Maxwell Schaeffer, director of “Hair,” believes the similarities between today and the 1968 setting of “Hair” go beyond the tattered jeans that were popular then and that you can still purchase at American Eagle.

StageWest Theater Company is bringing back “Hair” for a second time after its sold-out production in 2000 to celebrate the playhouse’s fifth anniversary. The show premieres at 8 p.m. Friday.

“Hair” opened on Broadway in 1968, when many people were protesting the Vietnam War.

Schaeffer says the musical is even more relevant today because of the war in Iraq than it was when the show ran in Des Moines four years ago when the nation was at peace. He thinks the audience will find a similarity with the issues of protesting and a desire for peace.

“We are not going for trying to parallel, but current times do resonate,” he says.

ISU alumnus Brandon John Lee plays Berger, one of the lead characters. Lee says the characters’ attitudes toward the war are realistic and resemble the attitudes of people today.

“The show is about the conflicts of supporting a nation and defending freedom. At the same time, there are people against the war,” he says.

Schaeffer, who also directed the musical in 2000, says one of the advantages of doing a revival is being able to look in retrospect at the first production and make changes. He says there are five more cast members than in the 2000 production and a different musical director and choreographer.

The musical deals with controversial issues like sex, drugs and avoiding the draft. Lee says the object of the revival is to bring these issues into the laps of audience members.

“Everything on stage looks as real as possible,” Lee says.

There is also a brief scene containing nudity. Schaeffer says the scene appears at a different time than in the original Broadway version.

He believes the new place it appears is “much more natural to what’s going on in the story.”

Lee says the scene comes at a time in the play when the characters are “letting go” and “releasing inhibitions.”

“We’re not editing out anything just because we are a community theater in Des Moines,” he says. “Nothing is done in bad taste.”

Schaeffer says most of the cast members are in their 20s, so younger people will be able to watch their peers performing.

“College students and 20-somethings can really relate to this show,” he says.

Lee says people who lived through the ’60s will also be able to appreciate “Hair.”