West Seattle residents are fortunate to have right in our own neighborhood a theater arts program for youth that has the potential to change the lives of the young people performing in its shows as well as the people of all ages who come to see the shows.

This summer young people from ages 15 to 21 enrolled in ArtsWest's Musical Theater Performance Apprenticeship Program are performing Hair, which opened this past week. This production of Hair does justice not only to the award-winning Broadway musical, but also to the social and political context of the late 60s. It was a time of questioning and protest, a time of calls for peace and a time when war hung over the lives of young people like an ominous, dark cloud threatening to blow apart their future. This show captures it all, made all the more poignant and powerful by the fact that it is performed by young people facing many of these same questions today. Not for young children, it is an outstanding show, full of music, dance, drama and contagious energy.

But beyond that it's also a chance to see what talented young people can accomplish when they meet up with talented and dedicated teachers. As a former staff member at ArtsWest I know firsthand that Director Christopher Zinovitch, choreographer Nick DeSantis and musical director Jacinta McLachlan-Koreski treat these young people with respect, professionalism and high expectations and in return they get 110 percent and simply astounding results. Hair runs through July 29 and it would be such a waste to have even one seat left vacant during that run.

Carlene Canton

West Seattle