Thanks for the '60s flashback, Clarence Brown Theatre | Mike Strange

The ‘60s recently returned to Knoxville and I was there for it.

For 50 years I have been hoping to relive a live stage version of "Hair," the irreverent Tony Award-winning rock musical that debuted on Broadway in 1968.

I’d surf the web, searching for a production within driving distance. I wanted to see it again, preferably with my kids. Alas, nothing.

Then came the announcement that Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee was staging "Hair" right here (April 19-May 7). Boom.

The musical is a celebration of the late 1960s emerging hippie culture, set against the ominous war in Vietnam. There isn’t much plot, other than the character Claude’s looming Army induction notice.

"Hair" came to me in 1969, when a fellow named Jack Holtzman moved in across the hall from my college dorm room. Before long, he invited me to listen to a record album.

Jack had been to New York and seen the Broadway production. He described how it knocked his socks off. That first listen to the soundtrack in Jack’s room was a cultural watershed moment for me, too. I guess I was ripe for the Age of Aquarius.

It played for 1,750 shows on Broadway. And for 2,000 in London, England, which is where I experienced it, at the Shaftsbury Theatre in 1971. Oh, my.

I saw "Hair" again, a touring company, in Louisville in 1973. I wore out the soundtrack until I could recite most of the songs.

Fifty years later, my 32-year-old son, Aaron, and I settled into Row E at the Clarence Brown Theatre.

I had questions. Would, in 2023, there be revisions? Would songs about drugs, sex and race be edited? (Songs like “Hashish” and “Sodomy” and “Colored Spade.”) Would the F-bombs and N-words survive?

I was only half-kidding when I wondered if Republican legislators might burst in mid-show and shut it down. There was, after all, a character in drag.

I’m happy to say the Clarence Brown production was true to the original. The only deviation I noted was in the opening scene when the character Berger pulls off his jeans. This Berger had on boxer shorts. The 1971 London Berger sported a thong with fringe.

I’m no drama critic, but I thought the performance was fine. The cast especially nailed the second act. I was misting up by the time they unleashed “Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In” and – spoiler alert – Claude’s flag-draped casket appeared.

Owen Squire Smith, who was strong as Claude, gave an apt summary of why a 1960s-specific play was still a good idea in 2023.

“I’m really excited to do these songs for our audience,’’ Smith said in a Clarence Brown video interview, “because it’ll be very nostalgic for them. Our patrons grew up during this time. I think it’ll be cool to have a generation or two after them sing these songs to them.’’

It was. And speaking of generations, son Aaron could have jumped on stage and fit right in. He’s got the hair and the vibe. I think he thinks he was born 50 years too late.

The lion’s share of the audience, though, were my contemporaries. I speculated about them. Had they ever had hair “down to here, down to there?” Had they marched in protests? Burned draft cards? Camped at Woodstock? Grooved at an acid test?

For most, probably not. I didn’t do too much of that either. But after 50 years, it was great to be back in the ‘60s for a night both fun and still poignant.

Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Musical Hair songs still fresh after generations Mike Strange