[Mb-hair] Re: Bridgeport get together

[Leo]

Yes, it was an amazing, groovy, righteous evening and it is difficult to put 
into words Nina.
I remember years ago when I was mounting my first HAIR production how 
overwhelmed I was at the generosity & sharing & welcoming & support I 
received from every single HAIR alum I contacted. I was blown away! I will 
now go on record as saying that that same vibe & love was flowing out of 
everyone in attendance at the pub soiree. I was made to feel like one of the 
tribe! I went down to the production having met a few of you but most of you 
were known to me by postings on the 2 incarnations of the HAIR list. Now, 
after meeting so many HAIR freaks in Bridgeport, I feel totally connected 
(for lack of better verbalization). I talked with people as if they had been 
friends all my life. EVERYONE was freaking fantastic in making Judy & I feel 
right at home. This HAIR family IS where it's at baby!!
So thanks to all of you. From rapping with Bill about his take on Claude, to 
shooting it with Tioga about Viet Nam, to hugging Nina and laying her onto a 
few goodies and every single connection and conversation and hug and "hello" 
in between, it was a righteous evening man!! Meeting you all was a blast and 
I mean that with all my HAIRy heart & soul.
One last little sidebar before I clam up. There was this guy (Tom Newkirk) 
who was a great supporter of my 1999 & 2003 production of HAIR. He and his 
wife Laura were headed to UCONN for a graduation scene on Sunday morning; I 
found this out right before leaving Maine on Friday. I told him of our plans 
to have a little get together before the show, starting at about 4pm. Well, 
sure as the wind blows, Tom & Laura swung in around 4:15 and shot the breeze 
with me for about 15 minutes before heading on to UCONN. And THAT is what 
the HAIR family is all about!
Debbie, I timed the trip home to Maine and it was 3 1/2 hours exactly! And 
if Natalie or any of you are back up here performing in Maine please let me 
know!
I'll chill now. Thanks for the wonderful evening!

PEACE,
Leo

From: "Little Birdie" <lbirdie at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Mb-hair] Bridgeport get together

What an amazing night last night was! How incredible to see good friends, 
and to "meet" others who have been friends for years but never seen in 
person before! To get to hug Sib, Sally, Leo, Sherwin, Barbara, and Ross in 
person, and to put faces to the writing and in some cases voices on the 
phone, were all truly wonderful moments. To see, in addition, so many good 
friends at the same time - Michael B, Robert, Debbie, Mike, Bill, Natalie, 
Dale, Michael A, Jeff, Meredith - What a joy! There were many photographs 
taken (a copy of every one to the Archives please folks! I can't wait to see 
them!) so there will be some to share soon.  I also got several generous 
donations to the Archives, including photographs from the April 23 LaMama 
event. I will post a few to the list as soon as I can scan them.
The show was good, but it paled in comparison to the reunion. There was so 
much love in the room! After the show we walked a block to a local pub who's 
owners and lone waitress looked overwhelmed as all 27 of us walked in, 
however they rose to the occasion, put many tables end to end and made us 
one large table to gather around, catch up, and enjoy each others company.
There was a drama teacher at the show last night who teaches at Laguardia 
High School for the Performing Arts in NYC. He is directing Hair there next 
December and had seen the listing for Bridgeport Hair and gotten tickets for 
himself and his wife. He recognized Michael B and introduced himself before 
the show, and found himself stumbling into the midst of what he described as 
the most amazing resource for research and support for his production that 
he could possibly imagine. He and his wife were lovely people, and they 
joined us for the party after the show. He shared with me that he was amazed 
at how welcoming we all were, how willing to help support his production, to 
share thoughts and ideas, to include them in our evening. I explained to him 
that that was what Hair was all about. That he was just starting a journey 
that we all had been through; that now he was part of the Tribe. He is 
planning on joining the list in the near future, and looks forward to 
hearing everyone's thoughts and ideas regarding Hair in a high school 
setting (albeit one with closer to professional level talent pool than most 
other high schools). I am looking forward to seeing Hair done with actors 
closer to the true ages of the characters, and with such a committed 
director. It was the most perfect start to a production of Hair that I can 
imagine!
 I find myself at an unusual loss for words at trying to describe what a 
special evening it was. Speak up others who were there - perhaps someone can 
write a more eloquent report on the evening than I am managing. I'll close 
with one of my favorite lines of the evening. Looking very  pleased with her 
life a certain 13 year old said "My mother takes me to  productions of Hair 
the way other mother's take their kids to Disney  movies." I feel very 
lucky, as does she, that life affords me this wonderful
 Tribe for her to grow up around. I can imagine no better influences than 
those around her last night.

 Save September 10th, 2005! We'll do it all again, on a larger scale at
 LaMama. Details coming as we know them.

 Love, love, love,
 Nina

 The Hair Archives
 http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/Hair.html