What “The Nutcracker” is to December, “Hair” is to July. Not only does the musical take place during the Summer of Love, but its “turn on, tune in, drop out” message feels particularly right when the temperature hits the 90s and everybody mellows.
Tellingly, Diane Paulus’ Tony-winning revival first surfaced in the summer of 2008, at the Delacorte in Central Park. The show then ran on Broadway for more than a year, and now the national tour has parked itself at the St. James for a limited run during the dog days.
Yes, this is a road company, and you have to wonder what it means for Broadway to become just another pit stop — yet another step toward Vegas-ization?
In this case, the production is looking and sounding good, because it’s impossible to keep this “Hair” down. The quintessential rock musical casually tosses off hits, barely slowing down for clever, infernally catchy songs that would stop any other show in its tracks. Paulus’ dynamic staging is nearly foolproof, and in total sync with Karole Armitage’s perpetual-motion choreography.
Some nitpicking: A few actors, including Steel Burkhardt as charismatic Tribe ringleader Berger, think that running their hands through their manes is an acceptable substitute for acting. And the “American Idol” generation appears to distrust vulnerability when singing, as evidenced by Kaitlin Kiyan’s assertive rendition of the wistful ballad “Frank Mills.”
Yet the main issue isn’t so much with individual performances as with the group synergy. Though the book includes a couple of standout parts, Paulus understood that the essence of “Hair” is the ensemble. But this cast doesn’t quite gel into a whole: There are good parts, but they don’t always add up.
Yet caveats aside, this “Hair” remains one of the most spirited, kinetic musicals on Broadway, and when it hits the bull’s-eye — which is often — it hits it hard.
Phyre Hawkins’ Dionne (who gets things started with “Aquarius”) and Darius Nichols’ sexy-growly, Afro’ed Hud effortlessly emerge from the pack. It’s also fun to watch the fierce glint in the eyes of Caren Lyn Tackett’s determined Sheila — you can picture the 1967 student growing into a 2011 congresswoman.
Who would have thought a bunch of goofy hippies would age so well?