[Mb-hair] HAIR at New Amsterdam

[RJ Mac]

cut-and-psted from Playbill Online:

HAIR
Seth Rudetsky is four for four. After spearheading the
all-star concerts of Dreamgirls, Funny Girl and Chess,
Rudetsky put together a star-studded concert of the
famed sixties musical Hair, which was presented Monday
night at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The Sept. 20
evening began with remarks by Actors' Fund Executive
Director Joseph Benincasa and new Actors' Fund
President Brian Stokes Mitchell. Tony winner Mitchell
joked to the sold-out crowd, "We all know why we're
here tonight — to see naked people onstage! And to
help the Actors' Fund," he continued, "and to see
Hair." Mitchell also acknowledged some of Hair's
original Broadway and film cast members, who were in
attendance.

The curtain then rose on the likeable Harris Doran (as
Claude), standing centerstage clad in white T-shirt
and jeans. While he burned his draft card, the stage
also revealed the small onstage orchestra, which was
divided into sections by three staircases. As Lillias
White, decked out in a large afro and sixties-era
attire, began belting out "Aquarius," members of the
chorus — standing on chairs in the audience — rushed
to the stage in a burst of energy. Two large screens
were also part of the stage design and projected
various timely images throughout the concert.

Lea DeLaria, who bemoaned having to follow the vocals
of White, offered a few off-the-cuff remarks to the
audience before launching into "Donna." "Queer Eye"
co-star Jai Rodriguez, sporting a long wig, sang about
the pleasures of "Sodomy" and was followed by Taboo's
Euan Morton, who delivered a somewhat lyrically
revised "Manchester, England." Chuck Cooper's "Colored
Spade" preceded Ana Gasteyer's belty "Dead End," one
of the many highlights of the first half of the
evening. Other Act I high points included Harvey
Fierstein, who drew cheers with his raspy-voiced
version of "Air"; Laura Benanti, who morphed from a
prim-and-proper teacher into an LSD induced free
spirit while she wrapped her glorious soprano around
"Initials"; John Tartaglia and Christopher Sieber, who
had some fun with an American flag and "Don't Put It
Down"; Adam Pascal, who sported a shirtless open vest
and let his rock-flavored tenor soar on "I Got Life";
Raul Esparza, who scored with the title tune; former
"American Idol" contestant Jennifer Hudson, who raised
the roof with a thrilling "Easy to Be Hard"; and Julia
Murney, who managed to dazzle even with a cold, as she
brought down the first-act curtain with "Where Do I
Go," which began with a touching sincerity and
climaxed in a Janis Joplin-style crescendo.

The second half of the concert got off to a rousing
start with Toxic Audio's solo on "Electric Blues."
That was followed by the exciting pairing of "Black
Boys" — featuring belters Kathy Brier, Orfeh and Ann
Harada — and "White Boys," with the equally belty
Ledisi, Brandi Chavonne Massey and Shayna Steele.
Annie Golden charmed with the gentle ballad "Frank
Mills," and members of the chorus bared all during
"Walking in Space." Other second-act notables: Billy
Porter's gospel-tinged "Four Score"; Darius de Haas
and Paul Castree, whose pure tenors blended
beautifully on "What a Piece of Work Is Man"; Liz
Callaway, who added class and simple, gorgeous tones
on "Good Morning Starshine"; and Norm Lewis, whose
rich, vibrato-filled voice echoed throughout the
theatre on "The Flesh Failure," which segued into the
wonderful finale, "Let the Sun Shine In."
###
--- Leo <peacefreak at metrocast.net> wrote:

> I was wondering if anyone had any info on how the
> HAIR concert style
> performance went at the New Amsterdam Theatre? There
> seemed to be
> substantial hype but I've heard no feedback one way
> or the other. Anyone
> hear anything?
> 
> PEACE,
> Leo
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Mb-hair mailing list
> Mb-hair at islandlists.com
>
http://www.islandlists.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mb-hair
> 



		
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