Age of Aquarius has electric return

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of “Hair.” That puts the bracing MET Theatre production ahead of the curve. This iconic American tribal love-rock musical by Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni and James Rado first bombarded Broadway in 1968, after its 1967 Public Theater production led to a Cheetah discotheque edition. With original producer Michael Butler on tap, raw authenticity turns the MET revival into a rambunctious happening.

By restoring the gleeful immediacy and subversive ritual of its pre-Broadway origins, director-choreographer Bo Crowell and his wholly committed forces locate the still-trenchant heart and soul of “Hair,” with which they irradiate us. Around a venue transformed by designer Lena Garcia and artist Michael Anderson into an idealized Central Park, hippies proffer joints and groove on the audience.

At once nostalgic and acute, Crowell’s environmental take throws the Vietnam era down as antiwar gauntlet to the present. On those terms, “Hair” triumphs, the nude scene for once making a statement, the acid trip subtly updated and the finale overwhelming.

Credit the cast, a youthful tribe awash in communal zeal and choral sweep. As draft-challenged Claude, wide-eyed James Barry is ideal, unaffectedly heartbreaking. Lee Ferris brings full-throated energy to gonzo Berger. Johanna Unger’s proto-feminist Sheila overrides vocal concerns in “Easy to Be Hard” by delivering it from her marrow.

Such investment is rampant, from Dawn Worrall’s chirpy Jeanie and Benjamin Ricci’s antic Woof to Nataly Wright’s soaring Dionne and Trance Thompson’s raucous Hud. Feather-voiced Joanna Anderson offers a definitive “Frank Mills”; Jordan Segal nails the camp of “My Conviction.”

The designs are freewheeling, and musical director Christian Nesmith’s band rocks. Though adding “Hippie Life” extends a rambling evening, it’s one more roof-raiser among many. The lack of tie-dye is curious, while Crowell’s electrifying dances suggest conscription by Bob Fosse. Nevertheless, “Hair’s” raison d’etre is intact and exhilarating. Let the sunshine in.

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‘Hair’

Where: MET Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Call for exceptions

Ends: Dec. 2

Price: $34.99

Contact: (323) 960-4442 or www.hairtix.com

Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes