Customer Reviews

Hair: Let the Sunshine In

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

HAIR is such a monumental piece of theater, that there is no way a 55 minute documentary would possibly be able to cover its impact.

With that said, here are some of the pluses and minuses of this film:

On the plus side... the show's relevance to the current world political climate. MOST of the interviews, especially from three authors of books about the show(one from the original Broadway cast, another from the final performance and especially Scott Miller, who also posted his review here on AMAZON). Many of the songs from the score, either performed or used as background(although amusingly, "Easy To Be Hard" is credited to Off-Broadway's "Sheila", Jill O'Hara, and NOT correctly to the film's astounding Cheryl Barnes). Clips of both the Broadway and Los Angeles companies (although sadly, the NY company's appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" has vanished into the hitherlands).

On the minus side- not enough interviews with OTHER members from HAIR's Broadway cast(or original OFF-BROADWAY production, prior to Tom O'Horgan's re-envisioning of it). Too much time spent on Keith Carradine, a replacement "Claude". Not enough on how the international companies affected their respective countries. More on "behind-the-scenes" of putting on HAIR, dealing with back-stage politics(for that, find a copy of Lorrie Davis's "LETTING DOWN MY HAIR", sadly out-of-print- so try e-Bay). Too much time spent with Milos Forman, director of the misbegotten film version(which both authors Ragni and Rado detested, and while entertaining and musically outstanding, in no way captures the hippie lifestyle or captures the stage show's sponteniety). And WAY too much time spent on rehearsals for a revival.

All-in-all, this doc is worth a look... but you'd seriously gain way more information and insight by reading LETTING DOWN MY HAIR, THE AGE OF HAIR, GOOD HAIR DAYS and most importantly LET THE SUNSHINE IN: THE GENIUS OF HAIR, the four books about one of the greatest musicals ever created.

If you think HAIR is a cute, silly, hippie musical, this documentary will cure you of that. This is a penetrating, intelligent look at the brilliant, ground-breaking, still profoundly relevent 60s musical about war, politics, love, drugs, sex, and our place in the world. The film includes interviews with the show's creators, producers, original cast members, and much more. When it's done the way it's meant to be, HAIR is a serious, important, shattering piece of theatre and this documentary explains why it still works. (Maybe it will help rid of us of all those productions of HAIR that try to make it into Godspell.) Having directed the show three times and written a book about it ("Let the Sun Shine In: The Genius of HAIR"), I can say that this is the best documentary about a piece of theatre I've ever seen.

The musical hair, which celebrated it's 40th Anniversary last year with a number of "anniversary" revivals, is coming back to Broadway again this holiday season. The show truly reflected what was going on in the country (the US, though it was expanding outside the US borders). The US was involved in the conflict in Vietnam and "young Americans" were trying to stop the war. Sexual liberation was happening and so was the rise of the hippie drug culture. Two New York actors, Jim Rado and Jerome Ragni put together a "script" and wrote a few songs. They hooked up with composer Galt McDermott and tried it out on a few people. Joseph Papp who was forming the New York Shakespeare Festival (to present new plays off-Broadway) was looking for an opening show. And this turned out to be "Hair". EVERYONE knows the "hit" song "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In", and most know the others.

The story of the show from its inception through the filmed version - Directed by Milos Forman in his first English language production - and on to the revivals is expertly told in this hour-long documentary made in 2007 for FRENCH Television! (Yes, it's all in English). There are rehearsals for the 2007 revival, great archival footage of the original cast performing on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" in 1968, and interviews with Forman, Rado, Director Tom O' Horgan , and "Hair" cast members Melba Moore, Ben Vereen and Keith Carridine. The documentary's Director also includes clips of the war in Iraq and President Bush to show that - in many ways - not much has changed.

The real treat is the nearly 40 minutes of BONUS interviews with Forman, Rado and Vereen (though Vereen seems to stretch out his answers a bit too long.)

Why it took a French TV company to make one of the best in-depth documentaries on a Broadway musical is beyond me. But, thanks to Alive Mind Media and their distributor Koch Home Video, it's now available for all in the US to see. A copy of this belongs in every theater library as well as course required viewing for any 20th Century Popular Culture course!

Steve Ramm

"Anything Phonographic"

If you lived through the 60's (and remember anything about them) this is a must see. Brought back many memories (both good and bad) of an era that defined our generation.

This outstanding documentary about the musical Hair held my attention every step of the way! The archival clips are wonderfully spread throughout the film; and we get so much interview footage, both old and new, with cast members and more. We even see members of the current cast of Hair as they practice for the current production of the Broadway show. This documentary has excellent bonus interview footage and overall it's truly a fine documentary for one of the best musicals ever produced.

Ben Vereen, who acted in the original stage play, refers to Hair as a "movement;" and he is very much correct. Hair captured the essence of what so many young Americans thought about the war in Vietnam during the late 1960s. This documentary shows that Hair did not shy away from displaying the lives of these young people as people; they were not merely a "bunch of hippies" to be thoughtlessly discarded by society. The film shows how the musical brought out the hopes of this generation who openly questioned authority and spurned conventions, even doing a nude scene on stage was acceptable and indeed a declaration that the human body is beautiful and nothing to be ashamed of.

As for that archival footage, there's certainly no shortage of it. We see James Rado and Gerome Ragni on The Johnny Carson Show in 1968; and there's some footage of the cast of Hair performing a number on the same TV show as well. Look for a rather young Tim Curry being interviewed and we see Director Milos Forman reflect on his motion picture version of Hair. Hair actors Melba Moore and Keith Carradine also provide good insight and reflections on the original stage play; and it's all fascinating.

In addition, this motion picture makes it clear that, sadly, certain things have not changed. While the young people in the 1960s truly thought they were changing the world as they hoped so much to create a true Utopia; this perfect way of life has yet to be. The war in Vietnam raged on then; and the war in Iraq rages on today. Utopia remains a concept more than anything that, at least for now, could ever truly exist. But wow, how I give those young men and women credit for what they did to take their stand against the war!

All in all, this is probably the best documentary film available on Hair. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves the musical either in its original version, the movie version or the current version running on Broadway as I write this. If you add this to your DVD collection, you won't be disappointed.

The 55-minute documentary HAIR: LET THE SUNSHINE IN is pretty entertaining and gives the viewer a glimpse into the legendary Broadway show that revolutionized musical theater.

There's some great vintage performances of the original tribe including creators James Rado and Gerome Ragni as they perform in 1968 on "The Smothers Brothers" and "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," and includes footage of the marquees of the various theaters that was showing the musical and newspaper reviews of "Hair" from that time period.

Rado (Claude) talks about the inspiration he and Gerome Ragni (Berger), fellow actor and writer of "Hair," had as they created the story that would not only change Broadway but would become a movement and a snapshot of one of the most turbulent times in America. Director Tom O'Horgan, producer Michael Butler, author Scott Miller Let the Sun Shine In: The Genius of HAIR, producer of the international versions of "Hair" Betrand Castelli, and the brilliant Galt McDermot who put the lyrics to music, all make appearances as does Milos Forman (who did the 1979 movie remake Hair) in the present day.

The film also makes comparisons to that era with today by showing footage from wars and protests from then with now. And there's footage of a new cast--not the one that's on Broadway now in 2009-this doc was made in 2007.

Highlights inlcude:

***Original Cast Members from various tribes remembering "Hair"--Very young Tim Curry (French interview vintage) and Melba Moore, Keith Carradine, Ben Vereen, Mary Lorrie Davis and Jonathon Johnson (interviews done in the present/2007).

***Vintage performances from the original tribes and photos, along with vintage interviews.

***Vintage footage of the real hippies and youth movement of the time.

The EXTRAS are almost an hour, running at 57:24, but they don't really add anything.

***Milos Forman interview discusses Madonna who auditioned for the movie, how Treat Williams got the part of Berger, and Cheryl Barnes performance that blew him away.

***More of Ben Vereen's interview.

***Director Tom O'Horgan directing an acting workshop with a new cast of "Hair" and other workshops with various tribes (i.e. Los Angeles). Although these workshop scenes are interesting to watch it doesn't really add anything other than to let the viewer see how the original cast might have been rehearsed. Again, this is not the cast that's on Broadway now.

I would have liked to see more of the interview with Melba Moore. Moore took over the role of "Sheila" after Diane Keaton went on to another play-- according to Moore's interview in the movie--and this added another dimension to the show since it now dealt with inter-racial couple/trio.

Also, no Donna Summer interview. She was in the Munich production and writes about it in Ordinary Girl: The Journey. Perhaps the documentary's creators, Pola Rapaport and Wolfgang Held, couldn't get Summer but you'd think that she want to be a part of this documentary since she wrote in her book that getting the role in "Hair" and moving to Germany was a life altering experience and one that was so important to her career.

Oh well, maybe with the success of this new revival on Broadway the documentary will be extended. Anyway, it's a pretty decent inside look at the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical HAIR!

This is a great behind-the-scenes documentary and a priceless tool for todays young theatre performers on how to tap into older shows energies for better understanding. I saw the original "Hair" and it blew the lid off theatre as I knew it then. Then I was involved in a local production that ran aground due to censorship and bigotry. Then I took in the next generation touring company and was appalled at their total lack of understanding the piece, the era, and the mind-set of we hippies from which the extraordinary plot evolved. With a new production about to open on Broadway and another war raging overseas "Hair" is as relevent as ever and this informative film is to be treasured. Young people take note! My favorite part is actually in the extras when we get to see (and join in if the spirit moves you) Tom O'Horgan workshopping with a young cast. My one complaint is that the televised clips of cast performances should have been shown in their entirety under the "extras" section for their historical value and just for fun. A superb theatre documentary. The only thing that would make me happier is if they'd re-release the original French cast recording and the "DisinHAIRited" album. Both are overdue. Peace.

Great documentary exploring the history of the musical, the creators and the life and times of the 60's.

Coinciding with the successful Broadway revival of Hair comes the DVD release of the 2007 documentary Hair: Let the Sun Shine In. The film was created by Wolfgang Held and Pola Rapaport, and it represents an attempt to examine the cultural phenomenon that was Hair in the 1960s as well as the social context that surrounded and gave rise to the show.

Such a powerful and important musical really deserves a better testament than Held and Rapaport provide. The 55-minute film spends about 45 minutes heaping blind and unrestrained praise on the show's creators and producers. Included in the film are interviews with librettist/lyricist James Rado, composer Galt MacDermot, and director Tom O'Horgan, who passed away earlier this year. Rado's writing partner Gerome Ragni died in 1991, before the making of the film. Also on hand are various cast members, including Ben Vereen, Keith Carradine, and Melba Moore.

The film includes a lot of vague hippie speak about creating a new kind of theater and reflecting the zeitgeist and whatnot, but there really isn't any compelling social or critical analysis. To be sure, there's some interesting footage here of the original Broadway cast of Hair, as well as various international productions. And there's some illustrative stock footage of the Vietnam War and the Kent State massacre, which does help bring put the social setting in relief. But Held and Rapaport seem to have mistaken juxtaposition for synthesis. There's really no effort here to provide a coherent thesis.

The most annoying footage involves the cast of some New York production of Hair involving Rado and O'Horgan, but it's really not clear which production this is. The footage features a lot of self-satisfied young performers showing off for the camera, very pleased with themselves to be involved in such a worthy and important show, but not reflecting for a second that they understood anything about the show.

In the last ten minutes, Held and Rapaport throw in some interesting but undeveloped references to drug use during the Broadway run, tensions between Rado and Ragni, and a sad but irrelevant mention of cast members that later died of AIDS. The one truly compelling sequence involved an actor who played Woof on the show's national tour. The show had been receiving bomb threats from various conservative groups. One night, the stage manager came up to the actor during a performance and said that they had to leave. The hotel where their respective families were staying had been fire bombed. Ultimately both men lost their wives, and the actor lost two young daughters, to the blaze. According to the film, the perpetrators were never caught.

Overall, the film is worth a watch, but it's certainly not of lasting quality. Fortunately, the shows that inspired the film is.