hair, the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, reopened last night at the Biltmore theatre.  Paradoxically, in transferring the musical from a little show to a big one, Hair has been both lengthened and shorn.  The book has been largely eliminated and admirers of the original may find this version somewhat over-produced and elaborately rigged.  In any event, the producers have managed to turn an off-Broadway hit into a Broadway smash.  Incidentally, the nude sequence is not unduly alarming, consisting of a stately tableau which would hardly be out of place in Handel's MESSIAH.  Galt MacDermot's dynamic score -- with a few additions -- still blasts and soars, and the show has lost none of its cheerful nihilism.  Tom O'Horgan has directed with consistent drive and plenty of violent invention.  The entire cast is marvelous.

VERDICT:  Hair is the one current show which exactly reflects the temper of the times.  Unless times abruptly change, it should be around for quite a while.
 

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