CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The cast and crew of the Charleston Light Opera Guild's production of "HAIR" should be sleeping in late this morning.
It would be much deserved rest after their amazing opening night performance Friday at the Charleston Civic Center Little Theater.
The Charleston Light Opera Guild gave a rousing revival of the '60s hippie musical that was a delight to watch and hear.
Revivals of period pieces like "HAIR," steeped in the politics of a specific time, always call to mind comparisons to the present and some can be made if you stay away from the specifics. In both the 1960s and now, there was a war overseas and protests in the streets against the government.
Upon closer inspection, though, there's very little in common. Our war is against terror, not a political ideology. The protests in the streets are mostly about health care and taxes.
What is good about the play, what endures as much as the love beads and bell-bottoms, is the sense of youthful idealism. The Charleston Light Opera Guild's production captured the fun and hope in the face of turbulence without seeming like a cliché.
The entire cast did a remarkable job and it's regrettable the cast is so large individual compliments can't be paid to every one. All of the principles, Jeff Hanson as Berger, Eli Chambers as Claude, Michelle Melton as Sheila and Christopher Conrad as Woof were fantastic.
Hanson, appearing for his third time as Berger, has the prowling, grumbling hippie leader down. Christopher Conrad as the "ambisexual" Woof was fascinating to watch and Melton's voice was wonderful.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The cast and crew of the Charleston Light Opera Guild's production of "HAIR" should be sleeping in late this morning.
It would be much deserved rest after their amazing opening night performance Friday at the Charleston Civic Center Little Theater.
The Charleston Light Opera Guild gave a rousing revival of the '60s hippie musical that was a delight to watch and hear.
Revivals of period pieces like "HAIR," steeped in the politics of a specific time, always call to mind comparisons to the present and some can be made if you stay away from the specifics. In both the 1960s and now, there was a war overseas and protests in the streets against the government.
Upon closer inspection, though, there's very little in common. Our war is against terror, not a political ideology. The protests in the streets are mostly about health care and taxes.
What is good about the play, what endures as much as the love beads and bell-bottoms, is the sense of youthful idealism. The Charleston Light Opera Guild's production captured the fun and hope in the face of turbulence without seeming like a cliché.
The entire cast did a remarkable job and it's regrettable the cast is so large individual compliments can't be paid to every one. All of the principles, Jeff Hanson as Berger, Eli Chambers as Claude, Michelle Melton as Sheila and Christopher Conrad as Woof were fantastic.
Hanson, appearing for his third time as Berger, has the prowling, grumbling hippie leader down. Christopher Conrad as the "ambisexual" Woof was fascinating to watch and Melton's voice was wonderful.
Others who shined included Jennifer Lynn Arnold, who played the cheerfully addled Jeanie, Michael Anthony Barnes as Hud and Light Opera Guild regular Ted Brightwell, whose turn as Margaret Mead was a comic showstopper.
The sound of the show was very strong. Clearly, some of the best young voices Charleston has to offer were on the stage at the same time, singing their hearts out. The results of that collaboration were often jaw-dropping.
The costuming was surprisingly good, appropriately garish without seeming hokey, and the choreography appeared seamless.
"Hair" is wonderful show and worth seeing more than once during its run.
Really, the only niggling complaint is one that seems to come up again and again with local theater shows: the sound system has bugs in it. The intermittent buzzes, cracks and inconvenient dropouts are annoying and distracting, but not enough to detract from the whole of the performance.
"Hair" was groovy.
Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.
