The turbulent decade returns to the Kelsey Theater stage with a production of “Hair,” a musical about the hippie counterculture, sexual revolution, and war. It will be presented by the theater program at Mercer Community College on weekends, April 25 to May 4. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on Friday, April 25.
An anthem to free love, the idealism of youth, and the cost of war, “Hair” intertwines the stories of Claude, who is wrestling with what to do about his draft notice; Berger, who urges him to resist; and the Tribe, which just wants to “tune in, turn on, and drop out.” The story is embellished with a musical score featuring the title song “Hair,” “Aquarius,” “Easy to Be Hard,” “Let the Sunshine In,” and “Good Morning Starshine.”
“My job is to lead a young cast back in time,” says Lou Stalsworth, the director of the show. “As part of their preparation for the show, cast members have been looking at old news reels, reading headlines, and listening to old music to provide context for their portrayals.”
Darrell J. Watts, a long time resident of Plainsboro, is performing various supporting roles in the production. A 2013 graduate of High School South, he is a student at the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York, as well as at Mercer Community College.
Watts has a passion for music, theater, and fashion design. “My goal in life is to create a legacy that will have a lasting impact in both the music performance and fashion industries,” he says. In his spare time he loves to sing, play piano, compose original music, draw, and design.
Watts’ theater experiences include numerous one-act plays, a cast member of “Damn Yankees,” and appearing in an off-Broadway production of “The Naz.” He is also the former lead singer for the local band Emission.
His fashion designs were showcased at the Swain Gallery in Plainfield, and his drawings earned him a scholarship to attend the DuCret School of the Arts, also in Plainfield.
His mother, Theresa Watts, is an intellectual property paralegal; and his sister, Charisse Watts, is a sophomore at South. “I credit my mother with providing the drive to never give up and my sister with always helping me keep it real.”
“We anticipate an audience that will be a mix of those who lived through that era and a whole new generation that has only read about the ’60s or seen movies that attempt to capture it,” Stalsworth says.
Hair, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. Musical. $20. 609-570-3333. www.kelseytheater.net.
