To Grey, Or Not To Grey

Here's the thing. I HATE to feed into the ageist stereotyping that frequently accompanies this play. Barb is 50, and a natural redhead. She has lovely, long glossy red hair. If raising a red-headed teenager has not turned her hair grey yet, I'm thinking she's right about the genes thing. And, who is to say that some of the old whores in this play wouldn't have good genes and great hair?

All the actresses in the show deal with their hair and their age according to their own taste. Nikki's hair is dyed a brilliant and obviously fake red. I've seen her roots. They're grey. Melita dyes her hair strawberry blonde, which, a few weeks after her visit to the salon, is more blonde that strawberry. BJ's hair is a lovely natural grey; getting on to white. Mine has darkened from its former blonde glory to a sort of nondescript brown, in which the grey streaks show up quite well.

The point is, why should we all look grey, doctored or otherwise, just because the characters we are playing are older than we are? People age at different rates and in different ways. If Vera were a real person, I think she would be very proud of her lovely hair, so let's let her have Barb's lovely hair to be proud of.

If we were college kids playing these rôles, we would need to do something to indicate age, and Barb does look younger than the rest of us, because she is. But, she's 50, not 20, and that is not as much of a stretch.

I SO want us to all look as lovely as we can. Why do you think I have Barb coming out for Curtain Call in a Storeyville hooker outfit like the rest of us? She ends the play as a bag lady!

One of the themes of this play is an in-your-face statement that there is a lot more to being sexy than having a firm body. Age brings, if not always wisdom, certainly knowledge. And knowing who you are and how to do your job with strength and courage can be a lot sexier than the fumblings of youth.

So.

That's why I don't want Barb to grey her hair.