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Oh, My: Lin-Manuel Miranda and James Corden Bare It All, Performing Hair for Strangers at a Crosswalk

You know those stop lights that honestly just last forever and a day? Like, you’re on your way to work (or worse, on your way home), and you’re sitting there and it just will not change? Everyone else has gone, but you and your poor lane? Stuck there, forever. I hate those. But I guess if you’re going to be stuck at a stop light, it may as well be one where you’re being entertained by James Corden, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a wonderful musical cast as they perform Hair.

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In case you weren’t aware, Hair is about the hippie countercultural movement that sprung up in the 1960s and 70s. What most people remember about it is the fact that its nude scene sparked a controversy that impacted theater going forward. So, you know, you can totally go from that to Corden and Miranda dancing around in hippie gear at a live Los Angeles intersection.

They performed just about all of the hits from the musical, singing, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” “Hair,” and “Where Do I Go?” which is the song to which the nude scene is set. Their re-enactment of the scene is about as surreal as it gets for your every day driver, I suppose, as they come out in coats and strip down to show that they’re ostensibly wearing nothing at all (nothing at all). Obviously the important bits are blurred out, but everything else? Flying high and fancy free, my friend.

It’s especially funny when during this scene, Miranda jumps on the hood of a car at the stop light and just really … goes at it, you know what I mean? I have to wonder, like, did he know this person? Was this person really as frustrated as the video made him seem? I mean, I know I’d be very much in a “what the hell is going on here” mindset, but in the end, I can’t really fault the guy. Did they apologize afterwards? Did they have a plan if this guy might have had a problem with road rage?

Anyway, it’s a bit funny to me that just about everyone watching looked more confused or bored than anything. There were a few laughs, but nobody was dancing or getting into it. Folks just really wanted to get to where they’re going, I suppose. Maybe that’ll teach you to not drive past CBS’ lot ever again.

(via Vulture)

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Jessica Lachenal
Jessica Lachenal is a writer who doesn’t talk about herself a lot, so she isn’t quite sure how biographical info panels should work. But here we go anyway. She's the Weekend Editor for The Mary Sue, a Contributing Writer for The Bold Italic (thebolditalic.com), and a Staff Writer for Spinning Platters (spinningplatters.com). She's also been featured in Model View Culture and Frontiers LA magazine, and on Autostraddle. She hopes this has been as awkward for you as it has been for her.

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