Hair (The SOB Revisit)
Hair (The SOB Revisit) – Gielgud Theatre, London, United Kingdom***1/2 (out of ****)
Fresh off a long overnight flight to London, hardly sleeping a wink, I did something risky I had never dared to do before.
Instead of going straight from the airport to my hotel to freshen up (or nap), I opted to zip directly into the West End and purchase a ticket for the Thursday matinee performance of Hair. All fears of dozing off quickly parted. With most of the original Broadway cast intact, Hair reinvigorated me like a desperately needed shampoo, leaving me tingling from my head right down to my toes.
Performing in the much more intimate Gielgud Theatre, the cast shines with more luster than ever. Aside from Will Swenson’s added riffing on the kinds of Berger he is near the top of the show -- fueled in part by a late comer in the audience -- I noticed very few differences from what I had seen on Broadway just a year ago.
However, seeing the show again has made me appreciate the incredible talents of Andrew Kober in his various guises throughout. This actor blew me away and left me wondering how I had neglected mentioning him in my review of the Broadway show.
As the Messianic yet conflicted Claude, Gavin Creel is as strong and astonishing as ever. I’m not sure if it was my jetlag, but his performance sent chills down my spine even more this time around.
After working together for well over a year as part of a true tribe, this cast is firing on all cylinders, making Hair even more powerful than I remembered it one year ago. Hair proved to be just the buzz I needed.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
Labels: Andrew Kober, Gavin Creel, Hair, London, Musical, Revival, The SOB Revisit, Transfer, Will Swenson
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Saturday, May 15, 2010
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