“Hair” is the whole throwback to the groovy ’60s: love, peace, freedom, and the age-old “to draft or not to draft” dilemma. It’s the “F.R.I.E.N.D.S” of musicals. And you can groove to the scene with discounted tickets for Altadena Music Theatre’s upcoming production of “Hair,” the rock musical that explores the hippie culture and anti-war movement of the late 1960s.
The musical opens on Sept. 14 at the Charles Farnsworth Amphitheatre in Altadena.
The theater announced Tuesday that it is offering an Early Bird Special for two weeks, through Aug. 17, where customers can save up to 20 percent off regular ticket prices.
The theater said it is thrilled to present “Hair,” a musical that celebrates love, freedom, and self-expression.
“Step into the groovy ’60s and experience the cultural revolution that took the world by storm,” Altadena Music Theatre said in a statement. “Don’t miss this electrifying celebration of love, freedom, and self-expression brought to life on our stage.”
The show features songs that later became peace anthems. The plot follows a group of young hippies in New York City who face the dilemma of whether to join the army or resist the Vietnam War.
“Hair” was conceived by actors James Rado and Gerome Ragni, who met in 1964 when they performed together in the Off-Broadway flop “Hang Down Your Head and Die.” They began writing “Hair” together in late 1964.
The musical debuted off-Broadway in 1967 and then moved to Broadway in 1968, becoming a huge success and inspiring many other productions worldwide.
Screenwriter, playwright, and director Oliver Azcarate is directing the Altadena Music Theatre production, which runs through Sept. 24. Azcarate says he first fell in love with “Hair” at 12 years old, watching his mother perform in community theater and university productions in the San Francisco Bay Area. His wife, Sarah Petrella-Azcarate, is the theater’s founder and artistic director.
Last year, Altadena Music Theater staged “Hair” as its first-ever musical production. Like last year, Sarah Azcarate will play Sheila.
“There’s a lot of fighting going on and not a lot of people listening to each other about what’s going on in the world and all these assumptions about people by the way they think, or the way they look,” Sarah Azcarate said last year before the inaugural. “I wanted it to be able to tell this story to connect in that way.”
Other leading cast members include Daniel Hartman as Claude, Steve Mazurek as Berger, Scarlet Sheppard as Crissy, Cruz St. James as Woof, and Cassidy Von Kronemann as Jeanie.
Altadena Music Theater is a community theater that has been producing musicals and plays since 1978. To learn more about the theater, visit www.altadenamusictheatre.com.
The theater said it hopes to welcome back its loyal audience and attract new fans with its production of “Hair.”
The show is choreographed by Melissa Schade, with music direction by Chris Wade.
Tickets are available online at www.tixr.com/groups/altadenamusictheatre. To get the Early Bird discount, use the code EARLYBIRD20.
The Charles Farnsworth Amphitheatre is at 568 Mount Curve Ave. E in Altadena.
