Arts & Culture

UK Theatre 'Lets the Sunshine In' at Guignol With 'Hair'

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Promo for UK Department of Theatre and Dance's production of "Hair." 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 13, 2015)  The University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance will end the season with a groovy revolution. The department will present the popular musical “Hair” April 16- April 26, in the Guignol Theatre.

“Hair,” written by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, originally premiered off Broadway in the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1967 and found its way to Broadway in April 1968. “Hair” is a musical that embodies the romanticized spirit of the hippie counter culture of the 1960s. Though the plot is rather loose, the musical tells the story of Claude and his struggle with conscription into the Vietnam War.

Under the direction of Russell Henderson, the department first produced “Hair” in October 1993. It ran with such overwhelming success that it included midnight showings and a rerun in the summer of 1994.

“Like Hamlet, it’s a play about a man who can’t make up his mind ultimately,” said Associate Professor of Theatre Russell Henderson, who will also direct the 2015 production. “But it’s really about the search for self and self identification and how you figure into a larger society.”

The cast consists of a “tribe” of 30 people. Students registered for the show like a class and have designated rehearsal times on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. During the rehearsal process the cast had to acquire a necessary understanding of the period both historically and culturally. The musical encompasses a lot of references that were contemporary in the 1960s and explores themes such as resistance to the Vietnam War, women’s liberation, the sexual revolution and the drug culture of the time. Henderson stressed in rehearsal that the actors should not be playing ‘hippies’ but rather people living during the period.

In the 1960s a group of like-minded, unrelated people who lived together for mutual gain was considered a tribe or a commune. These people would often live with each other, provide for each other and celebrated ideas such as freedom, happiness, peace, harmony and understanding. A tribe could also include people who would be a hippie for the weekend and return to their desk jobs on Monday.

 “We are representing an era and a group of people that really believed in the power of love and believed in the power of togetherness – the whole cast had to find that together,” said theatre senior Rachel Snyder, of Dayton, Ohio, who is playing Shelia Franklin. “We had to become the tribe. And I think we have done that.”

“These people lived free without labels in a world that always wanted to confine something to a label, and this directly mirrors our society today,” said theatre junior DeAndreus Baines, of Memphis, Tennessee, who portrays Hud. “We spend more time now trying to give something a title instead of letting it be whatever it wants to be.”

While many of the references will be understood fully by those who grew up in the 1960s, the musical is still relevant to a 2015 audience. Many of the issues brought to light in the 1960s, such as the fight for equal human rights, are still prevalent in today’s culture.

“This is 2015, not 1948, but have we really progressed?” said Synder. “We are still fighting about discrimination, drug use, sexuality, human rights and freedom. Do we need to keep illuminating the issues, fighting for humanity, and sharing love? I think now is the time to ‘Let the Sunshine In.’”

Taking in the April 25 show will be several members of the family of "Hair" co-writer Gerome Ragni, including a relative who attends UK.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m., April 16-18 and 23-25. A 2 p.m. matinee performance will be presented April 26. Tickets are $15 for students and $20 for the general public.

The production contains mature content such as strong language and brief nudity.

The UK Department of Theatre and Dance at UK College of Fine Arts has played an active role in the performance scene in Central Kentucky for more than 100 years. Students in the program get hands-on training and one-on-one mentorship from a renowned professional theatre faculty. The liberal arts focus of their bachelor's degree program is coupled with ongoing career counseling to ensure a successful transition from campus to professional life.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu