Tuesday, July 12, 2011

LOGOS: Hair

Here we are in the midst of the "Summer of Love," with the return of the 60's to Broadway.  Heck, except for The Phantom of the Opera, 44th Street is pretty much one big infomercial's worth of American rock n' roll.  We've got the 50's and early 60's covered with original tunes from Memphis, and classic hits in Baby, It's You!  Across the street has 80's rock screaming from its outdoor speakers at the Helen Hayes Theatre, home of  Rock of Ages (it is an odd sensation to cross the street mid-block when your ears pick up Journey AND the Shirelles).

When American Idiot closed, the new century went unrepresented, but Broadway rock fans, don't despair!  Late 60's psychedelic tunes are back!  Let the sunshine in!  Hair is back!  Last time around, I wasn't blogging, so I thought I'd take this second chance to talk about its colorful logo.


Like most of the best Broadway logos, this show's is a hit in four ways: its title is easy to discern, it is noticeably colorful, it easily changes into "variations on a theme," and its largest logo tells the story of the show without giving too much away.

The vibrant blue color and the radiating sunburst of lines, to me, at least, suggest both the natural "sun" element, astrologically and naturally associated with the hippies, who make up the "American tribe," named in the show's subtitle.  While the combination of the lines and the blended colors in the title resemble tie-dyed clothing, another iconic element of the free love movement.  And you can see that it works just as well in reverse.


In fact, the reverse version, even more resembling the sunburst, really fits with the addition of the song title/rallying cry, "Let the Sunshine In."  Add to it the multi-hued blue hands, free and reaching for the sun as one - as a tribe, as well as the quintessential hippie girl, smiling and carefree reaching the highest.  Love beads, peace necklace and fringe leather vest, her arms are lifted in joy.  Freedom and rebellion were never so close, and the movement portrayed in the show is brought vividly to life in this logo.


The simplicity of the lettering reminds me of both the lettering on so many protest placards, and, somehow, computerized lettering, which ultimately brings the show from the sixties fully into the 21st century.  How fitting, given this particular production's relationship to the times in which we live,

Grade: A

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Jeff
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