Hair

I had not seen Hair before, so last night was a very fun and interesting experience. I had only a general idea of what I would be seeing, and was totally blown away by the power of the message in the show. Music is a very powerful instrument of communication and presenting the time period and feelings through music really gripped the audience and pulled us right into what was happening. It helped that they had been working together for a long time on this, and they looked like they were having a blast. This is important to remember when you are presenting, because you want your audience, whoever it i, to see that you are excited about what you are doing and enjoying it.
As for how this relates to teaching, something of this nature could be used to gets students thinking about the time period which this reflects and what they could learn about that time from the dress, music, and actions of the characters. The teamwork aspect, getting students to bond through a common experience is also something that would be useful in a classroom to create that community feeling. Using a class project of some sort, most likely not a musical, to get the class to bond, to come together despite different views, would be wonderful to be able to do. Another way that Hair can be used as a teaching tool is through its relation to Shakespeare. I thought that it was very interesting and powerful that the lyrics in "What a Piece of Work is Man" and "Eyes, Look Your Last" were from Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Because of this, these songs can be used to introduce Shakespeare, to show that it really is found everywhere, and encourage students to look at Shakespeare in new ways. I also think that the fact that this show is about war and how it can effect people can also be used in the classroom. Looking at wars in the past, such as The Vietnam War, and the war that we are in right now can show students connections between past and present. Shows like Hair can be used in many ways to supplement teaching and encourage new conversation about both past times and our own.