Backstage photo pass:
Behind the scenes of Trustus' 'Hair'
http://www.thestate.com/2010/07/11/1370763/backstage-photo-pass-behind-the.html
Trustus cast wigs out to recreate the look and feel of the psychedelic '60s
Jul. 11, 2010
The current show on Trustus Theatre's mainstage isn't named "Wig." It
is "Hair," a musical that use your spirit fingers here to suggest
time psychedelic time travel takes theatergoers back to the '60s
where drugs were as popular as protests.
But the hair wigs, in the case of the ensemble cast is an
essential element for creating a sense of spirit for "The Tribe."
And the audience.
The wigs add a counter-culture ambiance to bare feet, exposed chests
(there's much more exposed at the end of the first act) and head bands.
"Most people don't have hair like that," says Robin Gottlieb, who
handles hair and wig design. "I didn't want it to look like a show about wigs."
There are a lot of wigs, though. When she went shopping, Gottlieb, a
stylist at the Trenholm Plaza Urban Nirvana, wanted to stay close to
the natural hair color of the more than 20 cast members. She bought
wigs from Beauty Line at Dutch Square.
For any of you thinking about wearing a wig out of necessity or some
other reason, here's the secret to making it look real: Make sure it
has a lace front, which alludes to a soft hair line.
"You don't see the line where the hair starts from the wig," Gottlieb says.
The cast isn't simply wearing afros. For instance, Chad Henderson who
stars as Berger, has shoulder-length brown hair, with a wavy,
unwashed look. Lanny Spires, who plays Claude, has a dark and shiny
look, the pretty boy of the '60s. (In the latter half of the play,
Spires reveals what's underneath the wig: a shorn military haircut, a
new look for a man off to fight in his case, die in the Vietnam War.)
There are some afros, of course. Michelle Jacobs' 'do looks so
authentic, like something Erykah Badu might wear onstage. Terrance
Henderson, who also handles the show's choreography, combs out his
afro before each performance. The perspiration makes it flatten.
(Some of y'all probably don't know about that.)
Tribe member Catherine L. Bailey, who, like many of the actors, is
unrecognizable off stage, wears a long brown wig with highlights.
Walking around the theater before the stage call, Bailey's brown hair
was accented with streaks of blond.
"It totally inspired my hair change," she says of the wig.
Gottlieb cut and reshaped some of the wigs she bought. She even added
extensions to Bianca Raso's look.
"When they were too neat, it was a problem," Gottlieb says of the
synthetic hair.
Julien H. Demassey is an anomaly because he didn't need a wig to
produce an afro. All he needed was a pick.
"You don't see that anymore," says Jim Thigpen, Trustus' co-founder
and artistic director.
"Hair," which continues its run through Saturday, was the first show
performed in Trustus' Lady Street theater in 1988. From what I've
heard, that production could've been called "Wig."
--------
Travel back to the '60s with two local shows
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_a121cc2e-8af9-11df-9b66-001cc4c002e0.html
July 9, 2010
HEIDI GAISER
Two shows set in the 1960s, both featuring classic music of the era,
will be playing on Flathead Valley stages this month.
But other than being rooted in the same decade, they are two very
different nights of entertainment.
Flathead Valley Community College's "Shout!" is a sweet, colorful
play that lightly touches on a social message of women's liberation,
full of girls in miniskirts singing memorable pop songs originally
recorded by the women of the British invasion.
A bit heavier program, with themes that were coming of age in 1968
but still are relevant today racism, drugs, war, sexual liberation
is the groundbreaking musical "Hair," the Alpine Theatre Project's
midsummer show at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.
"It hits it all," said Luke Walrath, executive director of Alpine
Theatre Project. "We're not trying to make any grand statements; our
job is to present the moments and the audience will see that 42 years
later, we're still dealing with this stuff."
"Hair" was a product of the hippie counter-culture and the sexual
revolution of the 1960s. The show defied theater conventions with its
use of profanity, depiction of drug use and a candid look at the
sexual revolution. It also broke new ground as a "rock musical."
While the Alpine Theatre Project version of "Hair" covers a range of
politically charged social concerns, it also runs the gamut of moods.
"It's funny, it's dramatic, it's trippy, it's weird," Walrath said.
"It's joyful, angry at times, and outrageous.
"It's almost less of a show and more of an experience."
"Shout!" billed as a "mod musical" is a fairly new creation
despite its '60s pedigree.
"I was looking for something fresh that no one had seen," director
Joe Legate said. "It's just a bunch of music from when I was very
young in the late 1960s, wonderful songs by Dusty Springfield, Lulu,
Petula Clark.
"Sometimes I have songs stuck in my head every morning and curse
whatever production I'm part of, but this time, it's a Dusty
Springfield tune, and that's certainly OK."
The show follows women moving beyond their 1950s June Cleaver
housewife existences into lives full of infinite possibilities. The
"rebellion," portrayed in the show, though, won't be shocking to
people today, Legate said.
"When Lulu, this tiny little girl, started singing 'Shout!', back
then girls weren't supposed to behave that way. It's now incredibly
innocent and refreshing, but 50 years ago, it was almost shocking to
see that kind of behavior in a prim young lady."
"Shout!", part of FVCC's summer repertory theater, features a cast of
12 college- and high-school-age girls from around the Flathead Valley.
"They have magnificent voices and they'll knock your socks off," Legate said.
Cast member Mindy Rambo created the choreography for the show, and
another cast member, Karissa Brown, is vocal director.
For "Hair," directed by Betsi Morrison, Alpine Theatre Project has
pulled together its biggest production yet and it promises to be a
grand spectacle. A cast of 16 professional actors, backed by an
11-piece band, navigates through strobe lights, fog and other
spectacular effects. Some even end up flying across the stage.
New York actor Eric Michael Krop anchors the show as Claude, a member
of the "tribe," a group of hippies living in New York City. Claude's
response to being drafted into the Vietnam War is at the heart of the story.
"He's a young kid with an amazing voice," Walrath said of Krop. "He's
got a softness and sweetness and innocence that Betsi wanted for the role."
"Hair" features songs that became hits of the day and have stood the
test of time "Aquarius," "Good Morning Starshine," "Let the Sun
Shine In" and "Hair."
The music of "Shout!" also has serious nostalgic value. "Alfie,"
"Georgy Girl," "Downtown," "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'" "To
Sir with Love" and "Windy" are just a few of the featured selections.
"You'd have to work real hard to find anything to be offended about
or even to think on real hard," Legate said. "This show is simply a
celebration of women in the '60s coming of age, and it's all a
pleasure. It's going to be a fun time."
"Hair" opens tonight at 8 p.m. at the Whitefish Performing Arts
Center and runs through July 31. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays
through Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Call 862-SHOW or visit
www.alpinetheatreproject.org for tickets and information. "Hair"
contains numerous adult themes and is recommended for mature audiences only.
"Shout!" will be performed in the FVCC Black Box Theatre in the Arts
and Technology Building tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and
7 p.m. and will return July 29-30 at 7 p.m. and July 31 at 2 and 7
p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at www.fvcc.edu
or at the FVCC Bookstore Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3
p.m. Remaining tickets will be available at the door.
--
Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at
hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.
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