Timeless Hair Style

We are 40 years past the summer of love, and the musical Hair continues to be relevant. Why? Maybe because the Age of Aquarius dawned but we still have war, social injustice, racism and all the other pre-Aquarian bad stuff. And probably because in the proper hands, Hair is more than a musical or assemblage of easily recognizable songs. A thoughtfully staged production can still jolt you into thinking about the way the world is today, and why it isn't better. Wolfgang Held and Pola Rapaport created the one-hour documentary Hair: Let the Sunshine In to explore the ongoing legacy of this very American musical. Featuring interviews with the show's author and cocreator Jim Rado, archival footage of early productions and interviews with former cast members such as Tim Curry, Ben Vereen and Melba Moore, Hair: Let the Sunshine In gets down to the roots of Hair. H:LtSI screens at 7 p.m. Friday and Sunday (April 17 and 19) at Webster University's Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue; 314-968-7487 or www.webster.edu/filmseries). As an added bonus, there's a post-screening Q&A on Sunday conducted by Scott Miller of New Line Theatre, who just happened to direct a rather scorching Hair last fall. Admission is $5 to $6.
Fri., April 17; Sun., April 19, 2009