“… entertaining offering of the issues that inspired a whole movement “
Beth Spencer
3.5 Stars
Venue : Athenaeum Theatre
Melbourne Nov 1st 2025
Hair: The Tribal Love-Rock Musical
The revival of this classic rock musical is full of love, freedom, and energetic performances, accompanied by an amazing band.
Hair is a musical of its time. When it was first staged in the late 1960s it challenged societal norms and created controversy by pushing the boundaries of what was deemed acceptable to be seen on stage. As a concept musical it wasn’t constrained by the need for a strong narrative plot. Instead, it wove together themes of love, community, race, religion, sexual freedom, pacifism, and environmentalism delivered via a rock score full of many hit songs.
This new production, directed by Glenn Elston, stays true to the original material and challenges the audience to confront the issues raised in the piece – “as silence only risks history repeating itself”. With the current political and social events in the US and continued international conflict, it is a timely musical reminder about what really matters in life and love.
From the moment the audience enters the theatre, they are transported to the 1960s, through video footage of news events and music of the time. The matinee audience was dominated by people who would likely remember the 60s at an age similar to the characters of Hair, including the politics, the culture, and the rock music. Despite this, it took a little while for the audience to warm up to the show, especially the call and response dialogue of several characters. The lack of narrative, especially in the first act, is something that may have contributed to this. But it cannot be denied that the pull of the strong score, the beautiful vocals, and energy of the cast had many up on their feet and dancing by the end of the show.
As Berger, Maxwell Simon set the scene and gave a very convincing performance of someone fully immersed in the hippy culture, although it was hard to completely like his character. The emotional performance of Alex Cooper as Claude was engaging and provided a core thread to the show’s story. Stepping into the role of Sheila was Tamara Foglia Castaneda who brought strength and love to her character and gave a beautifully moving rendition of the song ‘Easy to be hard’. Strong vocals and characterisations were present across the cast, with notable performances by Clay Darius as the not-to-be-messed-with Hud, Rosie Meader as the eccentric Jeanie, and Giorgia Kennedy as the innocent Crissy.
Key comical moments of the show were expertly handled by Jackson McGovern as the sexually liberated yet thoughtful Woof, and Maverick Newman shone across various cameos in addition to his core role of Leonard. His portrayal of the curious audience member ‘Iris’ in the first act was a clear audience favourite and showed off Newman’s clever comic timing. Another stand-out performer was Max Macdonald who showed his diversity across several characters, from a quirky Indian cricketer to energetic tribe member Walter, including a very tender rendition of the duet ‘What a piece of work is man’ with Maverick Newman.
Sue-Ellen Shook’s choreography helped to bring energy to the songs, although some of the rapid parts in early songs strayed into moves that were quite modern for the piece. The musical direction and vocal support by Colin Snape, Paul Norton, and Lindsay Field contributed to a strong and balanced sound across the ensemble with opportunities for all cast members to showcase their vocal talents. Karla Erenbots’ costumes were fantastic, bright and authentic, as well as all sustainably sourced from previous productions or second-hand stores.
The production design by Kaspa made great use of the relatively small Athenaeum stage and allowed for the transformation of the space into so many different settings. The lighting design by Harrison Cope was very effective, supporting the transitions between moments and songs to keep the story flowing. The lighting was particularly creative during Claude’s trip in the second act with the use of projection and special lighting effects to enhance the action and emotion.
The final word belongs to the band. This small, tight group of musicians created a big sound that drove the whole show. The music is such a core element of this piece, and it was great to be able to see the band as they were featured on stage throughout.
Overall, this production was an entertaining offering of the issues that inspired a whole movement in the 1960s to a contemporary audience. As a concept musical, it is not as strong as those we have seen subsequently, and some may ask if it has stood the test of time. However, regardless of the flaws of the show itself, the music and energy of this production make this a worthwhile experience in the theatre as we are all encouraged to let the sunshine in.
3.5 peace signs
Beth Spencer, Theatre Now
