author: Mike Zellhofer 

“I’m doing it for you, man.”  – Claude

In a world saturated with “me” it is refreshing to hear those words. After a brief off-Broadway run Hair opened in April 1968. The country was in turmoil, divided, at war, just as it is today. In 1968 they tried to divide us black and white. Now they try to divide us blue and red. 1968 was “white people sending black people to make war on the yellow people to defend the land they stole from the red people.” 2025 is sending armed people into our own cities. Hair was a statement piece that needed to be said. It is every bit as important today as it was 57 years ago, and TJ Lukacsina brilliantly throws it in our face. Let me say this now, before I begin my review, and I am not influenced by the spark of my glow worm, TJ Lukacsina is a genius.

Let me say that I have seen probably four or five adaptations of this show and my feelings have ranged from “there’s three hours I’ll never get back”, to “what in hell was that?” Lukacsina’s direction is clear, moves smoothly, and tells a flowing story; something that is not easy to do with this show. I was told that Lukacsina had over 80 people audition to which he had to cast 15. Based on his selection I want him picking my Powerball numbers. He also doubled as set designer and tripled up as lighting designer. 

It is clear that this production team worked as a tight unit. On any production team the Intimacy Director is often overlooked. I can’t let that happen here. Because of the material, this show requires someone with a sensitive touch that can get most out of the cast, Kay-Megan Washington is that person. The one thing that is constant throughout the show is that this cast is very comfortable working with each other and in front of an audience. This production of Hair would not be the five-star show that it is without her. Kay-Megan and TJ made this show believable.

I can only imagine the sleepless nights that Music Director Stephen M. Deininger had with this score continuously running through his head. This is not an easy show to do vocally but Deininger delivered a cast that articulated every word, was soft when needed, and melted some faces with awesome fiery belts. It was such a pleasure to see “Sondheim on steroids” neatly contained without disturbing the original material. Excellent job both vocally and orchestrally. 

What do you do when you need to put 12 pounds of stuff in a 10 pound sack? You call Rikki Howie Lacewell of course!  The performance space is not big. Okay it’s medium if it stands on its toes. Lacewell has got to be a Dr. Who fan because that night, Vags was much bigger on the inside. Any good bartender will tell you that appearance and the art of the long pour will get you far with your customers. Lacewell had that cast looking like she’d been slinging drinks for years. She put 15 people on stage with a set, and an orchestra, and then had them moving like swans across a lake. I’m not talking slow ballet numbers. These were full blown head bangers where the whole cast is moving as one unit! When awards season rolls around, do not forget her.

Getting back to Lighting and Set Design, the set was well thought out. You felt like you were in a flophouse in NY in the ‘60’s. The graffiti was a nice touch, and having most of the props onstage was a great choice. The projections add to drawing you into the show. The one thing that I thought was lacking was the lighting. The environment set by the lights worked well, however sometimes it was just too dark. Every one of the actors was giving character and 100% energy all the time, but in the darker scenes you miss some of that. This cast understood their roles and it was interesting to see how each of them reacted to what was happening. The flashlight scene would work better with brighter lights.

From the opening note of Aquarius, the next 2:50 belong to Danae Nick (Ronny). Her siren song beckons you to come crashing into her world of 1968. You will go, and you will go willingly because you cannot resist docile tone and powerful sound.

Wilson Seltzer (Berger) is the driving force behind Hair. His energy is infectious and the cast is contaminated. Seltzer takes the opportunity to show off several abilities in this role. He is humorous when needed, he has the vocal chops to command the part, and he knows when to fade into the background until it’s time for him to shine again. 

This is a Tribe if there ever was one. There are times that so many things are happening independently and yet it all happens as one unit. The voices blend together as 15 spices producing one amazing flavor. The sound of Lily Arbaugh (Crissy), Gillian Van Ditta (Jeanie), and Reese Vandyke (Dionne) together performing Air, alone is worth the price of admission. For all the outstanding talent on the stage Garrett Matthews as Billy/Margaret Mead makes sure there is room for him. Matthews delivers an unforgettable performance that will have you laughing out loud.

As much as Hair relies on a strong Tribe and loveable Berger, it falls flat without a believable Claude and Lance Teller does not disappoint. Like him or not, Teller makes Claude human. He makes you feel the uncertainty, the fear, the love, the responsibility, the pressure that Claude went through. The pressure that we are going through now. The emotion that Teller shows, shares, lives, as he sings is surreal.

I read an article recently that said that the country is so divided right now, that if 911 were to happen today it wouldn’t have a strong enough impact to draw us closer as a nation. And that is just sad. We can not let those who divide to do so while we stand idly by. Love wins! But love only wins if we let it shine! Love does no good cooped up and kept inside. We need to have the courage of Claude. To look at the person next to me, the person that doesn’t look like me, the person that doesn’t believe what I believe, and say, “I’m doing it for you, man.” Thank you TJ and The Tribe for reminding us of that.

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission

Hair plays through November 23^rd 2025 as the opening production of the 110^th season at Vagabond Players— located in the heart of Fells Point: 806 S. Broadway in Baltimore, MD. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at (410) 563-9135 in advance online.