Hair: GIVE ME A HEAD WITH LONG BEAUTIFUL HAIR

Rehearsal Days 2 and 3

Hello readers. Patrick Young here, Musical Director for Hair here at Tibbits. We have had a very busy couple of days, and I am excited to report some great progress. By the end of today's rehearsal we have already learned all of the music in Act 1, and have also staged and choreographed over 70 percent of the act. This can take much longer in some situations, but I give full credit to the effort of the cast in learning their parts, and doing their work at home.

Even though none of the performers lived through the Vietnam War (or as the government called it...a conflict), they are not only learning the music and movements needed for the show, but are also researching events of the time to see what the media reported at the time, as well as recollections and writings from people who lived during the era, or served in the military, in order to bring this show to you.

Since we have learned the music, we are now putting scenes and songs up on their feet, and moving away from just singing around the piano. It as amazing to watch our director, Ray, and our choreographer, Ali Gritz, getting the cast up on their feet and bringing the words and music to life. Hair, the title song of the show, is a number not to be missed as the cast not only tells their story, but also bring their happiness and excitement right out into the audience!

We also had a visit from our costume designer Erin Tucker today, who brought in wigs and other costume pieces for our performers to begin working with. It is amazing to see the difference having long hair can make, and how much more in touch with the character the performer can get. Most times, costumes are brought in during tech, but in a show such as this where so much is dependant on getting into the right mind set for the characters, every little bit helps - and let me just say that they look great!

A couple of parting thoughts to think about until the next time I write - this show is all about Americans in the 60's, and because of this some very interesting issues can come up. Who were the hippies - Were they a group of delinquents? Were the sex and drug crazed maniacs? Or were they people who just wanted to make a statement and were willing to go to any length to get people to listen to them? We don't claim to know the answers to these questions, but once you see the show, you may see a different side to hippy culture that you may not have seen before. We open in just under a week, and hope to see you at one of our performances. Plus, mark you calenders for Saturday the 25th, when we will have a special talk back after the performance that will give you a chance to talk with the perfomers as well as some of the creative staff about their thoughts on the show, as well as more information on how we put together a musical here at Tibbits.