[Mb-hair] Greetings from Brooklyn

[Michael Butler]

Matt,

How nice to have you on the List.
I am so sorry that your introduction has been to witness an unpleasant spat
between two members. This is unusual and will certainly not continue.
Enjoy.
Peace and Love,
Michael
 --Compassion is the state of being in touch with the
bright, beautiful and flawed nature of humanity



> Hello HAIR - folk,
> 
> When I met them in November, I told Michael and Nina
> that I would post to the HAIR list; it's been over a
> month now, and I've *finally* gotten to it. Better
> late than never!
> 
> In October and early November of this year I produced
> a production of HAIR at The Gallery Players theater in
> Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Gallery Players is an Equity
> Showcase house that's been around since the late 60s -
> they had never done HAIR previously. I know that
> Michael, Nina, and others wrote about the production
> on this list, and I'm very appreciative of their kind
> words. 
> 
> I am very very proud of the production: besides
> feeling that the production was the best I'd ever seen
> of HAIR, and one of the most fully-realized we've ever
> had at The Gallery Players, I witnessed the power of
> the show and the way that it reaches out to the
> audience every night to challenge and change the way
> they think and feel.
> 
> The cast of the show was very young - many of them
> were not familiar with HAIR beyond the film. We were
> so fortunate to have guiding our HAIR an incredibly
> talented director/choreographer, Steven Smeltzer, who
> has performed and directed HAIR several times and who
> was able to navigate everyone through the show,
> explaining the meaning and significance of each
> subtlety in this very complex (yet so simple) show.
> He inspired the cast and crew with his passion for the
> show and the truths that it speaks; this passion
> manifested itself on our stage each night and left no
> one unmoved. The cast, band, crew, and production team
> became very close, as should be, and we have all
> gathered a few times since November.
> 
> Among the wonderful HAIR-folk who attended our
> production were Jim Rado, Natalie Mosco, Marjorie
> LiPari, Annie Golden, Michael Butler, Nina Machlin
> Dayton, Bill Swiggard, and Robert Camuto. It meant so
> much to us to have them attend and no one involved
> will ever forget the thrill it was to meet them all
> and their generosity in sharing their thoughts and
> enthusiasm with us.
> 
> As someone said after we closed the show after the
> allowed 4 weeks for a Showcase production, the only
> bad thing about our HAIR experience is that we
> couldn't extend it to continue turning others on to
> its message. We sold out virtually every performance
> and turned away many people we simply couldn't
> accommodate. HAIR is a timeless work, but I have to
> admit that with the election this past fall and our
> country at war HAIR's message seemed more urgent and
> pertinent than ever.
> 
> I have encouraged the cast and artistic team to get
> involved on the HAIR list. I hope I'm simply "breaking
> the ice" and that they all will 'testify'.
> 
> Thanks to Nina, Michael, and everyone for their
> support of 'our' HAIR and here's to future HAIRs - as
> Nina told me as she left our theater, "you never do
> HAIR just once."
> 
> I can't wait for the next time!
> 
> Love, Peace, and Happy Holidays
> Matt Schicker
> mattschicker at yahoo.com
> 
> 
> 
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