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Kameron Clepper

A poster advertises "Hair" at the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park on Saturday, July 18, 2026.

More than a half-century after “Hair” challenged audiences with its antiwar message, a new Chicago production featuring Columbia alumni is using the musical to reflect today’s political unrest.

Produced by Kokandy Productions, the revival updates the 1967 musical with references to today’s political movements, including immigration, the war in Gaza and contemporary protest culture, while retaining its antiwar message. The production runs through Sept. 12 at the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park.

Columbia alumni Nicki Rossi, Zac Richey and Kirsten Baity are involved in the production. Kijani X, a musical theatre major, is also in the production.

The plot follows a commune of hippies, referred to as The Tribe, leading a bohemian lifestyle in New York City. One of these hippies, Claude Bukowski, must decide if he is going to join the army or continue living in the commune. 

Rossi, a 2024 graduate of Columbia with a BA in acting, plays Jeannie in the show. Jeannie is an expectant mother who lives in the commune and is openly in love with Claude.

“She has such a capability to really thrive and exist in a commune like this,” Rossi said of her character. “She cuts to the truth so often in this piece.”

The show is known for its vignette-style writing, with a lack of a central plot for many of the characters. The second act is a depiction of a character’s experience after ingesting acid. 

“The rehearsal process was super collaborative with this piece,” Rossi said of the show’s loose plot. “It’s a vignette of a bunch of different ideas just kind of flowing together like a big old acid trip.”

The show is performed in the round at the Chopin Theatre, meaning that audience members sit in a circle around the stage while there is no distinctive stage left or stage right. Many of the seats in the theater are made of plywood and decorated with cushions and blankets, offering a unique experience for audience members.

Pens are also offered to the audience and they are encouraged to write on the set. Many took this as an opportunity to express their frustrations with today’s political climate: “Fuck Trump” can be found written on the set multiple times.

Baity, a 2021 graduate of Columbia with a BA in theater with a concentration in playwriting, is the intimacy director for the show.

“‘Hair is a devised piece with a lot of rules,” Baity said

“There’s not a lot of ‘this is how the plot goes’. There’s pieces that you have to make up. It’s like, how do you make this story a throughline for you?”

As an intimacy and violence director, Baity choreographed many moments in the show.

“One of the things I learned at Columbia was how to work with some of the other people who are in the cast and on the crew, because we all went to school together,” Baity said.

“I have an understanding of how they operate and some of the things that they know, because I know that they had the same teachers I had.”

While the script is set in the late 1960s, Kokandy’s production is much looser in its time period. 

At one point, the show depicts the characters in protective protest gear as they hold signs stating “Free Palestine” and “Fuck ICE.”

“I want people to feel uncomfortable,” Rossi said.

Zac Richey, a 2021 graduate of Columbia with a BA in musical theatre and a minor in stage combat, plays Berger in the show.

Berger is the driving force behind much of the commune’s actions throughout the show. He regularly hands out drugs for the group to ingest, and he acts as Claude’s guide throughout his decision to join the military.

“He sort of represents the militant left, which is incredibly cathartic,” Richey said of his character.

“It’s weird, because it does feel cathartic, and then I’m very aware of the fact that I’m doing a play about it while people are having their lives taken,” Richey said of the show’s political nature.

“I like that it has been a place for the artists who are making this show to let out some of their frustrations,” Baity said.

“We say free Palestine, we say fuck ICE, we say free Congo,” Rossi said.

“Hair” will run until Sept. 12 at the Chopin Theater in Wicker Park.

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Amelia Baird

A statue of Irv "Mr. Chicago" Kupcinet appears to hold up the sun in Chicago on Thursday, July 16, 2026.

Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada and Minnesota blanketed Chicago on Thursday, July 16, reducing visibility across the city and prompting an Air Pollution Action Day for northeastern Illinois. A thick plume of smoke drifted into the region, creating unhealthy to hazardous air quality conditions and obscuring the city’s skyline. 

“There’s no runners. There’s no people getting on boats, no dogs, no peddlers and no tourists,” said John Reese, who works at Juicy along Lake Michigan. This was unusual for summer. Normally, “Thursdays be popping,” he said.

The haze, carried south by shifting winds, left the air smelling of smoke and elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. Health officials urged residents, especially children, older adults, pregnant people and those with heart or lung conditions, to limit time outdoors and avoid strenuous activity until air quality improves. 

“It didn’t stop us,” said Jude Peterson, a busker performing downtown on Wacker Drive. 

Front man Adam Blendermann, who was playing an upright bass, said only rain would do that.

According to the National Weather Service in Chicago, visibility reductions from wildfire smoke are expected to persist through the night and into mid- to late Friday morning, July 17. Improving winds should gradually clear the smoke from the region over the weekend.

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Written by playwright Melanie Coffey, “Deserted” follows two women navigating environmental collapse, dwindling resources and isolation. The script immediately caught the attention of Columbia adjunct professor Laura Sturm, who signed on to direct the production.

Sturm encouraged Columbia students to join the production after being drawn to its hopeful portrayal of a queer relationship and its nuanced approach to climate change.

“I love that it’s a love story about a few women, but it’s not about any sort of trauma,” Sturm said. “They just happen to be a married couple who happen to be women.”

Sturm said she was also drawn to how the play addresses environmental issues without making the message feel too direct.

“It sort of talks about, if we’re not careful, this is what a lot of our country could turn out to be,” Sturm said. “It’s a warning.”

When Coffey began writing “Deserted,” she wanted to explore something often overlooked: dirt.

Inspired by her mother’s interest in soil science and a documentary about desertification, she created a story set in a future where environmental changes have made resources like water and fertile soil scarce. 

While the play explores climate change and environmental collapse, Coffey said the story ultimately focuses on the relationships and human experiences shaped by those challenges.

Coffey said she wanted the climate crisis to serve as a backdrop for exploring personal relationships and the challenges of trying to build a life.

“As a millennial, the ability to settle down is nearly impossible,” Coffey said. “The ability to own land or buy a house is so difficult, it’s not even on our radar.”

Coffey said the play uses the struggle to grow plants as a metaphor for people trying to establish roots in a changing world.

“I wanted to explore this desperation to just be able to own a house with a yard and put these roots down metaphorically,” and mirror it with “the soil that won’t take roots any longer,” Coffey said.

As a world-premiere production, “Deserted” allowed the creative team to collaborate directly with Coffey throughout the rehearsal process. 

Wick Laipple, a senior musical theatre major and assistant director for “Deserted,” said having the playwright involved created a unique experience.

“Because this is a world-premiere, we were able to really work with our playwright in rehearsals and change and adapt things as we worked the piece to fit our actors and vision, while keeping true to the playwright,” Laipple said.

Laipple said Coffey’s involvement allowed the team to adjust parts of the script as the production developed.

“There were a few times something just didn’t land and the script would change slightly, or our playwright Melanie would have a realization about one of her characters on the spot to tweak something,” Laipple said.

For Laipple, the production also marked a personal milestone.

“This was my directing debut, so there has definitely been a lot for me to take away just by observing the rehearsal process and the inner workings of Redtwist,” Laipple said.

Behind the scenes, stage management helped keep the production organized throughout rehearsals and performances. 

Moe Kuhlmann, a senior theatre arts production and practice major with a concentration in stage management, who is the stage manager for “Deserted,” said the role involves much more than what audiences see during the performance.

During rehearsals, stage managers track blocking, lines and production notes. During performances, they oversee technical cues and help ensure the show runs smoothly.

“During performances, you call the show,” Kuhlmann said. “You have all the cues written down for when lights go and when sound goes, and you will tell the board operators when to go.”

For the production’s understudies, “Deserted” offered a chance to prepare for future roles. Samantha Inciong, a senior acting for stage and screen major and the understudy for Cam and Hiker in “Deserted,” said understudies take on a unique responsibility.

Inciong compared understudies to substitute teachers, explaining that they must know the character’s lines and blocking well enough to step into the role if needed.

“It’s possible to spend hours learning lines, blocking, etc., and not have the chance to perform in front of an audience,” Inciong said. “So I am thankful for Redtwist Theatre giving us understudies the opportunity to perform the show for two nights.”

For Inciong, the experience provided insight into the realities of professional theater after college.

“I know all productions are going to be different, with different experiences and learning curves,” Inciong said. “But I’m thankful this production taught me to stay on my toes, do my part and trust the process.”

The actors also played a key role in shaping the characters and themes of the  production. Shenise Danyèl, an interdisciplinary arts alum and the actor portraying Cam in “Deserted,” said creating a character who had never been performed before required understanding Cam’s motivations and purpose within the story.

Danyèl said Cam represents the difference between having good intentions and creating meaningful change.

“Cam is that type of character that really brings the realization that your intentions are different from your impact,” Danyèl said.

Danyèl said the role also reminded her that every character, regardless of size, requires the same level of preparation and commitment.

“There is no small role,” Danyèl said. “Every role is important.”

While the production explores a fictional future, Sturm focused on creating a world that felt like a possible extension of the present. 

Through the set, costumes and sound design, the creative team built an environment where water and fertile soil became precious resources and the vast, isolated landscape reflected the loneliness of the characters’ struggle for survival.

“I felt like in this world, their situation is dire,” Sturm said. “They could potentially starve or die of thirst.”

Coffey said seeing the play move from the page to the stage deepened her understanding of the story. While the environmental themes remained important, collaboration with the cast and creative team helped emphasize the relationships at the center of the play.

One challenge was finding the balance between the climate crisis and the human experiences within the story.

“No one really is going to be like, ‘Wow, I’m obsessed with dirt now,’” Coffey said. “The people are what the audiences are going to latch onto.”

The production’s connection to Columbia extended across multiple areas of the creative process, with students, alumni and faculty members contributing to the show. Coffey said she appreciated the trust and collaboration from the team as they developed the production.

“I felt very safe,” Coffey said. “I really, really trusted my director.”

For Laipple, the most rewarding moment came during the first full technical rehearsal, when the different elements of the production finally came together.

“It was the first time I really got to see the whole picture and everything we’d been working on all together,” Laipple said.

Through the work of Columbia students, alumni and faculty members, the production offers a glimpse into how emerging theater artists transition from classroom experiences into professional creative spaces. 

“Deserted” runs through August 2 at Redtwist Theatre at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. More information and tickets are available on Redtwist Theatre’s website⁠.

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The turnout follows the college’s lowest spring enrollment in more than two decades, as the Chronicle previously reported, and final fall numbers won’t be confirmed until the official census date in September.

But Columbia administrators said they were encouraged by attendance at orientation this week, which Kristi Beltran, director of student engagement and leadership, said was higher than she had seen in years.

“The college had a plan to recruit and get as many students accepted and acclimated into the college as possible this year, and I attribute that to the admissions and enrollment management,” she said. 

Beltran said every in-person orientation session, held four days a week over the next two weeks, has 115 students registered each day. A virtual session the third week is also at capacity.

At orientation, incoming students attended informational sessions on class registration, housing and financial aid. 

Incoming first-year illustration major Bella Hernandez said she was drawn to the school’s arts-focused environment and the opportunities available to students, especially after seeing her sister’s success at the college.

“I’m a little bit nervous, but I’m pretty excited,” Hernandez said.

Spring 2026 enrollment fell to 3,958 students, slightly lower than the college’s 4,000 projection. Columbia is expecting fall enrollment to reach “well more than” 4,000 students this fall, Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Suzanne McBride said during a student forum in late March, as the Chronicle previously reported.

Emmanuel Lalande, senior vice president of enrollment strategy and student success, said in an email to the Chronicle that the turnout at orientation is encouraging.

“The trends we are seeing today reflect meaningful progress in our ongoing efforts to stabilize enrollment,” he said.

Lalande said the college has focused on supporting incoming students through “every step of the enrollment process.” 

“We have seen encouraging momentum across several key enrollment indicators this year, including increased participation in New Student Orientation,” Lalande said in an email to the Chronicle. “It’s exciting to see so many new students engaging with the Columbia community before the semester even begins.”

The college also saw high turnout at Admitted Students Day in April. Between 1,300 and 1,400 guests were expected to attend.

After informational sessions on the first days of orientation this week, incoming students were able to socialize during lunch and attend a New Student Expo to meet representatives of campus organizations and ask questions.

“The transition to college is very overwhelming, and we want to try to make it as welcoming as possible, and help them feel confident going into the year,” said Morgan Lawson, a senior film and television major and one of the head engagement leaders of orientation. “Even if they just have one takeaway, something that they can have with them to start the school year.”

Sadie Eichenberger, an incoming first-year illustration major, said Columbia already felt like the right fit.

“It felt the most like me,” Eichenberger said. “It had the best community suited to what I was looking for.”

Incoming first-year acting major Mags Witte , who is from Iowa, said he chose Columbia to experience a new place and new opportunities through his major.

“I’m just excited to learn and try new things,” Witte said. 

Additional reporting by Shawn Katz

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