Take a trip back to the 1960s at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Some theatre goers even came in costume to the opening Friday night, resurrecting the bellbottoms, fringe, and psychedelic colors of the Hippie Counterculture.
Brandon Box-Higdem skillfully directs this long-on-songs, short-on-dialogue musical written by James Rado and Gerome Gagni and book by Galt MacDermot. As controversial as HAIR was when it opened on Broadway in 1967, this show in the intimate space of the Howard Drew Theatre will likely provoke some conversations. Barely disguised nudity, profanity, and irreverent pokes at religion may dissuade some from attendance, but for those who venture out to take in this Tony Award and Drama Desk Best Revival, you will be swept into the rebellious world of free love, drugs, and anti-war sentiment.
The first thing you will notice upon entering the theatre is Set Designer Steven Williams’ interesting graffiti like artwork on the walls with messages common to that era and still relevant today. His lighting is moody, an effective backdrop for the wildly colorful and exuberant characters that bound onto the floor from all corners. There is no retreating. Audience members are drawn into the action. We are invited to be in there as participants rather than just observers…