Age of Aquarius

Saturday night, I ventured out into the wild of Orange County to catch a performance of the musical Hair. Surprisingly, I had never seen a live performance of the show until then, only the movie version a few times whenever it happened to air on TV. But I knew some of the music. My Brother and I grew up listening to the Fifth Dimension's cover of Age of Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In on 8-track whenever we went camping -- which was often.

So it was great hearing the songs performed live, as they were meant to be, with psychedelic lighting and classic rock jams and fantastic voices. Most of the actors probably didn't need to wear mics, either. And you could feel the emotions flowing off the stage through the very mixed audience -- young, old, gay, straight, etc. As for the story, I found it a bit hard to follow, and from I could make out -- since it's very different from the film version -- the character of Claude is dissatisfied with his normal family life, joins a tribe of flower children, takes advantage of the drugs and open sex, then begins to have doubts about the tribe and his place in it once he receives his draft card. I felt the story took a back seat to the music and to the feeling of angst regarding the war, against racial discrimination, and against being yourself.

My favorite moment was the last seen, when the entire cast gathers on a darkened stage with the snow falling. They begin to join the band, lending their plaintive voices to Let the Sun Shine In. The band's music fades out, but the singing continues as all the actors leave the stage and exit through the doors in the audience. Very powerful and moving.

It's definitely a show worth watching and worth listening to.

Image from Fanpop.