Newsflash: Hippies Spotted In Asbury Park "Hair" on the Boardwalk

By Philip Dorian
Two River Times
August 22nd 2008

On opening night of Hair at the Carousel on the Asbury Park boardwalk, heavy rain (precipitation) fell during the song about snow (not precipitation). Dripping through the roof in several spots, including onto the stage, the rain did not dampen the spirits of the show's anti-Vietnam War protesters or of their adoring capacity audience. The particular scene is a hippie be-in, and the downpour brought us all, audience and cast, together for a precious two hours.
That's what Hair was supposed to do, before we traded tie-dye for navy blue and activism for going-along-to-get-along. Two years ago I wrote that Hair, 40 years after emerging as the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, had become passe and that its relevance might be mainly historical. Dated Hair is, but despite some valid criticisms, ReVision's quality re-vision makes for a valid time-study. Director Andy Goldberg imbued his energetic cast with respect for the era as well as the material.
Don't go to Hair looking for a plot or even a linear story. It's New York City, 1968. Claude (Casey Gensler), drafted to serve in Vietnam, vows to burn his draft card and refuse induction. In the end he does go, with predictable consequences.
Claude's tribe includes his sex-and-drugs-obsessed friend Berger (Scoop Slone); his girlfriend Sheila (Ephie Aardema); Jeanie (Julia Arazi), who's pregnant by Claude; Hud (Kyle Taylor Parker), a tough "colored" guy; sweet, vulnerable Crissy (Marah Meese); and diverse hippies.
Claude is ambivalent about serving, while Berger is in the 'hell no, I won't go' camp. Gensler and Slone, contrasting types, match up well. Their friendship rings true.
Musically, The Tribe rediscovers "Aquarius," Good Morning Starshine" and "Let the Sunshine In" with enthusiasm and "Frank Mills" gets the proper wistful treatment from Meese. Ms. Aardema, an accomplished singer, is a potent presence throughout, and Arazi makes of pregnant Jeanie the waif you want to protect. Britt Johnson's cameo as a curious tourist is a comic highlight.
Hair ushered in the era of amplification, and there is a tendency for companies to treat their theater spaces like 15,000-seat concert venues. ReVision is no exception. The band, offstage at the rear, provides excellent backing, but a sizeable portion of the lyrics is lost in vocal volume and over-amplification, a significant flaw, considering the absence of a coherent book. While a choreographer is listed, the dancing is free-form and more Stone Pony-ish than stageworthy.
On the big-plus side: Most of act two is Claude's war-themed hallucination. Vietnam is represented of course, as are the American Revolution, the Civil War, both World Wars and '60s Civil Rights issues. The extended scene can be as fuzzy as Claude's drug-addled brain, but here it's clear as a bell and ethereal all at once. Director Goldberg uses the Carousel's many aisles and levels, and costumer Steven Epstein's creations blend accuracy with a sense of humor. The second act works better here than anywhere else I've seen it.
The fortitude that turned the recently-decrepit carousel building into a viable theater venue is praiseworthy in itself. What a pleasure to see Asbury Park's Boardwalk, virtually deserted for decades, bustling again with shops, strolling couples, laughing teenagers and, would you believe, even theatergoers.
"Hair" runs through August 31 at The Carousel, south end of the Boardwalk in Asbury Park. Performances are Thurs-Fri at 8pm; Sat at 7 and 10:30; and Sun at 7pm. For tickets ($35): 732-455-3059 or online at www.revisiontheatre.org
About Hair's fleeting nude scene: Here it's semi. A few of the 17 hippies are starkers and a few topless, but the once-shocking display is redundant now anyway - silly even. Of far more importance, the audience is not invited on stage to dance with the cast after the curtain call. C'mon, ReVision; get with the program.

"Hair' grabs gold ring

Scoop Slone, Casey Gensler and Ephie Aardema are co-stars in ReVision Theatre Company's production of "Hair," being staged at the carousel house in Asbury Park.
(Dennis Carroll)

August 19, 2008

by TOM CHESEK, Asbury Park Press

What a piece of work is "Hair: the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" that caught Broadway with its pants down more than 40 years ago.

Welded to its Summer of Love origins, devoid of all but the barest-bones plot points, populated by the sketchiest of characters, the 1967 show created by James Rado and Gerome Ragni might have been little more than a vanity project for its writer-stars if it weren't for one crucial distinction — those songs.

Working with composer Galt MacDermot, the authors crafted a set of generational anthems, emotional ballads and satiric sing-alongs that stand very well on their own, even as they shoulder the entire weight of moving the show along. All this, without owing a thing to the conventions of Tin Pan Alley's Golden Age.

Along the way to revolutionizing the whole musical template as practiced in postwar America, "Hair" managed to shed a number of Broadway bugaboos — against sex and drug references, interracial romancing and liberal dropping of the f-bomb, to name but a few. Most of all, it's famous for the shedding of clothing, which the cast does during the "Be-In" sequence that forms the climax to the first act.

ReVision Theatre Company, the new professional troupe based in Asbury Park, has selected this unorthodox show as its first extended-engagement production — and they've opted to do it in an unorthodox venue, the Carousel building that adjoins the old Casino at the south end of the boardwalk.

Unless you're a recovering 1990s skate punk, you probably haven't been inside that historic roundhouse for many years; not since the hand-painted ponies of the old wooden ride stampeded out of state. Boardwalk developer Madison Marquette has done a tremendous job getting the unique structure up to speed as a live performance venue, a purpose it was never designed for.

Director Andy Goldberg (whose 1970s-retro tribute to the Aussie pop group Boney M was a smash on European stages) and the ReVision team have also worked hard in orienting this show to its unusual space, keeping the cast of 17 actors mostly above the audience on a central riser, side platforms and scaffolds.

As Claude, the conflicted "Tribe" member whose drafting into the Vietnam-era army forms the crux of the drama here, Casey Gensler shares the spotlight with Scoop Slone, who displays some solid rock-star cred as the Puckish, self-centered Tribesman Berger. If anything, however, "Hair" is an unusually democratic show in which pretty much everyone gets their turn to shine — with stand-out moments delivered by Kyle Taylor Parker ("Colored Spade"), Julia Arazi ("Air"), Mike Russo ("Don't Put It Down") and Ephie Aardema ("Easy To Be Hard").

Special kudos should go out to lighting designer George Hansel, who's met the considerable challenges of rigging and illuminating this oddball space with an effort that pays off in full during the extended "trip" and hallucination sequences of the second act.

Cast Announced for ReVision Theatre’s Production of HAIR

July 30, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cast Announced for ReVision Theatre’s Production of
HAIR
The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
At the CAROUSEL on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park
Andy Goldberg (The Bomb-itty of Errors) Directs
Scoop Slone (Lead singer of rock band Maslow) stars

Asbury Park, New Jersey -- Scoop Slone, the lead singer of the rock band Maslow, will perform the role of Berger in ReVision Theatre’s upcoming production of Hair, The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical at the Carousel on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The show will run August 15th to the 31st (Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 7 pm & 10:30 pm, and Sundays at 7pm) with additional late night performances on Saturday evenings at 10:30 pm.
Directed by Andy Goldberg (The Bomb-itty of Errors, Nerds, and West End’s Daddy Cool), the performance features choreography by Elisabetta Spuria and musical direction by Andy Hertz.
The cast includes Casey Gensler (Claude), Ephie Aardema (Sheila), Julia Arazi (Jeanie), Mike Russo (Woof), Marah Meese (Crissy), and Kyle Taylor Parker (Hud). The production also features tribe members Keith Antone, Joy Caldwell, Steven Charles, Martin Gould Cummings, Spiro Galiatsatos, Deidra Grace, Iliana Inocencio, Britt Johnson, Hannah Shankman, and Anita Welch.
The design team comprises Russel Schramm (set designer), Dawn von Suskil (associate set designer), George Hansel (lighting designer), Simon Ghezzi (sound designer), and Steven Epstein (costume designer).
The newly restored historic Carousel on the Boardwalk is located at 700 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Tickets, priced $35, are available by visiting www.ReVisionTheatre.org or by calling (732) 455-3059. The show will contain nudity and strong language.
Hair, The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement which include: “Aquarius,” the title song “Hair,” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Let The Sunshine In”. The musical's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy. The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of the "rock musical", utilizing a racially-integrated cast and inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-in" finale.
Hair tells the story of the "tribe", a group of politically active, long-haired "Hippies of the Age of Aquarius" fighting against conscription to the Vietnam War and living a bohemian life together in New York City. They struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution with their pacifist rebellion against the war and the conservative impulses of their parents and society.
After an Off-Broadway debut in October 1967 at Joseph Papp's Public Theater and another run in a midtown discothèque space, the show opened on Broadway in April 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances, followed by a successful London production, which ran for 1,997 performances. Numerous productions have been staged around the world since then, and numerous recordings of the musical have been released. Several of the songs from its score became Top 40 hits, and a successful movie adaptation was released in 1979.
ReVision Theatre is a non-profit 501(c)3 professional regional theatre company dedicated to producing invigorating theatre with a fresh new perspective reaching the diverse community of Asbury Park and Monmouth County. ReVision Theatre produces reinventions of previously produced classics, overlooked or forgotten work in a new way, and new work with a fresh voice. The company serves as a home for local artists and writers. ReVision Theatre also believes in the importance of theatre education and teaches children and adult theatre classes. ReVision Theatre produces readings, workshops, cabarets, concerts, and mainstage productions.

Visit www.RevisionTheatre.org or call 732-455-3059 for tickets or for more information.

CONTACT: Stephen Bishop Seely
Stephen@ReVisionTheatre.org
732-455-3059
Fast Facts:

Who: ReVision Theatre
David E. Leidholdt, Thomas Morrissey, and Stephen Bishop Seely
Producing Artistic Directors
PO BOX 973, Asbury Park, New Jersey 07712

What: HAIR, The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical
Book and Lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni
Music by Galt MacDermot.
Directed by Andy Goldberg
Choreographed by Elisabetta Spuria
Scenic Design by Russel Schramm
Associate Scenic Design by Dawn von Suskil
Lighting Design by George Hansel
Sound Design by Simon Ghezzi
Cast includes Scoop Slone (Berger), Casey Gensler (Claude), Ephie Aardema (Sheila),
Julia Arazi (Jeanie), Mike Russo (Woof), Marah Meese (Crissy), Kyle Taylor Parker (Hud).
Keith Antone, Joy Caldwell, Steven Charles, Martin Gould Cummings, Spiro Galiatsatos,
Deidra Grace, Iliana Inocencio, Britt Johnson, Hannah Shankman, and Anita Welch.

Where: The Carousel on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey
700 Ocean Avenue at Asbury Avenue
Asbury Park, New Jersey 07712

When: Opens Friday, August 15 thru Sunday, August 31
Performances Thursdays & Fridays at 8pm
Saturdays at 7 & 10:30pm
Sundays at 7pm

How: All tickets are $35.
Buy tickets online at www.ReVisionTheatre.org
Or call 732-455-3059.
Limited seating is available.

Contains Nudity & Strong Language