"HAIR" HELPS MARK THE 50TH CELEBRATION OF THE FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT AT UCB
University
of California Berkeley Barestage Productions, celebrates 50 years of Free
Speech with a smart production of a 60's classic. BareStage is the oldest
student-run theatre company at UCB, and has a great history of staging new and
old works. The company features both Arts Majors and non. Any student can
audition and their productions always prove the Berkeley campus is the home of
excellent talent, from Engineers to Science majors. UCB Theatre Arts Major Senior Matt Bratko was asked to write this review. I wanted a Cal students point of view, Thank you Matt.
By Matt Bratko. Great
energy and spirit in a musical can cover over a multitude of sins, and in
Barestage Production’s Hair, it
unfortunately had to.
Directed
by Jessica Slaght, this show was shrewdly chosen to coincide with the 50th
anniversary year of the Free Speech Movement, where Berkeley students fought
for their right to political expression. The recent resurgence of controversial
protests and activism also makes this show seem timely, and there are a few
moments in the show when Hair feels relevant, especially when the tribe that
makes up the cast of the show stages a “Be-In”, and the revolutionary fervor is
placed front and center.
Unfortunately
these moments are few. Because of the liberal nature of the Berkeley campus,
many of the numbers that initially struck audiences in the late sixties as
incredibly controversial and radical fall on unimpressed ears. For students
here singing about hashish and sodomy is just another day on campus.
The
notorious nudity sequence also felt anticlimactic. The cast slowly takes off
clothes as they move upstage and the more modest ones hide behind signs and
other detritus that is attached to the cyclone fencing that flanks the stage.
While the director’s note explains the nudity as “asking audiences why we make
a bigger fuss over the display of naked bodies on stage than the tremendous
carnage in Vietnam,” the staging of the scene feels obligatory and almost
ashamed. By moving the cast to the back and hiding them behind the fencing
instead of presenting them front and center to show that nudity is harmless and
natural, the show seems to be reluctant to commit to making that point.
The
show’s vibe is very brightly colored and positive, full of innocence and
energy. There are a few standout vocalists, with Dubravka Juric opening the
show with an “Aquarius” that roars the house down and sets the bar high for the
singers that follow her. Juric, Hussain, and Crossley are all strong singers
who are sadly underutilized, especially Hussain, who had incredible power and
precision in her standout moments in the ensemble.
The
majority of solos go to the leading men Bennett Martin and Benjamin Schaub, who
play Claude and Berger respectively. The standout lead was Madeleine
Pla as Sheila, who could both act and sing and frequently did both very well at
the same time. Also notable were Olivia
Uhley as the pregnant Jeanie, and Yoonji Jang, the standout dancer in the cast.
After
a slow first act that felt like Cats on marijuana, both for its childish energy
and the disjointed personality-based nature of its numbers, the second act
picks up with the dynamic “Black Boys/White Boys” number and the action-packed
hallucinations of Claude. The lighting design really worked to give shape to
the changing settings/states of mind throughout that sequence. The cast was
full of enthusiasm and humor, they committed to their
actions and worked smoothly together. In the end, it was an enjoyable ride that
felt a little too much like a fluff piece. (Bratko)
BareTroupe Spring May 3rd Showcase
May 3 is the annual for BareTroupe's Spring Showcase! The performance includes members of BareStage musical theatre troupe in numbers from Chicago,Les Miserables, Rodgers's + Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Full Monty, Curtains, and more! The FREE showcase is Sunday, May 3rd at 8pm in the Choral Rehearsal Hall. This will mark their final production of 2014 -15 seasaon.
LINKS TO BARESTAGE INFO and more about their past season
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