Walking into the auditorium of the Herberger Theatre downtown over the weekend was like entering a giant time-capsule.  Anti-war slogans protesting the draft hang from scaffolding, and an old television - the kind that used to look like living-room furniture - faces you, centre stage, displaying black and white newsreels of a war while the words Vietnam and Nixon in large white block letters splash across the screen.  There are even hippies walking along the aisles, greeting you and looking sincerely pleased that you've bothered to turn up.  It has to be 1968.

Of course, it's the staging for the Arizona Theatre Company's 40th Anniversary production of the Broadway musical Hair, and even though many of the hippies greeting you were not even born when the original show opened, this is no trip back in time for the sake of simple nostalgia.  This is a superb new production that could quite possibly qualify as being among the best presentations ever produced at the Herberger.

Director David Goldstein has put together something special.  Because of the show's seemingly free-form nature - there's actually a lot going on and being said even though on the surface it doesn't always appear so - Hair can either rise or fall depending on the weakest member of the ensemble, but here there are no weak members.  Sure, there are certain performances within this attractive cast that stand out, but to go ahead and single them out above the others is unfair, especially when, as a group, this ensemble is so strong.

Forty years later, Hair has lost none of its punch, its anger, or even its timeliness.  The show tackles subjects such as love, death, war, hate, sex, prejudices, drugs, generational gaps, and authority, and though it can't possibly deliver any solutions that would work for everyone, simply highlighting these issues through a sixties' prism shows how little has been resolved.

The strength of Hair was always this: even if you have opposing and generally disapproving views, the joy and general exuberance of the piece - and this is certainly true of this high-energy production - the show is so contagious you can't help but surrender to its infectious rhythms and overall feeling of simply having a great time.

Certain moments are trimmed.  Two songs included on both the British and American cast CDs are missing; Dead End and The Bed.  But the rest of the score is left intact, and it's surprising how many of them you may recall.  Aquarius and the title song spring to mind, but there's also Good Morning Starshine, Ain't Got No, Easy To Be hard and Let The Sun Shine In.  And, depending on where you're sitting, it's quite possible that at the end of the show one of those young hippies will come back down into the audience and invite you to dance with the rest of the cast on stage.  If anyone at the Sunday showing remembers a guy in jeans, a short-sleeved blue shirt and glasses dancing and clapping with a general lack of rhythm... yep, that was me.

For more information, times and dates CLICK HERE.

After the enormous success of the live stage version of Beauty and the Beast, the Walt Disney organization went ahead and developed their second stage adaptation of a celebrated animated feature.  The Lion King opened on Broadway in 1997, only this time, instead of a literal presentation of its film the company decided to expand the artistic interpretation of its piece to the point where the musical actually looks at odds with what Disney is usually all about. 

Over the weekend The Lion King made its way to ASU Gammage, and the valley had a chance to make its own opinion.

It is, beyond a doubt, a spectacular piece - a show full of vibrant energy with a continual, imaginative display of theatrical invention where a kaleidoscopic array of colors decorate individual moments to a breathtaking level.  Taking children to see this show is akin to taking them to see the wonder of their first circus, only better because, unlike a circus, The Lion King tells a story with an emotional pull to engage and walk them through the magic of the illusion of theatre.

Gammage has temporarily redesigned its theatre to accommodate this huge production. They've removed seats from the orchestra section to create two parallel rows that lead from the back of the auditorium right up to the stage.  This allows for a procession of 'animals' to parade down the aisles during the spectacular opening song,  Circle of Life , and to enter the stage from the audience.  There are flying birds, baboons, and an elephant the size of... well, actually an elephant.  The emotional kick that the opening song produces is so powerful that the following scenes are often in danger of not being able to live up to the potential of that opening moment.

Even though the show is at least an hour longer than the film - there are extra songs to help flesh out the emotional tone - the story appears simpler.  The film's narrative drew comparisons with Shakespearean themes of life, death, honor and revenge, though when you leave the theatre after seeing this live-action version it will be the Julie Taymor costumes, masks and the sheer theatrical invention that will be most on your mind.

Not every moment works. The dramatic death of Mufasa in the canyon is not as effective as hoped, and the climactic battle between Simba and Scar suffers from a cluttered interpretation where you may find yourself wondering exactly what's going on, but these reservations are overshadowed by the sheer fun and beauty of the rest of the show that may have you wishing you'd bought tickets for a second viewing, with or without the kids.

For ticket information, times and dates, CLICK HERE.

Three more films released during the holidays that you may want top consider before the weekend is over.

1. Marley & Me

Those who have read the best-seller by Josh Grogan will already know that the book is generally centered around the exploits of Marley, the worst behaved dog in the world.  The film, on the other hand, appears to concentrate more on the ups and downs of the marriage of Marley's owners, played with appealing chemistry by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston.  Marley himself is more of a third wheel, occasionally appearing like a guest star in his own story. 

Anyone who owns a lab can relate.  Our pet lab, for instance, ate all our living room furniture, chewed her way through the bedroom wall, and destroyed a couple of antique collectible books by Charles Dickens.  And that was just in the first couple of months.  Marley does this and more, but as this is meant as nothing more than an entertaining holiday film, the various disasters are presented as humor - it wasn't quite so funny in real life.  The problem with Marley & Me is that the marriage of the likeable Grogans is only mildly interesting and we never get to warm to Marley in the way we do when reading about him in the book.  You never feel as if you really know him.  However, even the most hardened of critics will be reduced to a blubbering mess during the final scenes.  Take extra tissues.  You'll thank me later. 

MPAA rating:  PG    Length:  120 minutes

2.  Slumdog Millionaire

When a street-wise Indian boy, raised in the incredibly impoverished slums of Mumbai, gets a break by appearing as a contestant on the Hindi version of 'Who Wants To be A Millionaire?' he answers all the questions.  The authorities are suspicious.  How can an uneducated slumdog get all the questions right?  He has to be cheating.  The police take him in for questioning where the boy has to explain how it came to be that he knew all the answers.  What he tells them is endlessly inventive and hugely entertaining and makes for one of the best films of the year. 

The first five minutes is jarring.  Director Danny Boyle uses quick edits and in-your-face photography that, at first, makes you uncomfortable - watching the police torture a young boy with a car battery was not what I expected - but once the rhythm of the film is established, it's amazing how the film drags you in and keeps you there until the uplifting and highly satisfying grand finale.  For adults only due to several violent moments, but highly recommended.

MPAA rating:  R   Length:  120 minutes

3.  Valkyrie

I'm often perplexed by the media.  The continual negative reporting on the making of Valkyrie became something of a national pastime.  There was an almost gleeful tone to the reports that became disturbing.  Much of the writing - presumably by reporters who hadn't actually seen the film - centered on trying to ridicule Tom Cruise and his performance as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a real-life officer in the German army who attempted to assassinate Hitler for the good of Germany and all of Europe.  You know what? All those reporters and gossip columnists should crawl back under their rocks. 

Valkyrie is not a great film, but it's a good one.  And Tom Cruise is perfectly fine as the colonel.  Sure he speaks with an American accent, but it's no more out of place than all the British character actors around Cruise who speak with their own Brit accents while playing German officers, and I didn't read anything negative about any of them.  It's one thing to belittle Cruise for not hiding his American voice, but can you imagine what those same reporters would have done had Cruise adopted a "Vee haf vays..." delivery?  It's quite probable that a different actor could have given a better performance, but then the film may never have been made.  It was the signing of Cruise in the lead that got Valkyrie the greenlight in the first place.

Even though we know that the assassination attempt failed, the thrill of the film is watching how it came apart, who was captured and what happened to them.  And the important thing, from my own point of view, is that this is a part of history I knew nothing about.   As Kenneth Branagh as Major-General Henning von Tresckow says, " We have to show the world that not all of us are like him. Otherwise, this will always be Hitler's Germany."

MPAA rating:  PG-13    Length: 120 minutes