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| Broadway Musical Hair At Berklee Performance Center Berklee's Musical Theater Ensemble and Musical Theater Orchestra present a fully-staged production of the Broadway musical Hair on April 25 and 26. Inspired by the peace movement and the social revolution of the 1960s, Hair's songs, including "Aquarius, " "Easy to be Heard, " and "Let the Sunshine In, " became anthems of the anti-Vietnam war movement and opened Broadway theater to rock music. Hair is directed by voice instructor Rene Pfister with musical director Peter Cokkinias, professor of music education. Pfister has a strong connection to the musical, having performed in the 30th anniversary European tour of Hair, where he worked directly with James Rado, one of the writers. Hair: An American Tribal Love-Rock Musical takes place Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26, 7:30 p.m., at the Berklee Performance Center (BPC), 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA. The production is part of the Signature Music Series at Berklee. Reserved seating tickets are on sale now for $8 and $16 in advance, $12 and $20 day of show at berklee.edu/bpc. The venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call the BPC at 617 747-2261. Pfister chose the musical for its anti-war message and themes of social justice, as well as its hard look at racism and poverty. "The piece, which is still relevant today, helps us think about what we believe and what we want to change in the world, " says Pfister. "The cast has been discussing these concepts amidst the extensive dance and vocal rehearsals." Students leading the 22 cast and 11 orchestra members include Carla Martinez, choreographer and president of the Musical Theater Club – the largest club at Berklee with 500 members; Kelton Washington, assistanat director; and Cam Moncur, vocal music director; all of whom worked on Berklee's sold out production of Rent among other musicals. Berklee College of Music, for over 65 years, has evolved to support its belief that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through contemporary music education. The college was the first in the U.S. to teach jazz, the popular music of the time. It incorporated rock n' roll in the 1960s, created the world's first degree programs in film scoring, music synthesis, and songwriting, and, in recent years, added world music, hip-hop, electronica, and video game music to its curriculum. With a diverse student body representing over 80 countries, a music industry "who's who" of alumni that have received 229 Grammy Awards, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today – and tomorrow. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Jazz News :: home page |