and it starts raining, Hair is one of the better ones for it to be, since the cast can acknowledge it since there's no fourth wall.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:32pm

I understand that hippies were anti-speed ("Speed Kills")

Is there any chance that people who don't know what they're talking about could stop? You can not extrapolate from public service announcements what people in the late-'60s youth movement felt. The show demonstrates the air of non-judgmentalism about other peoples' "trips" and it refrained from editorial comment about them. There's a whole song about a religious cult that doesn't place a value on that either.

But Christ. Don't think the way this show presents these ideas is related to the reality of what actual people felt. The hippies knew the risks of heroin, hell, they'd plundered the discography of the great blues players who laid that story out for them plain as day. It is funny watching something as naive as Hair add to the naiveté of audiences all these years later.

Updated On: 8/3/14 at 01:32 PM

[theaternut]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 1:52pm

" A lot of people left pretty early, because many Californians are afraid of rain."

That **** happens everywhere. It is NOT a California thing.

[keb2]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 2:03pm

Haha I know, but I was just surprised, since at that point it was more drizzle than rain, and the folks I saw leaving had pretty expensive seats.

[theaternut]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 2:07pm

Yeah. Those folks in those seats are usually older subscribers. Sad that they usually leave early anyway.

[jwsel]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 2:24pm

"What about a song list? Anyone, anyone?"

----------------------

The program unfortunately didn't list a song list. I looked at the Actor's Fund recording and don't see anything there that I don't recall being performed on Friday night, with the possible exception of Dead End.
Actor's Fund Recording - click on track listing

[keb2]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 2:34pm

It was the same songs as in the Paulus revival, though different arrangements. No "Dead End" or "Hippie Life," I don't think. There was some added dialogue from the parents in Electric Blues, I think it was.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 3:55pm

I asked because Rado said he was sending them his most recent script, which restored "Dead End" and a number called "Exanaplanetooch." Just wanted to see if the concert actually included them or not. No one recalls hearing "Dead End," so I'm gonna assume that, like Paulus, they said, "Jim, these aren't the better known songs, do we really need them?"

[keb2]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 4:16pm

Yeah, no "Dead End" or "Exanaplanetooch," though there was a reference in the script to Claude being from a planet called Exanaplanetooch. But some of Rado's additions to the dialogue were definitely included.

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 4:36pm

I went last night section e row 2. I think the bowl cast this show perfectly, not one bad performer/singer. I could of seen the stage without looking at the monitors from where I sat. The ensemble did get full out naked they just didn't show it on the monitors. I saw everything.. never seen so much penis on stage before (nude PERIOD). Great night... other than the rain (drizzling to poring). Stage doored. Brought my Hair broadway revival windowcard and got it signed by: Adam Shankman (director), Sarah Hyland, Mario, Hunter Parrish, Jonah Platt, Amber Riley, Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin Chamberlin, & Galt MacDermot (composer) REALLY GREAT PRODUCTION!