Review of Hair | Let the party in

There is joy these days at the Théâtre St-Denis. There hangs a scent of flowers of happiness, a hint of formerly illegal smoke, and how many pleasures finally released, in an atmosphere of wholesale party bursts.

You would have understood it, Hatea cult work of the counter-culture and the hippie movement of the 1960s, is on view, in an imposing production, translated and directed by Serge Denoncourt.

How else to sum up this show, too long, let’s say it straight away, perfectly crazy, (un)breeky although without a big narrative plot, from which you can only come out with a smile on your face, because good, hard to escape a such an invitation in songs, in these gray and smoky days: “let’s let the sun in”, admit it? (Let the Sunshine Inyes, the songs of Gerome Ragni and James Rado, monster hits on Broadway, have been translated, except for certain refrains, and despite our apprehensions, it’s taken quite well.)

Before going any further, a clarification. You should know that Monday evening’s performance was hit by a hell of a hit, unheard of in spectator memory, which however gave a second wind to the story: a power outage, about twenty minutes from the final. (of a show that stretches all the same over two and a half hours, intermission included)!

The affair occurred at a key moment, the tormented character of Claude Bukowski (Philippe Touzel), called to fight at the front in Vietnam, declaring that he wanted to be “invisible” (!).

The hiatus lasted a good half hour, forcing a hasty evacuation of the theater, evacuation finally aborted, electricity – sorry: the sunshine! – having made an unexpected comeback.

A twist, you say? Imagine for the artists, who had also just attempted a premature conclusion, singing seated on stage and in chorus, in the light of the cell phones of the united spectators, the famous sunny refrain. Let’s salute their catchy improvisation, which gave rise to a surreal and magical moment, as only the living arts have the secret (or, in this case, Hydro-Québec!). End of parenthesis (or ” bad trip “, in the text, at this precise moment too, we swear to you, it cannot be invented!).

A “polaroid”

Otherwise, what to say? You don’t understand everything? Doesn’t matter. The narrative is secondary. Also refrain from reviewing the adaptation of Milos Forman (1979), a very good film by the way (adapted from a text first written for the stage, need we remind you), but which risks confusing you more.

Let’s say we’re not going to see the musical Hate for its story (here rather disjointed, with a certain delay in the clutch) nor its dialogues (a bit playful).

You risk looking there for a long time for the candid and well-groomed character of Bukowski, already disheveled (like all the other members of the cast, around thirty artists, if we counted correctly)!

Serge Denoncourt said he wanted to offer a “polaroid” of this bubbling (and smoky) era and its demands, both revolutionary and furiously pacifist, in favor of sex, drugs and rock and roll, liberated, we will have it Understood. And that’s exactly what he does, with a few nods to Quebec culture to boot, accompanied by Wynn Holmes and Nico Archambault on choreography, and Lorenzo Somma on musical direction. Its “polaroid” is also skilfully underlined thanks to a decor of scaffolding, a quantity of elephant’s legs and colored scarves, and above all several projections, evoking sometimes the Statue of Liberty, sometimes a battlefield. Visually, it is very powerful.

It is also impossible to ignore the presence of the musicians on stage, a notable addition to the cast.

Hate is suddenly experienced as a big show, a festive evening, relentlessly linking songs and choreographies, often ribald, and above all meticulously run.

Don’t be surprised, after all, that’s the subject, also underlined in broad strokes (many pairs of buttocks, and as many joints). Special mention to all the group numbers (the majority), where singers and dancers perform in unison, very successful both rhythmically and visually.

On the other hand, and this is undoubtedly the other side of the coin, the texts are sometimes drowned here, as there are voices, precisely. This is probably why no character stands out from the lot either (note that there are no big stars either, but rather regulars in musicals) as there are so many of them, be it Philippe Touzel (in honest Bukowsi, nothing more, seen in Footloose), Kevin Houle (as a prank George Berger, a bit more colorful, seen in Anne), or Éléonore Lagacé (admittedly dynamic Sheila Franklin, also from the cast of Footloose). Only Sarah-Maude Desgagné (from the last vintage of Star Academy), in powerful Dionne, succeeds here in giving us goosebumps, with his particularly heartfelt interpretation of need a friend (in recovery, at the end of the show!).

Here is a show less polite and certainly more daring than what we have been accustomed to so far Just for Laughs, in terms of musicals, we agree. Let’s salute the audacity, because if the theatrical experience is less present, the trip musical and choreographic, he does not disappoint us.

Hate – musical comedy

Duration: 2h30 with intermission. 13 years and over.

At the St-Denis Theatre.In addition until July 23.
At the Salle Albert-Rousseau, in Quebec City, from December 12.

7/10