Most students will probably be knee-deep in books, papers, and problem sets on Monday night, and might need something completely unrelated to classes to take their mind off studying. Torn Ticket II has the answer: Monday night, Tufts' student-run musical theater group will perform a concert version of the musical Hair in the Alumni Lounge, at 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Hair, originally produced in 1968, is a rock musical celebrating sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. While the music has been hailed as great, its lack of plot often turns up as a shortcoming. Realizing this, the director, senior Chris Gibson (who has been involved in Torn Ticket II since his freshman year), decided to make this production a concert version.
The 13-member cast, known as "the tribe," will perform only the songs, accompanied by a five-person pit. The stage will consist of two or three-inch flats and some tie-dye; audience members will lounge on blankets on the floor.
Why take time from your busy schedule to see Hair? "It's a fun, amazing show," Gibson says. "It's also completely free and will probably be under an hour long."
This Torn Ticket II minor has been in rehearsal for about five weeks. As opposed to the higher-budget major production, minors get proposed late in the semester and tend to be smaller and easier to produce.
This semester's major, Zombie Prom, had a cast of only ten, leaving some musically inclined students out in the cold. Enter Hair: a minor with a bigger cast that offered students a chance to get involved with musical theater. What's more, making it a concert show kept the show manageable despite its large cast. "Hair is a fun show that lots of people know the music to," says Gibson. "If we just do the songs, we can do whatever we want with it."
To aid him in his efforts to bring tribal love to Tufts, Gibson has Tom Damassa and Tim Nelson, music directors, and Melanie Blake, the stage manager. The four have worked together the past few weeks to design an energetic production that offers a fun look at the "make love, not war" days of the 1960s - complete with messages that still resonate today.
One of the famous aspects of Hair is that the cast usually performs one scene completely in the nude. But Gibson says his production will have no naked scene, "unfortunately... or fortunately, depending on what you think." He reminds people, however, that there will be plenty of nakedness the following night at the Naked Quad Run.
The Torn Ticket II minor production of Hair will show In Alumni Lounge on Monday, Dec. 10, at 9 and 10:30 p.m. Admission is free.
