[Mb-hair] Re: Bridgeport get together

Sun May 22 18:01:22 PDT 2005

Must add my voice to what Nina, Leo, Michael, Barbara, Ace and Jeff have 
written today:  the truly astounding  thing about last night  was how 
well all of us on the HAIR lists have gotten to know each other's 
thoughts, strengths, special interests, personalities and talents from 
the many letters we have written each other - BEFORE WE EVER MET in a 
tangible way. 

I have never been so instantly close and able to launch into a 
high-speed conversation with people I have met for the first time.  But 
that's HAIR, and the HAIR family.....I feel soooooooo lucky and thankful 
that I wound up at a table with Tioga Joe, Leo and Michael! The talk was 
just brilliant.  Everything from about a dozen symbols woven into Hair, 
to the may ways we have done the show, and seen it done, and thought 
about the back story for Claude,  to the many connections the show has 
to the real Vietnam War.  Not to mention HAIR's contributions to the 
history of theater and music.  WOW!!!!

I guess what I am saying is that the show was terrific, BUT - while the 
Bridgeport tribe had the best production values and choreography and 
super Tribal spirit and Great choral singing of any post-professional 
show I have ever seen, and while it was TRULY fabulous to have all of us 
in a cluster watching Our Favorite Show like we were a big clan 
attending sevices at the Temple of Rock...beyond all that... what really 
ROCKED was the company and the hugging and the discovery of each other 
and above all the many great conversations that erupted like geysers all 
over the place.

Leo said it best: "I'm just glad we FINALLY had a reunion for the EAST 
coast!". Hear, hear!

After the big group photos (which I cannot wait to see), Michael Arian 
made the evening's stunning final announcement - the official HAIR 
reunion at LaMama on Sept. 10, 2005. 

I cannot wait for that - and I just know it will be another thrilling 
and for another evening like last night!!!

Love to all - including all of you who sent good wishes and came in spirit -
Bill

Leo wrote:

> 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
>
>
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