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'Hair' cast members perform a 'Dead Man's Walk" (photo courtesy of Minnsota Public Radio)
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When the moon is in the Seventh House/ And Jupiter aligns with Mars/ Then peace will guide the planets/ And love will steer the stars/ This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius…
(lyrics from “Aquarius,” a hit song from the 1967 musical “Hair”)
DECORAH, Iowa, Feb. 5, 2007 - A January theatre/dance course inspired 25 Luther College students to get out of bed before sunrise on a freezing Jan. 11 morning, drive 150 miles to St. Paul, Minn., and take part in an anti-war protest.
Merging art and life can be a powerful, life-altering experience.
The J-term course, “Hair: The American Tribal Love/Rock Musical,” required Luther theater/dance students to immerse themselves in the plot, characters, setting, and historical and social background of the musical. To understand its message and its significance they learned about the 1960s clash of cultures in America, ignited by the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and the coming of age of the Baby Boom generation.
Luther Theatre/Dance Department will present six performances of “Hair” in March. Cast members enrolled in the “Hair” J-term course discovered some of the political and moral issues explored in the 1967 musical about the Vietnam War era were glaringly relevant to the issues of the Iraq War in 2007.
“Seeing how much the Vietnam War affected people, and what they did about it, was inspiring,” said sophomore cast member Xander Jeanneret.
After President Bush’s Jan. 10 national address in which he announced a “surge” of 20,000 additional troops would be sent to Iraq, Jeanneret called everyone on the cast list to inform them about an anti-war protest scheduled the morning of Jan. 11 in St. Paul. Jeanneret asked cast members to go with him to take part in the protest.
“After I heard the presidential address I was reminded of what had been going on during the Vietnam War,” said Jeanneret. “I got really fired up about it and wanted to do something.”
Their “Hair” experience, learning about the anti-war movement of the 60s, motivated the majority of the cast leave the Luther campus at 4 a.m. to travel to the anti-war demonstration in St. Paul. They met in front of the Center for the Arts in the early morning and car-pooled to the Twin Cities.
“I still would have cared about it, but I don’t think I would have been actually motivated to get up and go if not for the class.” said “Hair” cast member, senior Katie Woodzick.
In one class session the students discussed the statement that college students today are known as the generation that complains but refuses to act on their complaints.
“I felt like this is our chance to do something, so I went down our cast list and called everyone about it,” said Jeanneret.
Of the approximately 100 people at the protest in St. Paul, about 25 were Luther students.
“When they told me what they were doing, I was inspired! They told me it was because they were informed, and that’s what we want to hear from students,” said Associate Professor Jane Hawley, co-director of “Hair.”
Woodzick said one of the most memorable moments from the protest was Luther students performing a choreographed move from “Hair” that they developed and practiced in their class. It is called the “dead man’s walk.”
One student was wrapped in a flag with a peace sign instead of stars, then lifted by six other students and carried like a corpse.
“People can ignore a sign, people can ignore shouting, but to see an image like that at a protest is impossible to ignore,” said Woodzick.
Many of the protesters at the St. Paul anti-war demonstration were in their 50s and 60s and had protested the Vietnam War when they were in college.
“I had a guy come up to us and tell us just how thankful he was that we were there, showing our support,” said Woodzick.
The cast’s biggest impressions of the day were the responses of the people driving by -- the smiles, the thumbs up, the honking of the horns.
“We came away with a sense that we were a part of something much larger than us. It was more than the people at the protest who felt this way,” said Woodzick.
The St. Paul Pioneer-Press and Minnesota Public Radio covered the protest. Luther students were interviewed for the articles and the students’ “dead man’s walk” was the picture published with the news reports by both news organizations.
The Des Moines Register sent a reporter and photographer to Decorah the week of Jan. 15-19 to work on a feature story about the Luther “Hair” course, the student cast and their participation in the anti-war protest. Although the St. Paul protest was a powerful experience for the “Hair” students, it was only one small part of their J-term.
To be a member of the cast of “Hair” students had to audition during fall semester and commit to being in the J-term course. Some class members will be production crew members for the March performances of the play, working behind the scenes with costuming, set design, managing the stage, and assistant directing.
“’Hair’ is about individual expression,” said Hawley, “Individual expression is important for me and our society.”
The J-term course is intense. The cast rehearses seven to eight hours each day. Each morning, Monday–Friday, they work on movement, and in the afternoon watch a 1960s related documentary or movie or discuss one of the texts. Finally, in the evening, they work on the music or the script. They also are expected to do extensive research on the show and the history of the original “Hair” production’s time period.
“We wanted it to be a J-term course because it is an opportunity for people to look into their own political and personal beliefs, using art as a way in,” said Professor Bob Larson, co-director of “Hair.”
As a cast they have discussed the parallels between the war in Iraq and the Vietnam War. The setting of the Luther production of “Hair” is not strictly the Vietnam War era of 1967 or the Iraq War era of 2007, but includes elements from both time periods in the costuming and set.
“It’s really important to know the time and the influences of the time to understand the show and where it came from,” said Woodzick. “It’s essential to know what had happened and where it came from.”
“These issues are still right smack in front of us, from our bodies, to war, to issues of race and gender,” said Larson.
Written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni (book and lyrics) and Galt MacDermot (music), “Hair” premiered off-Broadway on Oct. 17, 1967. After 45 performances, it was moved to the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway in 1968, where it stayed for 1,873 performances. “Hair” went on to stage productions across the world and is occasionally performed today.
When the show was first performed it was considered highly controversial. Many people regarded the play as a challenge to – or an outright condemnation of – mainstream American culture, ethics and morals of that time.
The musical shocked conservative attitudes by lampooning America’s unwritten rules of social behavior. In an era when an American president claimed his Vietnam War and domestic law enforcement policies were supported by the “great, silent majority” of Americans, “Hair” noisily skewered social standards regarding sex and sexuality, drug use, interracial dating, family, religion, obscene language, patriotism, clothing and hair styles. It even included a scene in which a majority of the cast members appeared on stage nude. (Note: Do not purchase a ticket to the Luther production of “Hair” with the expectation the cast will appear nude in this scene; they do not.)
The musical is about the “Tribe” a group of politically active, longhaired “Hippies” fighting conscription to the Vietnam War. The tribe epitomizes the counter-culture movement of the late 60s. “Hair” portrays the moral struggle of two characters, friends Claude and Berger, who must decide what actions they will take when Claude receives his draft notice for military duty in the Vietnam War.
To the horror of conservative social and political commentators, this iconic musical that extolled the drug, music and peace-love culture of the 60s became extremely popular, and its musical score produced several hits that gained air play on radio stations across the country.
The Luther students of the J-term “Hair” course note the similarities of the country’s divided and confrontational opinions regarding a questionable foreign war in 1967 and in 2007. Through the show they hope to inspire other students to act on their political beliefs, whatever they may be. They hope to show that their generation will not just sit by and watch.
“This is affecting our generation, and we will take a stand!” Jeanneret said of the Iraq War and the students’ new appreciation for the power of everyday people’s voices in shaping their country’s political decisions.
Contact: Jerry Johnson, Director of Public Information, 563/387-1865 |
