[Mb-hair] HAIR at The Gallery Players

[richard haase]

I had julie choreograph a couple of shows for me
that was an experience
to which tom ohorgan said to me
told you
lol
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Little Birdie" <lbirdie at hotmail.com>
To: <mb-hair at islandlists.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 9:08 PM
Subject: RE: [Mb-hair] HAIR at The Gallery Players


> RJ wrote:
> >How did they know to do the original staging?  What
> >parts were they?
>
> Steven Smeltzer, the director and choreographer, was in several European
> tours back in the eighties (and possibly the early nineties). He learned
the
> staging from someone who played Hud in the first run London production, so
> he learned Julie Arenal's choreography, and Tom O'Horgan's staging, or at
> least a lot of it.
>
> Every song used some of the original staging, plus added something of
> Steven's own, but keeping in the style of Julie's work. Many songs used
> about 50% original staging, some even more.
>
> Michael and I remarked before the show started how the tribe was out in
the
> audience really talking and interacting with the audience. They were
> chatting, pan handling, playing games, giving out flowers, etc. Very
> reminiscent of the original show. Robert and Bill and I started looking at
> each other incredulously when, after a signal from the band the entire
tribe
> went into slow motion, just as in the Broadway show, and made their way to
> the stage that way, with bird calls and other noises, while the opening
> ritual went on on stage. Most shows do the opening ritual, but I have
never
> seen, since first-run productions, the slow motion advance to the stage,
> coming together with the start of Aquarius. We kept looking at each other
in
> amazement as each number included original staging. When we got to the
> middle of Colored Spade and they brought Claude out in a washtub wearing a
> Union Jack loin cloth we knew someone was very familiar with the way the
> show was done originally.
>
> I cannot tell you how emotionally evocative it was to see people moving in
> such familiar patterns. Doris - I wish you had been there!
>
> The director wrote to me this evening to say how hard it is for them all
to
> move on, a feeling many of us are very familiar with. I hope he, and some
of
> the Tribe members, will join us here on the list.
>
> Love,
> Nina
>
> The Hair Archives
> http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/Hair.html
>
>
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