Long Beautiful Hair

So after years of listening to the soundtrack, last night the magic of Hair finally came together at the St. James Theatre here in New York! The national tour is stopping by the city that never sleeps from now until September 10th after closing on Broadway about a year ago.

The music was phenomenal, but really, would you expect any less? The plot was less than sturdy (read: there) but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's clear that Hair is not simply a musical about the 60s, it is the 60s; a direct product of the era in every sense of the word.

(Photo credit Joan Marcus)

Some of the cast seemed a bit worn out from touring since October but a couple absolutely blew the audience away. Kacie Sheik, playing a very pregnant tribe member named Jeanie, was hysterical and a little crazy but never failed to entertain. Oh, and did I mention the gratuitous group nude scene? Yeah well, and that's just act one.

(Photo credit Robert J. Saferstein)

Throughout the entirety of the night you could tell just from looking around how much the audience connected with the show. Many of them were baby-boomers and would have been just about the characters' ages at the time the show takes place. Looking around I couldn't help but wonder who of the older crowd were of the free-spirited wild child/dirty hippie variety only a few decades ago. I think it's safe to say that all in attendance were sad to see it end but in typical Hair style the audience was invited onstage to sing and dance with the tribe during the encore. All in all a great job and an amazing night! Now if only that stage fright hadn't kept me from dancing...