[Mb-hair] HAiR in Bridgeport & San Diego & what's more important ~~~ cutting the nude scene

[John Zuehlke]

>From the glowing reviews of Debbie Andrews, Michael Butler, Jonathon Johnson, and "little birdie" it sounds like Hebe and I missed two excellent productions of HAiR. Too bad the San Diego run was so short - had it been longer, we might have been able to get down there.

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Debbie Andrews related her experience in doing the nude scene thirty years ago in comparison with the present Bridgeport production by saying: "... was it always that dark when we did it?" Since all of the productions of HAiR that I have seen were mounted in California, I cannot comment on the two aforementioned shows, but, in general, I feel that the way the scene is performed has changed over the years.

IMHO, modern productions seem to have longer, freer, and more brightly lit nude scenes than the shows of the seventies. I recall feeling that the nude scene in the Los Angeles (Aquarius Theater) production was reasonably lighted but performed so quickly and furtively that it appeared that the cast was almost ashamed to perform it. The production in San Francisco, however, though similarly short, seemed much freer and much more fun. I believe that Michael Butler expressed a somewhat similar perception in his review of the Bridgeport HAiR: "I agree that the nude was too dark. ... its darkness made a negative feeling."

Current productions, when they choose to do a nude scene, seem much more free. In the best productions (IMHO) the cast appears proud and defiant, and sends an in-your-face message.

As a side note that may not have any relevance to the nude scene in HAiR, I remember a local college production of "Equus." The nude scene was performed on a very dimly lit stage, and lights were aimed to shine into the audience. The poor actors had to perform with the audience clearly visible to them. They could see the audience fidgeting, craning their necks, and holding their hands up in a vain attempt to see the actors on stage, while all the audience could see of the actors were dim shadows! 

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Jonathon Johnson wrote: "Hair at UCSD in San Diego was fantastic! ... Nothing was cut! Not even the nude scene! In fact, they slipped nakedness into a few other surprise places!" I would really love to hear what additional uses were made of nudity. Nina mentioned two places where nudity has been used in HAiR: "Of the productions that keep it in, most place it where it was on Broadway (at the end of Where Do I Go?) but some move it, often to Walking in Space." I have always felt that nudity would be very natural and beneficial to the "Walking in Space" scene, but, unfortunately, none of the many California productions that I have seen have done it this way.

Personally, I have been somewhat bothered with the nudity coming at the end of "Where Do I Go?" I would like to see nudity during the "Be In" at the park where the kids are joyously dancing and celebrating and generally "scaring some tourists." It would send a strong, anarchistic, "up the establishment" message that culminates in the burning of their draft cards. When Claude is unable to burn his card, and thereby break with the conservative establishment, the party mood crashes into the very solemn and plaintive "Where Do I Go?" The tribe getting nude here has always struck me as out-of-place, and possibly a gratuitous way of ending the first act with a controversial "punch". 

A question about the San Diego production for Jonathon (or anyone else who saw it): If nudity was used at the end of "Where Do I Go?", did Claude participate in it? Hebe and I have enjoyed those productions where he does participate in the tribe's nudity because it shows that he is still a part of the tribe as well as simultaneously emphasizing his child-like vulnerability. This makes his inability to drop out by burning his draft card even more poignant when he sings "Where Do I Go?" 

Another place nudity is often used is in the "flash" at the end of the Tourist Couple (Margaret Mead) scene. I would love to see "her" flash followed by one from a woman playing Hubert!

One production we saw had a naked "Aquarius" who "morphed" into Claude when he is summoned by the tribe's chant of "Aquarius, Aquarius." This would have been a neat effect except for the fact that the girl who played Aquarius did not have a pitcher or some other item to identify her. It took three performances before I was certain of the director's intent in using the effect!

Finally, has anyone seen nudity used in "The Bed"? It would be a natural there, and it could help to clarify the fact that Claude and Sheila are going to have sex - a fact that is often obscured by the joyous singing and dancing of the tribe. 


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When Nina wrote "I can't recall if any of the minors on Broadway (WMH, Janet Powell, Debbie Andrews) did the nude scene or not" Debbie Andrews replied "Anyway, funny note - I had never seen a naked man until I did the nude scene

(swear to God, I'm not lying - Catholic school, dad was a cop., barely 16.....) pretty funny?" In the current political climate, I cannot imagine that any production would even dare allow a minor to do a nude scene!

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Richard Haase wrote: "horrors
for me hair without the nude scene is like non alcoholic 
champagne"

This observation is very true. HAiR was the first Broadway musical to feature nudity, and, with only a few exceptions (like "Stephen Sondheim's Passion"), it still holds that distinction. (Although nudity, presented in a far more sexual context, was used in many productions of Richard Straus' 1905 opera "Salome".) For better or for worse, HAiR is known for its "nude scene," and, I believe, audiences feel cheated when it is omitted. In essence, the nudity has become so de rigueur that it is in danger of becoming gratuitous. Ironically, the solution to this problem may be the inclusion of more, contextually correct nudity rather than its reduction! So, I heartily commend Richard when he said: "next production of it i do im going to kick the nude scene up a notch in fact".

After all, isn't that what HAiR is all about?


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Blessed be with peace, love, freedom, and joy!

John
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