[Mb-hair] Re: HAIR'S "moon oysters"

[richard haase]

the " moon oysters " must relate to the passage where berger is with the tribe
and they say " look at the moon ; look at the moon; look at the moon "
they must be candles of some sort
possibly reminiscent of the shape of a shell
flat etc 
maybe with a floating wick etc


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sibley Smith 
  To: Butler, Michael - HAIR List 
  Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 10:59 AM
  Subject: Re: [Mb-hair] Re: HAIR'S "moon oysters"


  Hey, thanks for the responses, Little Birdie, Leo, and richard (yeah, I somehow managed to fight my way through your literary style! : )  

  But it appears we really haven't come any closer to the discovery of just what these "moon oysters" were that HAIR's stage directions instructed the Tribe to carry onstage, along with candles, incense and wind chimes.  

  I doubt seriously (given these stage directions) that they were talking about actual shellfish, so, ...

  I think we need to find some old hippie who used to operate a head shop back in the sixties heyday of hippyness to find out what these gizmos were.

  They must've been either a sound maker, like the windchimes (or as Leo suggested, castanets [I used spell check, Leo!] : ), or a visual-effect maker, like the candles (could the moon oysters have glowed like moonlight?)

  Because I find it hard to imagine that oysters-on-the-half-shell on a platter would've been considered any kind of counter-cultural-lifestyle-suggestive prop.

  Eh?

  So, it's still a mystery.  The search continues.

  Who knows what HAIR's Moon Oysters were/are?

  --Tioga

  =================================================

  Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 
  From: "richard haase" <hotprojects at nyc.rr.com>

  youre right
  but there are many variations
  its not that cut and dried
  there are even those like myself
  who update their productions to the present time of the production eg mine
  took place in 1980 in 1980
  hair is engineered for each production to do a lot of improvisition
  eg the bridge in the long version of aint got no
  which in our version
  there was a passage
  " persian gulf carter high school sex "
  which in the original must have referred to nixon or lbj
  one today might have a passage about
  " iran iraq george bush the second "
  etc
  certainly the script scripts have huge places
  and traditions in performance of improvisation etc
  lbj took the irt
  changing into tricky dick took the irt
  etc
  when he got there what did he see?
  lbj on lsd
  etc
  so you are right
  but its not that codified
  and there are a near infinite number of variations
  ( eg ive got a still other one for my next production of hair when it
  happens etc )

  ===================================================

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Little Birdie" <lbirdie at hotmail.com>
  Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2004 

  > Yes, that is exactly how it appears in the Broadway script, and it's still
  > there in the 1995 revisions. It is gone from the 2001 revisions and has
  been
  > replaced with a short dialogue sequence between Berger, Sheila and Woof
  that
  > makes it clear that Claude has been missing. It seems to me that someone
  > asked Jim about this a while ago (maybe around the time of the original
  > discussion. Maybe John Michael Cox?) but that he couldn't help...but
  perhaps
  > I am remembering this wrongly?
  >
  > Nina

  =====================================================

  > >From: "Leo" <peacefreak at metrocast.net>
  > >Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 
  > >
  > >Joe, first of all, great to hear from you again brother. I believe I
  > >brought
  > >up the whole moon oyster scene waaaaaaaaaaay back when. Specifically in
  the
  > >script it comes right after ELECTRIC BLUES  and immediately before OH
  GREAT
  > >GOD OF POWER and it's written in the stage directions as follows. "The
  > >TRIBE
  > >comes from the rear of the house, singing the following lyrics in a soft,
  > >musical chant. THEY carry candles, wind chimes, moon oysters, and incense
  > >sticks.............................................." I thought perhaps
  > >they
  > >were like castinettes (sp?) but never got a firm answer even from old
  > >freaks
  > >I had contacted. But you're right bro, I remember you went off on some
  > >creative, tangent that was amazing.
  > >
  > >PEACE,
  > >Leo

  =================================================

  > >  Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 
  > > > From: "[Tioga Joe]" <sjsmith at njvvmf.org>
  > > > Subject: [Mb-hair] HAIR's "moon oysters"
  > > >
  > > > Yo, fellow HAIR-heads,
  > > >
  > > > Many moon ago (like around September of 1999), there was discussion on
  > >the
  > >Jabberwocky HAIR List regarding a reference to "moon oysters" in HAIR's
  > >script.
  > > >
  > > > Well, I must've chimed in with something (no doubt, stuff off the
  cuff),
  > >because back in September of THIS year, 2004, a college student involved
  in
  > >a production of HAIR, sent me a query about the topic.  Unfortunately,
  I'd
  > >started on my walkabout at about that time, so I never noticed her e-mail
  > >until earlier this week (late December 2004).
  > >...................................... Please remind me (those of you in
  > >the
  > >know), what is the precise context of the mentioning of "moon oysters" in
  > >HAIR?
  > > >............................So, if you've got the script, will you
  please
  > >transcribe for me that portion where "moon oysters" are mentioned, so I
  > >(we)
  > >can consider the context?
  > > >
  > > > Thanks.
  > > >
  > > > "Look at the Moon!  Look at the Moon!"
  > > >
  > > > --Tioga



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