Long beautiful "Hair!"

Labor Day has never been a big deal for me. Just a long summer weekend – not a real holiday. This year was the exception. My husband and I went to New York to see our daughter in an off off Broadway production of “Hair!” When Hair made its debut in 1967, I was 11 years old. I heard the songs on the radio and, of course, the nude scene was big news back then. I knew it was about hippies and pictured it as one protest scene after another. I saw the movie probably no more than 5 years ago.

Since my daughter’s involvement with this production, I’ve been educated. I learned the history, looked up the lyrics, listened to the soundtrack. Heck, we even sent our daughter a box of clothes and stuff for the cast. (Laura is the costume designer as well as playing Chrissy.) We didn’t arrive in NY until too late to see the Saturday show but met up with Laura and many of the cast, after, for drinks. I already knew most of the cast because they were also students at Neighborhood Playhouse when my daughter attended. The new cast members were every bit as friendly, and well, just as sweet as they could be. I was struck by the energy emanating from the group. These people had just finished a long, physically demanding performance and they didn’t seem exhausted, quite the opposite. They were stoked.

The show we attended was 7:00, Sunday. We met up with friends who’d seen the original production about 4 times. I was the only one that hadn’t seen it on stage. I was amazed. How the hell did these kids manage to capture the spirit of a culture that existed at least 15 years before they were born? As a member of the audience that was alive during that era, I was reminded of the naiveté my friends and I shared during the late 60’s and early 70’s. We all wanted to go to Haight-Asbury (even though I wasn’t exactly sure where it was) thinking we could just show up and be adopted into this benign community and be free. When upset about how our parents were smothering us and demanding that we conform to their ideals, the common retort (sometimes even spoken aloud) was, “Up the ol’ hole, I’m off to Frisco.” All those memories and, more amazingly, feelings returned as I watched these talented actors. I was really impressed with the staging and choreography, especially “Going Down,” and a short Kama Sutra scene between “Air” and “I Got Life.” Of course the highlight for me was my daughter’s song, “Frank Mills.” I forget to breathe sometimes when I watch her perform and this was one of those times. Her father cried. Poor Laura, it’s pretty bad when the quality of your performance is based on how wet your father’s face is or how blue your mother has turned. I think she’s shooting for making me pass out.

I didn’t know it, but, Nathan Lane sat behind me. I wonder what he thought of the show. Was he there scoping out new talent or does he just like “Hair”?

Okay, okay, the nude scene. All my friends and family asked me, “Are they gonna do the nude scene? How do you feel about that?” Well, truthfully, it bothered me when I first realized my daughter would be naked on stage. Then I just put it out of my mind. I told my friends I would look at the other side of the stage. What really happened was that as soon as the nude cast emerged from beneath the parachute silk, I located Laura and was momentarily spellbound. I then looked to the other side of the stage. But you know what? The memory I will always have of this scene is the image of my breathtakingly beautiful, fearless daughter.