SALAMANCA, N.Y. — “Hair,” the tribal, love-rock musical, is coming to Salamanca.
The Cattaraugus County Living Arts Association has announced its production of “Hair,” with performances at 7 p.m. Feb. 24-25; 2 p.m. Feb. 26; and 7 p.m. March 3-4 at the Ray Evans Seneca Theater in Salamanca.
Tickets to the production are $15 and are available at the door or at the website www.showclix.com.
Director Todd Wagner noted this production will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the musical.
“In 1967, this musical captured the essence of the cultural and political movement that became known as the hippies. ‘Hair’ is to the ’60s what ‘Rent’ is to the ’90s,” Wagner stated. “And, we’ll work to make this a genuine and realistic production like we did with ‘Rent’ a few years ago.”
The musical centers around “The Tribe,” a group of East Side youth in New York City who band together to not only face the normal challenges of growing up, but also to question authority, the war in Vietnam and “pretty much everything” the older generation stands for.
They explore new ways of looking at the world and how to change it, new ways of relating to each other and new ways of living, Wagner described. Playful in their childhood innocence, they eventually find the events of the day — war, conscription and discrimination — can impact them deeply, stripping them of their innocence, but not stripping them of their yearning for peace, love, justice, freedom and happiness.
The story is told through song vignettes with very little dialogue in between. Some of the iconic songs from the 33 pieces of music in the show include “Aquarius,” “Easy to Be Hard,” “Let the Sunshine In” and, of course, the title track “Hair.”
“I think the audience will leave feeling like they did actually spend a few hours back in the ’60s, with not only the music running through their heads, but also with the ideas and ideals of The Tribe helping them see the relevance of this musical to the present day,” said Wagner.
“Hair” opened off-Broadway in 1967, and then on-Broadway in 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances. The musical was nominated for Best Musical at the 1969 Tony Awards, and also won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical in 2009.
It is being produced at the Seneca Theater under license from Tams-Witmark. Because the show seeks to authentically describe the 1960s, there are drug references as well as adult language and themes, and so this musical is recommended for mature audiences.
The Cattaraugus County Living Arts Association is adding “Hair” to its list of recent productions, including “West Side Story,” “Rent,” “Into the Woods,” “Last Five Years,” “Avenue Q” and “Little Shop of Horrors.”
