What did the US Broadway critics make of Hair last year? And what have UK bloggers made of it's West End run so far?
The American rock musical Hair opens at Geilgud Theatre this week and has so far had positive reviews from British theatre bloggers. The entire Broadway company of the Tony award-winning show has been transferred to London's West End bringing with it the anthemic songs of anti-war '60s USA as it undergoes its sexual revolution.
In light of ongoing debate over the place and power of traditional newspaper critics, we thought we'd take a look at what the Broadway critics made of the show while it was State-side and salute our valued UK bloggers while we're at it.
Joe Dzienmianowicz of New York Theatre Guide gave it four stars and admitted “this wasn't half as bad as I thought it was going to be”. Whilst warning us not to expect much of a story he does say something for the formal setting that would certainly apply to the West End: “seeing a bunch of kids in rags, tie-dyed t-shirts, and flowing cotton dresses on the stage of a Broadway theatre is a visual mind bender”. He also takes his hat off to director Dianne Paulus' “exuberant staging” for letting it “all hang out”.
Ben Brantly of The New York Times hailed the seeming spontaneity of Karole Armitage's “happy hippie choreography, with its group gropes and mass writhing”, declaring the show “a feel-good free-for-all”.
The New York Post highlighted the “breathtaking precision and conciseness” dispatched by the cast as they spoofed “Tin Pan Alley, country and doo-wop along with hazy psychedelic explorations, folk ballads and full-on rock anthems”, calling the show a production that “throbs with life”.
Elysa Gardner of USA Today reminded us that this production is no guaranteed success: “like its very young, Vietnam-era characters, the story has more energy than focus. In the wrong hands, it can easily become a quaint, cloying mess. What director Diane Paulus and her flawless cast have achieved is a testament to the indomitability and transience of youth, with all the blissful exuberance and aching poignance that entails.”
This side of the pond, musical lovers seem to have few complaints either. Hair received a five star review from Gari Davies who found it “a hippy playground – simply put, no matter where you’re sat, you’re fodder for the cast to come and play with you”. He regarded the staging itself as “revolutionary”.
Luke Murphy of 2's A Company however, came away slightly more confused. He acknowledged all the elements of a good musical including an undeniably strong cast, but concluded: “While I didn’t particularly like the show, I was wishing that I was on stage with the cast...I did enjoy Hair. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I feel I should have.”
With the relevance of the newspaper theatre critic up for debate, The Stage have launched a survey to gauge public opinion on the sway that critics have (or perhaps no longer do) on audience attendance. They have acknowledged, though perhaps not fully, that the blogoshpere has an increasingly loud voice, whether read for entertainment or critical regard. Andrew Lloyd Webber recently added his voice by expressing his fears over "all this stuff on the net" and the effect bloggers have during previews. Hair is one of the upcoming shows whose box office rating will go some way to further questioning whether blogs pose a threat to the traditional theatre critic.
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