The untidy musical "Hair" can, in fact, still be entertaining and relevant in the year 2024.
An overview of the musical “Hair” includes the following: It is a known landmark. It’s a tired old saying. It is a year older than I am, and it is 57 years old, may God have mercy on it.
It’s also unforgivably untidy, impossibly naive, insufferably lazy here and unmistakably thinning there — but inescapably, infuriatingly winning, too, what with the snuggle-puppies vibe of its hippie-commune characters and the undertone of existential confusion that shades and deepens the best of the sunny-with-a-chance-of-apocalypse tunes.
Section devoted to style
Style is where The Washington Post covers happenings on the front lines of culture and what it all means. This includes the arts, media, social trends, politics, and yes, fashion, all of which are told with personality and in-depth reporting. To read further Style stories, go here.
Take a moment to set aside the macro-issue sociopolitical echoes that, if expertly navigated, could maybe make a staging of this Vietnam-era protest musical in 2024 appear as fresh as a blossom in the rifle barrel of a reserve soldier: I arrived at the opening of the staging at Signature Theatre shortly after having a conversation with a teenage nephew whose hoop dreams appear to be fading and whose relationship has just evaporated. It is possible that this is the reason why the essential sweetness and fragility of “Hair’s” struggling individual adolescents is what resonated with me the most this time around.
Including the arts, journalism, social trends, politics, and yes, fashion, The Washington Post covers happenings on the front lines of culture and what it all means in its Style section. All of these stories are told with personality and in-depth reporting. Read more stories on style here.
Allow us to temporarily set aside the macro-issue sociopolitical echoes that, if masterfully negotiated, may possibly make a performance of this Vietnam-era protest musical in the year 2024 appear as fresh as a flower in the rifle barrel of a reservist soldier: It is possible that the essential sweetness and fragility of “Hair’s” struggling individual adolescents is what resonated with me the most this time around. On the other hand, I arrived at the opening of Signature Theatre’s staging just after having a conversation with a teenage nephew whose hoop dreams appear to be fading and whose relationship has just evaporated.
