Hair (musical)

Hair (musical)

Infobox Musical
name = Hair
subtitle = The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical


caption = Original Broadway poster
music = Galt MacDermot
lyrics = James Rado
Gerome Ragni
book = James Rado
Gerome Ragni
basis =
productions = 1967 Off-Broadway
1968 Broadway
1968 West End
1968 Munich
1969 Sydney
Multiple Productions Worldwide
1977 Broadway revival
1979 Film version
1993 West End revival
2004 Broadway concert
2005 West End revival
2008 Central Park revival
awards =

"Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti–Vietnam War peace movement. The musical's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/27/newsid_3107000/3107815.stm "Musical "Hair" opens as censors withdraw"] . "On this Day". bbc.co.uk (November 27, 1968). Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Taylor, Kate (September 14, 2007). [http://www.nysun.com/arts/beat-goes/62643/ "The Beat Goes On"] . "The New York Sun". The New York Sun, One, SL, LLC. Retrieved on May 27, 2008.] The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of the "rock musical", utilizing a racially-integrated cast and inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-in" finale.Pacheco, Patrick (June 17, 2001). [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/74167283.html?dids=74167283:74167283&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+17%2C+2001&author=PATRICK+PACHECO&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=1&desc=COVER+STORY%3B+The+Peace%2C+Love+and+Freedom+Party%3B+Cast+and+crew+knew+%27Hair%27+wasn%27t+just+exhilarating%2C+it+was+groundbreaking.+A+look+back+as+a+new+version+opens. "Peace, Love and Freedom Party; Cast and crew knew "Hair" wasn't just exhilarating, it was groundbreaking. A look back as a new version opens"] . "Los Angeles Times", p. 1. Retrieved on June 10, 2008]

"Hair" tells the story of the "tribe", a group of politically active, long-haired "Hippies of the Age of Aquarius" fighting against conscription to the Vietnam War and living a bohemian life together in New York City. They struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution with their pacifist rebellion against the war and the conservative impulses of their parents and society. Claude, one of the leaders of the tribe, must decide whether or not to resist the draft, as his friends have done.

After an off-Broadway debut in October 1967 at Joseph Papp's Public Theater and another run in a midtown discothèque space, the show opened on Broadway in April 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances, [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?id=3393 "Hair"] . " [http://www.ibdb.com Internet Broadway Database] ". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] followed by a successful London production, which ran for 1,997 performances. Numerous productions have been staged around the world since then, and numerous recordings of the musical have been released. Several of the songs from its score became Top 40 hits, and a successful movie adaptation was released in 1979.

History

"Hair" was conceived by actors James Rado and Gerome Ragni. The two actors met in 1964, when they acted together in the off-Broadway play "Hang Down Your Head and Die", and they began writing "Hair" together in early 1965. [Horn, p. 24] The main characters of Claude and Berger were autobiographical, Rado's Claude being the pensive romantic and Ragni's Berger the extrovert. Their close relationship, sometimes volatile, is symbolized in the show by the well known ballad "Easy to be Hard". Rado said "We were great friends. It was a passionate kind of relationship that we directed into creativity, into writing, into creating this piece. We put the drama between us on stage." The authors got the idea for the title of the show from a painting titled "Hair" in a Whitney Museum exhibition. The painting was of a comb and a few strands of hair on a blank canvas.Rizzo, Frank (August 31, 2008). [http://www.courant.com/entertainment/stage/hc-hair.artjul20,0,44036.story "Hair": Reviving the Revolution"] . "Hartford Courant", courant.com. Retrieved on July 25, 2008.]

In the "Los Angeles Times", Rado described the inspiration for "Hair" as "a combination of some characters we met in the streets, people we knew and our own imaginations. We knew this group of kids in the East Village who were dropping out and dodging the draft, and there were also lots of articles in the press about how kids were being kicked out of school for growing their hair long, and we incorporated that in the show too." Rado recalled, "There was so much excitement in the streets and the parks and the hippie areas, and we thought if we could transmit this excitement to the stage it would be wonderful.... We hung out with them and went to their Be-Ins [and] let our hair grow." Many cast members (Shelley Plimpton in particular) were recruited right off the street.

Rado and Ragni came from different artistic backgrounds. In college, Rado wrote musical revues and aspired to be a Broadway composer in the Rodgers and Hammerstein tradition. He went on to study acting with Lee Strasberg. Ragni, on the other hand, was an active member of The Open Theater group in New York City, one of several groups, mostly Off-off Broadway, that were developing experimental theatre techniques.Miller, pp. 54–56] Ragni would later interest Rado in the modern theatre styles and methods being developed at The Open Theater. [Horn, p. 23] In 1966, while the two were developing "Hair", Ragni performed in The Open Theater's production of Megan Terry's play, "Viet Rock", a story about young men being deployed to the Vietnam War. In addition to the war theme, "Viet Rock" employed the same improvisational and workshop exercises being used in the experimental theatre scene and later used in the development of "Hair". [Horn, pp. 18–19] [http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&title=Viet%20Rock "Viet Rock"] . "Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.]

Rado and Ragni brought their ideas for the show to producer Eric Blau who, through common friend Nat Shapiro, connected the two with Canadian composer Galt MacDermot. [Horn, p. 27] MacDermot had won a Grammy Award in 1961 for his composition "African Waltz" (recorded by Cannonball Adderley). [ [http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004172/Galt-MacDermot.html "Galt MacDermot Biography"] . "musiciansguide.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] "We work independently," explained MacDermot regarding the creative process. "I prefer it that way. They hand me the material. I set it to music." [Whittaker, Herbert (May 1968). [http://www.intrafi.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/CanadianComposer5-68.html "Hair": The Musical That Spells Good-bye Dolly!"] . "The Canadian Composer". Retrieved on April 18, 2008.] MacDermot wrote the first score in three weeks, starting with the songs "I Got Life", "Ain't Got No", "Where Do I Go" and the title song. He first wrote "Aquarius" as an unconventional art piece, but later went back and changed it to an uplifting anthem. MacDermot's lifestyle was in marked contrast to his co-creators: "I had short hair, a wife, and, at that point, four children, and I lived on Staten Island."

Off-Broadway productions

The show was pitched to several Broadway producers and received many rejections. Eventually Joe Papp, who ran the New York Shakespeare Festival, decided he wanted "Hair" to open the new Public Theater (still under construction) in New York City's Greenwich Village. The production did not go smoothly: "The rehearsal and casting process was confused, the material itself incomprehensible to many of the theater’s staff. The director, Gerald Freedman, the theater's associate artistic director, withdrew in frustration during the final week of rehearsals and offered his resignation. Papp accepted it, and the choreographer Anna Sokolow took over the show.... After a disastrous final dress rehearsal, Papp wired Mr. Freedman in Washington, where he’d fled: 'Please come back.' Mr. Freedman did."Isherwood, Charles (September 16, 2007). [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/theater/16ishe.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin "The Aging of Aquarius"] . "The New York Times". Retrieved on May 25, 2008.] "Hair" premiered off-Broadway on October 17, 1967 and ran for a limited engagement of six weeks. Although the production had a "tepid critical reception", it was popular with audiences.

Chicago businessman Michael Butler was planning a run for the U.S. Senate on an anti-war platform. After seeing an ad for "Hair" in the "New York Times" that led him to believe the show was about Native Americans, he watched the Public's production several times and decided to purchase the rights and move it to Broadway. Papp and Butler then moved the show to The Cheetah, an old discotheque at 53rd Street and Broadway. It ran there for 45 performances. There was no nudity in either the Public Theater or Cheetah production.Horn, pp. 87–88]

Revision for Broadway

Before the move to Broadway, the creative team hired director Tom O'Horgan. O'Horgan was the authors' first choice to direct the Public Theater production, but he was in Europe at the time. [Horn, p. 29] O'Horgan had built a reputation directing experimental theater at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and had used nudity in many of the plays he directed—something that he would eventually integrate into the Broadway production of "Hair". "Newsweek" described O'Horgan's directing style as "...sensual, savage, and thoroughly musical... [he] disintegrates verbal structure and often breaks up and distributes narrative and even character among different actors... He enjoys sensory bombardment." [Junker, Howard (June 3, 1968). [http://www.orlok.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Newsweek6-3-68.html "Director of the Year"] . "Newsweek", orlok.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.]

"Hair" underwent a massive overhaul between its closing at the Cheetah in January 1968 and its Broadway opening three months later. The Off-Broadway book, already light on plot, was loosened even further, and nowrap|13 new songs were added. [Horn, pp. 39–40] One song in particular, "Let the Sun Shine In", was added to the Broadway show so the ending would be more uplifting. In rehearsals, O'Horgan used techniques passed down by Viola Spolin and Paul Sills of improvisational "games" and role playing theories that encouraged freedom and spontaneity. Many of these improvizations were incorporated into the Broadway script.Horn p. 53]

Papp declined to pursue a Broadway production, and so Butler produced the show himself. For a time it seemed that Butler would be unable to secure a Broadway theater, as the Shuberts, Nederlanders and other theater owners deemed the material too controversial. However, he pulled some political strings through family connections, and convinced theater owner David Cogan to make the Biltmore Theater available. [Horn, p. 42]

Early productions

Broadway

"Hair" opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre on April 29, 1968. The production was directed by Tom O'Horgan and choreographed by Julie Arenal, with set design by Robin Wagner, costume design by Nancy Potts, and lighting design by Jules Fisher.

The original New York "tribe" (i.e., cast) included authors Rado and Ragni, who played the lead roles of Claude and Berger, respectively, and Lynn Kellogg as Sheila, Lamont Washington as Hud, Sally Eaton as Jeanie, Shelley Plimpton as Crissy, Melba Moore as Dionne, Steve Curry as Woof, Ronnie Dyson (who sang "Aquarius"), Paul Jabara and Diane Keaton (who would later play Sheila). Among the performers who appeared in "Hair" during its original Broadway run were Ben Vereen, Keith Carradine, Barry McGuire, Ted Lange, Kenny Seymour (of Little Anthony and The Imperials), Joe Butler (of the Lovin' Spoonful), Peppy Castro (of the Blues Magoos), Robin McNamara, Heather MacRae (daughter of Gordon MacRae), Eddie Rambeau and Kim Milford.

Early on the "Hair" team became embroiled in a lawsuit with the organizers of the Tony Awards. After assuring producer Michael Butler that commencing previews by April 3 was sufficient to warrant consideration by the New York Theatre League for the 1968 Tonys, the League later ruled "Hair" ineligible, moving the cutoff date to March 19. The producers brought suit [ [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety3-10-68.html "Producer Sues N.Y. Theatre League On "Hair" Exclusion as Tony Entry"] . "Variety", michaelbutler.com (March 10, 1968). Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] but were unable to force the League to reconsider. [Zoltrow, Sam (March 22, 1968). [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60613FF355D147493C0AB1788D85F4C8685F9&scp=1&sq=March+22%2C+1968+tony&st=p "Happy Time" Gets 10 Mentions Among Tony Award Candidates"] . "New York Times", p. 59. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] At the 1969 Tonys, "Hair" was nominated for Best Musical and Best Director but lost out to "1776" in both categories. [ [http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search?start=0&year=1969&award=&lname=&fname=&show= "Past Winners, 1969"] . "tonyawards.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008] The production closed after a four year run of 1,750 performances, on July 1, 1972.

Early regional productions

The West Coast version played at the Aquarius Theatre on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles beginning about six months after the Broadway opening and running for an unprecedented two years. The Los Angeles tribe included Rado, Ragni, Robert Rothman, Ben Vereen (who replaced Ragni), Red Shepard, Ted Neeley (who replaced Rado), Meat Loaf, Táta Vega, Jobriath, Jennifer Warnes (Warren) and Dobie Gray.

There were soon nine simultaneous productions in U.S. cities, followed by national tours.King, Betty Nygaard. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0001490 "Hair"] . "Encyclopedia of Music in Canada". Historica Foundation of Canada. Retrieved on May 31, 2008.] Among the performers in these were Joe Mantegna and André DeShields (Chicago), [Johnson, p. 87] David Lasley, David Patrick Kelly and Shaun Murphy (Detroit), ["Hair" program, Detroit, 1970] Arnold McCuller (tour), [Johnson, p. 134] and Philip Michael Thomas (San Francisco). [Johnson, p. 82]

The same creative team from Broadway lent their efforts to "Hair" in Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco, as the Broadway staging served as a rough template for these and other early regional productions. One notable addition to the team in Los Angeles was Tom Smothers who served as co-producer. [Johnson, pp. 33, 81, 87–88] Regional casts were mostly made up of local actors, with the exception of some Broadway cast members who reprised their roles in other cities.Horn, pp. 100–01] O'Horgan or the authors sometimes took new ideas and improvisations from a regional show and brought them back to New York, such as when live chickens were tossed onto the stage in Los Angeles.

It was rare for so many productions to run simultaneously during an initial Broadway run. Producer Michael Butler, who had declared that "Hair" is "the strongest anti-war statement ever written", said the reason that he opened so many productions was to influence public opinion against the Vietnam War and end it as soon as possible. [Butler, Michael. [http://www.michaelbutler.com/cyberbil/hair/jfk.html "How and Why I Got Into "Hair"] . "Pages from Michael Butler's Journal". michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.]

Original West End production

"Hair" opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London on September 27, 1968 with the same creative team as Broadway. As was the case in other early productions, the London show had a sprinkling of local allusions and other minor departures from the Broadway version.Horn, p. 105] The original London tribe included Sonja Kristina, Paul Nicholas, Richard O'Brien, Melba Moore, Elaine Paige, Paul Korda, Marsha Hunt, Floella Benjamin, Alex Harvey and Tim Curry. This was Curry's first full-time theatrical acting role, where he met future "Rocky Horror Show" collaborator O'Brien. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A16932422 "Tim Curry—Actor"] . "Edited Guide Entry". bbc.uk.co (January 2, 2007). Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] "Hair"'s engagement in London surpassed the Broadway production, running for 1,997 performances until its closure was forced by the roof collapsing in July 1973. [ [http://www.thisistheatre.com/londontheatre/shaftesburytheatre.html "Shaftesbury Theatre, London"] . thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on April 17, 2008.]

Early international productions

The job of leading the foreign language productions of "Hair" was given to Bertrand Castelli, Butler's partner and executive producer of the Broadway show.Horn, pp. 103–10] Castelli was a writer/producer who traveled in Paris art circles and rubbed elbows with Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. Butler described him as a "crazy showman... the guy with the business suit and beads". [Horn, p. 37] Castelli made the decision to do the show in the local language of each country at a time Broadway shows were always done in English. The translations were very close to the original script, and the same Broadway stagings were used. Each script contained various local references such as street names and the names or depictions of local politicians and celebrities. Castelli produced and sometimes directed companies in France, Germany, Mexico and other countries.

A German production, directed by Castelli, opened in 1968 in Munich; [Blumenthal, Ralph (October 26, 1968). [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0913FB39581B7493C4AB178BD95F4C8685F9&scp=1&sq=October+26%2C+1968+munich&st=p "Munich Audience Welcomes "Hair"; Applause and Foot Stamping Follow Musical Numbers"] . "New York Times", p. 27. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] the tribe included Donna Summer and Liz Mitchell (of Boney M). A successful Parisian production of "Hair" opened on June 1, 1969. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EF63D5C137A93C0A9178DD85F4D8685F9&scp=1&sq=Translated+Hair+Cheered+In+Paris&st=p "Translated "Hair" Cheered in Paris; Title Lends Itself to Jest at Candidate's Expense"] . "New York Times" (June 2, 1969), p. 53. Retrieved on June 7, 2008.] The Australian production of "Hair" premiered in Sydney on June 6, 1969, [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D11F6395E1B7493C5A9178DD85F4D8685F9&scp=1&sq=hair+australia&st=p "Hair" Reaches Australia"] . "New York Times" (June 7, 1969), p. 26. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] playing for two years, followed by an Australian tour. It was produced by Harry M. Miller and directed by Jim Sharman. The Australian production is notable as the stage debut of popular Australian vocalist Marcia Hines. The Sydney tribe also included Sharon Redd, Reg Livermore, and John Waters.

A notable production was in the former Yugoslavia (Belgrade), the first "Hair" to be produced in a communist country. [ [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Newsweek7-7-69.html "Hair" Around the World"] . "Newsweek", michaelbutler.com (July 7, 1969). Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Directed by local female producer-director Mira Trailović [Lemon, Richard. [http://www.intrafi.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/SanFranProg10-69.html "Here, There, Everywhere "Hair",] "Performing Arts Magazine", October 1969. Retrieved on July 28, 2008.] and attended by Marshal Tito, the Belgrade production was a favorite of authors Rado and Ragni, with Ragni declaring "there's no middle class prejudices here". Local references added to the script included barbs aimed at Mao Ze-dong as well as Albania, Yugoslavia's traditional rival.

Other early productions were staged in Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Finland, Italy, Israel, Japan, Denmark, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria. By 1970, nineteen productions had been staged outside of North America.

ynopsis

listen
filename=Aquarius.ogg
title="Aquarius"
description=A chorus from the Original Broadway Cast
format=Ogg
listen
filename=Hair.ogg
title="Hair"
description=The end of a verse and a chorus of the title song.
format=Ogg

;Act IClaude, the nominal leader of the "tribe", sits center stage as the tribe mingles with the audience. Tribe members Sheila, a New York University student who is a determined political activist, and Berger, an irreverent free spirit, cut a lock of Claude's hair and burn it in a receptacle. After the tribe converges in slow-motion toward the stage, through the audience, they begin their celebration as children of the Age of "Aquarius". Berger removes his trousers to reveal a loincloth. Interacting with the audience, he introduces himself as a "psychedelic teddy bear" and reveals that he is "looking for my Donna" ("Donna").

The tribe recites a list of pharmaceuticals, legal and illegal ("Hashish"). Woof, a gentle soul, extols several sexual practices ("Sodomy") and says, "I grow things." He loves plants, his family and the audience, telling the audience, "We are all one." Hud, a militant African-American, is carried in upside down on a pole. He declares himself "president of the United States of love" ("Colored Spade"). In a fake English accent, Claude says that he is "the most beautiful beast in the forest" from "Manchester, England". A tribe member reminds him that he's really from USCity|Flushing|New York. Hud, Woof and Berger declare what color they are ("I'm Black"), while Claude says that he's "invisible". The tribe recites a list of things they lack ("Ain't Got No"). Four African-American tribe members recite street signs in symbolic sequence ("Dead End").

Sheila is carried onstage ("I Believe in Love") and leads the tribe in a protest chant. The tribe reprises "Ain't Got No (Grass)". Jeanie, an eccentric young woman, appears wearing a gas mask, satirizing pollution ("Air"). She is pregnant and in love with Claude. Although she wishes it was Claude's baby, she was "knocked up by some crazy speed freak". The tribe link together LBJ (President Lyndon B. Johnson), FBI (the Federal Bureau of Investigation), CIA (the Central Intelligence Agency) and LSD ("Initials"). Six members of the tribe appear dressed as Claude's parents, berating him for his various transgressions—he doesn't have a job, and he collects "mountains of paper" clippings and notes. They say that they will not give him any more money, and "the army'll make a man out of you". In defiance, Claude leads the tribe in celebrating their vitality ("I Got Life").

After handing out imaginary pills to the tribe members, saying the pills are for high profile people such as Richard Nixon, the Pope and "Alabama Wallace", Berger relates how he was expelled from high school ("Goin' Down"). Claude returns from his draft board physical, which he passed. He pretends to burn his Vietnam War draft card, which Berger reveals as a library card. Claude agonizes about what to do about being drafted.

Two tribe members dressed as tourists come down the aisle to ask the tribe why they have such long hair. In answer, Claude and Berger lead the tribe in explaining the significance of their "Hair". The tourist lady states that kids should "be free, no guilt" and should "do whatever you want, just so long as you don't hurt anyone." She observes that long hair is natural, like the "elegant plumage" of male birds ("My Conviction"). She opens her coat to reveal that she's a man in drag. As the couple leaves, the tribe calls her Margaret Mead.listen
filename=Where Do I Go .ogg
title="Where Do I Go?"
description=The nude scene at the end of Act I.
format=Ogg
Sheila gives Berger a yellow shirt. He goofs around and ends up tearing it in two. Sheila voices her distress that Berger seems to care more about the "bleeding crowd" than about her ("Easy to be Hard"). Jeanie summarizes everyone's romantic entanglements: "I'm hung up on Claude, Sheila's hung up on Berger, Berger is hung up everywhere. Claude is hung up on a cross over Sheila and Berger." The tribe runs out to the audience with fliers inviting them to a Be-In. Berger, Woof and another tribe member pay satiric tribute to the American flag as they fold it ("Don't Put it Down"). After young and innocent Crissy describes "Frank Mills", a boy she's looking for, the tribe participates in the "Be-In". The men of the tribe burn their draft cards. Claude puts his card in the fire, then changes his mind and pulls it out. He asks, "where is the something, where is the someone, that tells me why I live and die?" ("Where Do I Go"). The tribe emerges naked, intoning "beads, flowers, freedom, happiness."

;Act IIFour tribe members have the "Electric Blues". After a black-out, the tribe enters worshiping "Oh Great God of Power." Claude returns from the induction center, and tribe members act out an imagined conversation from Claude's draft interview, with Hud saying "the draft is white people sending black people to make war on the yellow people to defend the land they stole from the red people". Claude gives Woof a Mick Jagger poster, and Woof, excited about the gift, says he's in love with Jagger. Three white women of the tribe tell why they like "Black Boys" ("black boys are delicious..."), and three black women of the tribe, dressed like The Supremes, explain why they like "White Boys" ("white boys are so pretty...").

Berger gives a joint to Claude that is laced with a hallucinogen. Claude starts to trip as the tribe acts out his visions ("Walking in Space"). He hallucinates that he is skydiving from a plane into the jungles of Vietnam. Berger appears as General George Washington and is told to retreat because of an Indian attack. The Indians shoot all of Washington's men. General Ulysses S. Grant appears and begins a roll call: Abraham Lincoln (played by a black female tribe member), John Wilkes Booth, Calvin Coolidge, Clark Gable, Scarlett O'Hara, Aretha Franklin, Colonel George Custer. Claude Bukowski is called in the roll call, but Clark Gable says "he couldn't make it". They all dance a minuet until three African witch doctors kill them—all except for Abraham Lincoln who says, "I'm one of you". Lincoln, after the three Africans sing his praises, recites an alternate version of the Gettysburg Address ("Abie Baby"). Booth shoots Lincoln, but Lincoln says to him, "I ain't dying for no white man".

As the visions continue, nowrap|four Buddhist monks enter. One monk pours a can of gasoline over another monk, who is set afire and runs off screaming. nowrap|Three Catholic nuns strangle the nowrap|three Buddhist monks. nowrap|Three astronauts shoot the nuns with ray guns. nowrap|Three Chinese people stab the astronauts with knives. nowrap|Three Native Americans kill the Chinese with bows and tomahawks. nowrap|Three green berets kill the Native Americans with machine guns and then kill each other. A Sergeant and two parents appear holding up a suit on a hanger. The parents talk to the suit as if it is their son and they are very proud of him. The bodies rise and play like children. The play escalates to violence until they are all dead again. They rise again ("Three Five Zero Zero") and, at the end of the trip sequence, two tribe members sing, over the dead bodies, a melody set to a Shakespeare lyric about the nobility of Man ("What A Piece of Work Is Man").

listen
filename=The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In).ogg
title="The Flesh Failures/Let the Sun Shine In"
description=The last verse of "The Flesh Failures" and first chorus of "Let the Sun Shine In" from the Original Broadway Cast
format=Ogg
After the trip, Claude says "I can't take this moment to moment living on the streets.... I know what I want to be... invisible". As they "look at the moon" Sheila and the others enjoy a light moment ("Good Morning, Starshine"). The tribe pays tribute to an old mattress ("The Bed"). Claude is left alone with his doubts. He leaves as the tribe enters wrapped in blankets in the midst of a snow storm. They start a protest chant and then wonder where Claude has gone. Berger calls out "Claude! Claude!" Claude enters dressed in a military uniform, his hair short, but they don't see him because he is an invisible spirit. Claude says, "like it or not, they got me."

Claude and everyone sing "Flesh Failures". The tribe moves in front of Claude as Sheila and Dionne take up the lyric. The whole tribe launches into "Let the Sun Shine In", and as they exit, they reveal Claude lying down center stage on a black cloth. During the curtain call, the tribe reprises "Let the Sun Shine In" and brings audience members up on stage to dance.

(Note: "This plot summary is based on the original Broadway script. The script has varied in subsequent productions.")

Themes

"Hair" explores many of the themes of the hippie movement of the '60s. Theatre writer Scott Miller explained why the hippie movement embraced these themes:

[T] he youth of America, especially those on college campuses, started protesting all the things that they saw wrong with America: racism, environmental destruction, poverty, sexism and sexual repression, violence at home and the war in Vietnam, depersonalization from new technologies, and corruption in politics.... Contrary to popular opinion, the hippies had great respect for America and believed that they were the true patriots, the only ones who genuinely wanted to save our country and make it the best it could be once again.... [Long] hair was the hippies' flag—their... symbol not only of rebellion but also of new possibilities, a symbol of the rejection of discrimination and restrictive gender roles (a philosophy celebrated in the song "My Conviction"). It symbolized equality between men and women. In addition... the hippies' chosen clothing also made statements. Drab work clothes (jeans, work shirts, pea coats) were a rejection of materialism. Clothing from other cultures, particularly the Third World and native Americans, represented their awareness of the global community and their rejection of U.S. imperialism and selfishness. Simple cotton dresses and other natural fabrics were a rejection of synthetics, a return to natural things and simpler times. Some hippies wore old World War II or Civil War jackets as way of co-opting the symbols of war into their newfound philosophy of nonviolence.Cite book| author=Miller, Scott| authorlink= |title="HAIR – An analysis by Scott Miller"; excerpt from "Rebels with applause: Broadway's groundbreaking musicals"|date=2001|publisher=Heinemann|location=Portsmouth, NH| isbn=0-325-00357-2| url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/scottmiller.html]

Race

"Hair" was the first Broadway show with a racially-integrated cast, [Horn, p. 134] and several songs and scenes from the show address racial issues. "Colored Spade", the song that introduces the lead character of Hud, a militant black male, is a long list of racial slurs ("jungle bunny .. little black sambo...") topped off with the declaration that Hud is the "president of the United States of love". [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Lamont Washington (Vocalist). (1968). "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 5, "Colored Spade".] At the end of his song he tells the tribe that the "boogie man" will get them and yells "boo!!" as the tribe pretends to be frightened. "Dead End" is sung by black tribe members and is a list of street signs that symbolize frustration and alienation ("keep out ... mad dog ... hands off"). "Black Boys/White Boys" addresses miscegenation, [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Diane Keaton, Suzannah Norstrand, Natalie Mosco, Melba Moore, Lorrie Davis, and Emmaretta Marks (Vocalists). (1968). "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 25, "White Boys".] laws against which the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down in 1967. ["Loving v. Virginia", 388 U.S. 1; 87 S. Ct. 1817; 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010; 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1082] One of the tribe's protest chants is "What do we think is really great? To bomb, lynch and segregate!"

"Abie Baby" occurs during the Act 2 "trip" sequence when four African witch doctors, who have just killed various American historical, cultural and fictional characters, sing the praises of Abraham Lincoln, a black female tribe member whom they decide not to kill. [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Lorrie Davis, Lamont Washington, Ronald Dyson, and Donnie Burks (Vocalists). (1968). "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 27, "Abie Baby".] The first part of the song contains racial stereotype language that one would hear black characters in old movies say, like "Yes, I's finished ... pluckin' y'all's chickens, fryin' mothers oats and grease", and "I's free now thanks to y'all Master Lincoln". Lincoln then recites a modernized version of the Gettysburg Address while a white female tribe member polishes Lincoln's shoes with her blond hair.

Drugs

Various illegal drugs are taken by the characters during the course of the show, most notably a hallucinogen during the trip sequence. The song "Walking in Space" starts off the sequence, and the lyrics celebrate the experience declaring "in this dive we rediscover sensation... our eyes are open, wide" and "how dare they try to end this beauty". Echoing this sentiment, in the song "Donna" Berger sings that "I'm evolving through the drugs that you put down." [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Original Broadway Cast (Vocalists). (1968) "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Events occur at Track 2 "Donna" and Track 26, "Walking in Space".] At another point, Jeanie smokes a marijuana cigarette and says that anyone who thinks "pot" is bad is "full of shit".

Generally, the tribe celebrates the hippie drugs that are hallucinogenic or "mind expanding" in nature such as LSD and marijuana,Miller, p. 116] while other drugs such as speed and depressants are not met with the same approval. The latter is best summarized by Jeanie who after revealing that she is pregnant by a "speed freak" says that "methedrine is a bad scene". The song "Hashish" provides a list of pharmaceuticals, both illegal and legal, including cocaine, alcohol, LSD, cough syrup, opium and Thorazine, which is used as an antipsychotic.

Nudity and sexual freedom

Miller writes that "nudity was a big part of the hippie culture, both as a rejection of the sexual repression of their parents and also as a statement about naturalism, spirituality, honesty, openness, and freedom. The naked body was beautiful, something to be celebrated and appreciated, not scorned and hidden. They saw their bodies and their sexuality as gifts, not as 'dirty' things."

In the song "Sodomy", Woof exhorts everyone to "join the holy orgy Kama Sutra". [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Steve Curry (Vocalist). (1968) "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 4, "Sodomy".] Toward the end of the Act 2, the tribe members reveal their free love tendencies when they barter back and forth about who will sleep with whom that night. "Hair" has a strong racial element in the various sexual themes. Female white tribe members sing about how they are sexually attracted to "Black Boys" and black female tribe sing about their similar feelings for "White Boys". Adding to this sentiment, one of the protest chants they shout is "Black, white, yellow, red. Copulate in a king-sized bed."

In addition, as Clive Barnes wrote in his original "New York Times" review of "Hair", "homosexuality is not frowned upon."Barnes, Clive (April 30, 1968). [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C14F7345D147493C2AA178FD85F4C8685F9&scp=1&sq=hair&st=p "Theater: "Hair"—It's Fresh and Frank; Likable Rock Musical Moves to Broadway"] , "New York Times", p. 40. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Three characters in particular—Claude, Berger and Woof—make reference, sometimes vague, to bisexual experiences and bisexuality. Woof says he has a crush on Mick Jagger, and a three-way embrace between Claude, Berger and Sheila turns into a Claude-Berger kiss. Also, Berger, Sheila and Claude live together in an East Village apartment in an arrangement that Jeanie describes as "highly unusual".Rado, James; Gerome Ragni [1966, 1969] . "Hair", Original Script, Tams Whitmark.]

Pacifism and environmentalism

Pacifism pervades the book and score. The theme of opposition to the war is unified by the plot thread that progresses consistently through the book—Claude's moral dilemma over whether to burn his draft card. This theme is explored throughout the extended trip sequence in Act 2. The lyrics to "Three-Five-Zero-Zero", which is sung during that sequence, evoke the horrors of war ("ripped open by metal explosion") and point a finger at the Vietnam War directly when the tribe sing "256 Vietcong captured". [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Original Broadway Cast (Vocalists). (1968) "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 28, "Three-Five-Zero-Zero".] The song is based on Allen Ginsberg's 1966 poem, "Wichita Vortex Sutra". In the poem, General Maxwell Taylor proudly reports to the press the number of enemy soldiers killed in one month, repeating it digit by digit, for effect: "Three-Five-Zero-Zero." The song begins with images of death and dying and turns into a manic dance number, ironically celebrating the killing in an echo of Maxwell's glee at reporting the enemy casualties. The song also includes the repeated phrase "prisoners in niggertown it's a dirty little war".

"Don't Put It Down" pokes fun at patriotism, suggesting that some people are literally "crazy" for the American flag. [Miller, pp. 110–11] "Be In (Hare Krishna)" celebrates the peace movement and events like the San Francisco and Central Park Be-Ins. [McNeill, Don (March 30, 1967). [http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/0543,50thmcneill,69181,31.html "Be-In, be-in, Being"] . "The Village Voice", The Village Voice, LLC. Retrieved on April 17, 2008.] The tribe also at various points in the show chant protest slogans that were prevalent at the time. These include "What do we want? Peace — When do we want it? Now!" and "Do not enter the induction center". Even the upbeat song, "Let the Sun Shine In", is a call to action, to reject the darkness of war and change the world for the better.

"Hair" also aims its satire at the pollution caused by our civilization. Before the song "Air", Jeanie appears from a trap door in the stage wearing a gas mask. She then sings, "Welcome sulfur dioxide. Hello carbon monoxide. The air... is everywhere". [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Sally Eaton, Shelly Plimpton, Melba Moore, and Original Broadway Cast (Vocalists). (1968) "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 11, "Air".] In the song Jeanie suggests that pollution will eventually kill her, "vapor and fume at the stone of my tomb, breathing like a sullen perfume". Also in a comic, pro-green vein, when Woof introduces himself, he reveals his affection for nature by explaining that he "grows things" like "beets, and corn ... and sweet peas" and that he "loves the flowers and the fuzz and the trees".

Religion and astrology

Religion appears both overtly and symbolically throughout the piece, and it is often made the brunt of a joke. When Berger sings of looking for "Donna", the line is intentionally blurred as to whether he's searching out a woman named Donna or the Madonna. During "Sodomy", a hymn-like paean to all that is "dirty" about sex, the cast struck evocative religious positions: the Pietà and Christ on the cross.Davis, Lorrie (1968). Album notes for Original Cast Recording of "Hair", pp.5–6 [CD booklet] . USCity|New York|New York: RCA Victor (1150-2-RC). [http://musicbrainz.org/release/22b9abaa-1c35-41b9-82b7-e9e8c99d40c1.html "Hair"] at MusicBrainz.] Before the song, Woof recites a modified rosary. At another point when Berger gives imaginary pills to various famous figures, he offers "a pill for the Pope". In "Going Down", after being kicked out of school, Berger compares himself to Lucifer: "Just like the angel that fell / Banished forever to hell / Today have I been expelled / From high school heaven." [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Gerome Ragni (Vocalist). (1968) "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 2, "Goin' Down".]

Claude becomes a classic Christ figure at various points in the script.Miller, pp. 88–89] In Act I, Claude enters, saying, "I am the Son of God. I shall vanish and be forgotten," then gives benediction to the tribe and the audience. Claude suffers from indecision, and, in his Gethsemane at the end of Act I, he asks "Where Do I Go?". There are various textual allusions to Claude being on a cross, and, in the end, he is chosen to give his life for the others. Coincidentally, Ted Neeley who played Claude in Los Angeles, later portrayed the title role in "Jesus Christ Superstar", both as an understudy on Broadway [ [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=96330 "Ted Neeley"] . "ibdb.com". Retrieved on June 1, 2008.] and in the original film. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070239/ "Jesus Christ Superstar"] . "imdb.com". Retrieved on June 1, 2008.] Similarly, Berger can be seen as a John the Baptist figure, preparing the way for Claude.

Songs like "Good Morning, Starshine" and "Aquarius" reflect the '60s cultural interest in astrological and cosmic concepts. [Horn, p. 136] "Aquarius" was the result of Rado's research into his own astrological sign. [http://www.orlok.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/AstrologyToday.html "Rapping With Sally Eaton of "Hair"] . "Astrology Today". michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] The company's astrologer, Maria Crummere, was consulted when deciding whom to cast, [Curtis, Charlotte (April 30, 1968). [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00F15F7345D147493C2AA178FD85F4C8685F9&scp=2&sq=hair&st=p "Party Makes It (on the Third Try)"] . "New York Times", p. 50. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] with Sheila usually played by a Libra or Capricorn. Berger was seen as having strong Leonine tendencies, although Ragni, the original Berger, was a Virgo (born on September 11). [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706551/ "Gerome Ragni"] . "ibdb.com". Retrieved on June 1, 2008.]

Crummere was also consulted when deciding when the show would open on Broadway and in other cities. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840493,00.html "Hairzapoppin'"] . "Time" (December 12, 1969). Retrieved on May 29, 2008.] In the 1971 Broadway "Playbill", it was reported that she chose April 29, 1968 for the Broadway premiere. "The 29th was auspicious... because the moon was high, indicating that people would attend in masses. The position of the 'history makers' (Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter) in the 10th house made the show unique, powerful and a money-maker. And the fact that Neptune was on the ascendancy foretold that Hair would develop a reputation involving sex."Dowling, Colette (May 1971). [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Playbill5-71.html "Hair"—Trusting the Kids and the Stars"] . "Playbill". Retrieved on June 1, 2008.]

In Mexico, where the astrologer did not pick the opening date, the show was closed down by the government after one night. She was not pleased with the date of the Boston opening, saying, "Jupiter will be in opposition to naughty Saturn, and the show opens the very day of the sun's eclipse. Terrible." Unfortunately, there was no safe time in the near future. [Prideaux, Tom (April 17, 1970). [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Life4-17-70.html "That Play Is Sprouting Everywhere"] . "Life", michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on June 7, 2008.]

Literary themes and symbolism

"Hair" makes many references to Shakespeare's plays, especially "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet", and, at times, takes lyrical material directly from Shakespeare. For example, the lyrics to the song "What a Piece of Work Is Man" is from "Hamlet" (II: scene 2) and portions of "Flesh Failures" ("the rest is silence") are Hamlet's final lines. In "Flesh Failures/Let The Sun Shine In", the lyrics "Eyes, look your last!/ Arms, take your last embrace! And lips, O you/ The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss" are from "Romeo and Juliet" (V: iii, 111–14). [Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Sally Eaton, Shelly Plimpton, Melba Moore, and James Rado, Lynn Kellogg, Melba Moore, and Original Broadway Cast (Vocalists). (1968) "Hair" [Audio Recording] . RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 32, "The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)".] According to Miller, the Romeo suicide imagery drives home the point that, with our complicity in war, we are killing ourselves.

Symbolically, the sub-plot of Claude's indecision, leading to his repeated failure to burn his draft card, has been interpreted as a version of "Hamlet", "the melancholy hippie", whose inability to take decisive action causes his demise. [Miller, p. 91] The symbolism is carried into the last scene, where Claude appears as a ghostly spirit among his friends wearing an army uniform in an ironic echo of an earlier scene, where he says, "I know what I want to be... invisible". According to Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, "Both ["Hair" and "Hamlet"] center on idealistic brilliant men as they struggle to find their place in a world marred by war, violence, and venal politics. They see both the luminous possibilities and the harshest realities of being human. In the end, unable to effectively combat the evil around them, they tragically succumb." [ [http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/feb08/shakespeare07feb08.htm "Shakespeare in the Park to present "Hamlet" and the musical "Hair"] . "newyorktheatreguide.com" (February 7, 2008). Retrieved on April 18, 2008.]

The song "Three-Five-Zero-Zero" contains portions of Ginsberg's poem "Wichita Vortex Sutra". [Miller, p. 92] In the psychedelic drug trip sequence, Scarlett O'Hara, from Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind", and activist African-American poet LeRoi Jones are portrayed.

Dramatics

In his introduction to the published script of "Viet Rock", Richard Schechner says, "performance, action, and event are the key terms of our theatre—and these terms are not literary." [Miller, p. 48] In the 1950s, Off-off Broadway theaters began experimenting with non-traditional theater roles, blurring the lines between playwright, director, and actor. The playwright's job was not just to put words on a page, but to create a theatrical experience based around a central idea. By 1967, theaters such as the Living Theatre, La MaMa E.T.C., and The Open Theatre were actively devising plays from improvisational scenes crafted in the rehearsal space, rather than following a traditional script.Miller, pp. 56–58]

"Viet Rock" and "Hair"

Megan Terry's "Viet Rock" was created this way. Scenes in "Viet Rock" were connected in "prelogical ways": a scene could be built from a tangent from the scene before, it could be connected psychologically, or it could be in counterpoint to the previous scene. Actors were asked to switch roles in the middle of a show, and frequently in mid-scene. In her stage directions for a Senate hearing scene in "Viet Rock", Terry wrote, "The actors should take turns being senators and witnesses; the transformations should be abrupt and total. When the actor is finished with one character he becomes another, or just an actor."

"Hair" was designed in much the same way. Tom O'Horgan, the show's Broadway director, was intimately involved in the experimental theatre movement. In the transition to Broadway, O'Horgan and the writers rearranged scenes to increase the experimental aspects of the show. "Hair" asks its actors to assume several different characters throughout the course of the piece, and, as in Claude's psychedelic trip in Act 2, sometimes during the same scene. Both "Hair" and "Viet Rock" include rock music, borrowed heavily from mass media, and frequently break down the invisible "fourth wall" to interact with the audience. For example, in the opening number, the tribe mingles with audience members, and at the end of the show, the audience is invited on stage.

The tribe

The characters in the show are referred to as the "tribe". The many references to Native Americans throughout the script are part of the anti-civilization, anti-consumerism, naturalism focus of the hippie movement and of "Hair". The cast even chooses a tribal name: As Miller explains, "in each production of Hair... the cast chooses a tribe name, generally naming themselves after a native American tribe. The practice is not just cosmetic... the entire cast must work together, must like each other, and often within the show, must work as a single organism. All the sense of family, of belonging, of responsibility and loyalty inherent in the word "tribe" has to be felt by the cast." To enhance this feeling, O'Horgan put the cast through sensitivity exercises based on trust, touching, listening and intensive examination which broke down barriers between the cast and crew and encouraged bonding. These exercises were based on techniques developed at the Esalen Institute and Polish Lab Theater. The idea of Claude, Berger and Sheila living together is another facet of the '60s concept of "tribe". [See, for example, this book cover: Mathewson, Joseph (1968). [http://www.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-bin/imgload.cgi/137 "The Love Tribe"] . Signet. Retrieved on April 18, 2008.]

Production design

In the original Broadway production, the stage was completely open, with no curtain and the fly area and grid exposed to the audience. The proscenium arch was outlined with climb-ready scaffolding. Wagner's spare set was painted in shades of grey with street graffiti stenciled on the stage. The stage was raked, and a tower of abstract scaffolding upstage at the rear merged a Native American totem pole and a modern sculpture of a crucifix-shaped tree. This scaffolding was decorated with found objects that the cast had gathered from the streets of New York. These included a life-size papier-mâché bus driver, the head of Jesus, and a neon marquee of the Waverly movie theater in Greenwich Village.Horn, pp. 61–64] Potts' costumes were based on hippie street clothes, made more theatrical with enhanced color and texture. Some of these included mixed parts of military uniforms, bell bottom jeans with Ukrainian embroidery, tie dye t-shirts and a red white and blue fringed coat. Early productions were primarily reproductions of this basic design.

Nude scene

"Much has been written about that scene... most of it silly," wrote Gene Lees in "High Fidelity". The scene was inspired by two men who took off their clothes to antagonize the police during an informal anti-war gathering. [http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2008/07/40_years_of_hair.html "40 years of 'Hair'"] . "Newark Star-Ledger" (July 19, 2008). Retrieved on July 26, 2008.] The stage, during "Where Do I Go?", was covered in a giant scrim, beneath which those choosing to participate in the scene removed their clothes. At the musical cue, "they [stood] naked and motionless, their bodies bathed in Fisher's light projection of floral patterns. They chant [ed] of 'beads, flowers, freedom, and happiness.'" [Horn, p. 74] It lasted only twenty seconds. [ [http://www.orlok.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety8-5-70d.html "Phoenix Fright Wig Up On "Hair"; Many Mix-Up "Calcutta"] . "Variety" (August 5, 1970). Retrieved on July 2, 2008.] Indeed, the scene happened so quickly and was so dimly lit that it prompted Jack Benny, during the interval at a London preview, to quip "Did you happen to notice if any of them were Jewish?" [Brien, Alan (April 28, 1968). [http://www.orlok.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/LonSunTimes4_28_68.html "Alan Brien Takes an Advance Look at a Frontal Attack on Broadway"] . "The London Sunday Times". Retrieved on July 2, 2008.]

The nudity was optional for the performers. The French cast was "the nudest of the foreign groups". In some early performances, the Germans played their scene behind a big sheet labeled "CENSORED". The London cast "found the nudity the hardest to achieve." [Lemon, Richard (October 1969). [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/SanFranProg10-69.html "Here, There, Everywhere "Hair"] . "Performing Arts Magazine.. Retrieved on July 2, 2008.] Original Broadway cast member Natalie Mosco said, "I was dead set against the nude scene at first, but I remembered my acting teacher having said that part of acting is being private in public. So I did it." [ [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Esquire9-68.html "Optional Nudity in "Hair"] . "Esquire" (September 1968). Retrieved on July 2, 2008.] According to Melba Moore, "It doesn't mean anything except what you want it to mean. We put so much value on clothing our bodies, but it doesn't mean a damn thing. It's like so much else people get uptight about. Sure, I was scared the first time. I thought 'Everybody's looking at me. I've got no protection.' Now I'm still kind of surprised that I'm standin' there naked, but I'm not embarrassed, the audience is." [Berkvist, Robert (September 14, 1969). [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10816FA395D11738FDDAD0994D1405B898AF1D3&scp=1&sq=Melba+Changes+Color+of+Hair&st=p "Changes Color of "Hair"] . "New York Times", p. D3. Retrieved on July 2, 2008.] Donna Summer, who was in the German production, said that "it was not meant to be sexual in any way. We stood naked to comment on the fact that society makes more of nudity than killing. We worry more about someone walking around half dressed than somebody who's walking around shooting people." Rado said that "being naked in front of an audience, you're bearing your soul. Not only the soul but the whole body was being exposed. It was very apt, very honest and almost necessary."

Music

While at Cape Town University in South Africa, MacDermot studied the music of the Bantu tribe, and he incorporated this African influence into the score of "Hair". MacDermot said that he listened to "what they called quaylas ... very characteristic beat, very similar to rock. Much deeper though.... "Hair" is very African—a lot of [the] rhythms, not the tunes so much." Quaylas stress beats on unexpected syllables, and the influence can be heard in songs like "What a Piece of Work Is Man" and "Ain't Got No Grass". [Miller, p. 54] MacDermot said, "My idea was to make a total funk show. They said they wanted rock & roll—but to me that translated to 'funk.'"Alapatt, Eothen; Galt MacDermot. [http://www.galtmacdermot.com/11InterviewGalt.htm "Interview with Galt MacDermot by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt"] . "galtmacdermot.com". Retrieved on May 26, 2008.] That funk is evident throughout the score, notably in songs like "Colored Spade" and "Walking in Space".

The music in "Hair" runs the gamut of rock. From the rockabilly sensibilities of "Don't Put it Down" to the folk rock rhythms of "Frank Mills" and "What a Piece of Work is Man". "Easy to be Hard" is pure rhythm and blues, and protest rock anthems abound: "Ain't Got No" and "The Flesh Failures". The acid rock of "Walking in Space" and "Aquarius" are balanced by the mainstream pop of "Good Morning Starshine." [Miller, p. 44] Scott Miller ties the music of "Hair" to the hippies' political themes: "The hippies... were determined to create art of the people and their chosen art form, rock/folk music was by its definition, populist. ...the hippies' music was often very angry, its anger directed at those who would prostitute the Constitution, who would sell America out, who would betray what America stood for; in other words, directed at their parents and the government." Theatre historian John Kewnrick wrote,

The music did not resonate with everyone. Leonard Bernstein remarked "the songs are just laundry lists"Berkvist, Robert (May 11, 1969). [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E13FD34541B7B93C3A8178ED85F4D8685F9&scp=1&sq=He+Put+Hair+on+Broadway%27s+Chest&st=p "He Put "Hair" on Broadway's Chest"] . "New York Times", p. D1. Retrieved on May 26, 2008. ] and walked out of the production. [Rockwell, John (December 20, 1969). [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/OperaNews12-20-69.html "Long Hair? Can 'the American tribal love-rock musical' be the opera of tomorrow?"] . Retrieved on May 26, 2008.] Richard Rogers could only hear the beat and called it "one-third music".
John Fogerty said, "Hair" is such a watered down version of what is really going on that I can’t get behind it at all." [ [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Billboard11-14-70.html "Creedence’s Fogerty: "Hair" Is Not Where It’s At…"] . "Billboard" (November 14, 1970). Retrieved on April 18, 2008.] Gene Lees, writing for "High Fidelity", claimed that John Lennon found it "dull", and he wrote, "I do not know any musician who thinks it's good."Lees, Gene (July 1969). [http://www.intrafi.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/HighFidelity7-69.html "hair" in Europe"] . "High Fidelity". Retrieved on May 26, 2008.]

ongs

The score had many more songs than were typical of Broadway shows of the day.Rado, James (February 14, 2003). [http://www.hairthemusical.com/history.html "Hairabilia"] . "hairthemusical.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Most Broadway shows had about six to ten songs per act; "Hair"'s total is in the thirties. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=43:119071~T2 "Hair" (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Track Listing"] . "allmusic.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] This list reflects the most common Broadway lineup.Miller, pp. 70–77]

;Act I
* Aquarius – Ron and Tribe
* Donna – Berger and Tribe
* Hashish – Tribe
* Sodomy – Woof and Tribe
* I'm Black/Colored Spade – Hud, Woof, Berger, Claude and Tribe
* Manchester England – Claude and Tribe
* Ain't Got No – Woof, Hud, Dionne and Tribe
* I Believe in Love – Sheila and Tribe trio
* Air – Jeanie, Crissy and Dionne
* Initials (L.B.J.) – Tribe
* I Got Life – Claude and Tribe
* Going Down – Berger and Tribe
* Hair – Claude, Berger, and Tribe
* My Conviction – Margaret Mead (tourist lady)
* Easy to Be Hard – Sheila
* Don't Put It Down – Berger, Woof and male Tribe member
* Frank Mills – Crissy
* Be-In (Hare Krishna) – Tribe
* Where Do I Go? – Claude and Tribe;Act II
* Electric Blues – Tribe quartet
* Black Boys – Tribe sextet (three male, three female)
* White Boys – Tribe Supremes trio
* Walking in Space – Tribe
* Yes, I's Finished/Abie Baby – Abraham Lincoln and Tribe trio (Hud and two men)
* Three-Five-Zero-Zero – Tribe
* What a Piece of Work Is Man – Tribe duo
* Good Morning, Starshine – Sheila and Tribe
* The Bed – Tribe
* Aquarius (reprise) – Tribe
* Manchester England (Reprise) – Claude and Tribe
* Eyes Look Your Last – Claude and Tribe
* The Flesh Failures (Let the Sun Shine In) – Claude, Sheila, Dionne and Tribe

The show was under almost eternal re-write. Thirteen songs were added between the production at the Public Theater and Broadway, including "I Believe in Love". "The Climax" and "Dead End" were cut between the productions, and "Exanaplanetooch" and "You Are Standing on My Bed" were present in previews but cut before Broadway. The Shakespearean speech "What a piece of work is a man" was originally spoken by Claude and musicalized by MacDermot for Broadway, and "Hashish" was formed from an early speech of Berger's. More recent productions include "Hello There", "Sheila Franklin", "Oh Great God of Power", "Dead End", and "Hippie Life"—a song originally written for the film that Rado included in several productions in Europe in the mid-nineties.Rado, James (July 25, 2007). [http://www.hairthemusical.com/en00537journal.html "New lyrics for 'Hippie Life' song"] . "hairthemusical.com". Retrieved on May 28, 2008.]

Recordings

The first recording of "Hair" was made in 1967 featuring the off-Broadway cast. The original 1968 Broadway cast recording (RCA LSO-1150) received a Grammy Award in 1968 for Best Score from an Original Cast Show Album and sold nearly 3 million copies in the U.S. by December 1969. "The New York Times" noted in 2007 that "The cast album of "Hair" was... a must-have for the middle classes. Its exotic orange-and-green cover art imprinted itself instantly and indelibly on the psyche.... [It] became a pop-rock classic that, like all good pop, has an appeal that transcends particular tastes for genre or period. The 1993 London revival cast album contains new music that has been incorporated into the standard rental version.

RCA also released "DisinHAIRited" (RCA LSO-1163), an album of songs that had been written for the show, but saw varying amounts of stage time. Some of the songs were cut between the Public and Broadway, some had been left off the original cast album due to space (and, as a result, appeared on this recording with alternate lyrics), and a few were never performed onstage.

*The Thousand-Year-Old Man
*So Sing the Children of the Avenue
*Manhattan Beggar
*Sheila Franklin/Reading the Writing
*Washing the World
*Exanaplanetooch
*Hello There
*Mr. Berger
*I'm Hung
*The Climax
*Electric Blues
*I Dig
*Going Down
*You Are Standing on My Bed
*The Bed
*Mess O' Dirt
*Dead End
*Oh Great God of Power
*Eyes Look Your Last/Sentimental Ending

Songs from "Hair" have been recorded by numerous artists, [Holleman, John. [http://www.mindspring.com/~holleman1/hsongs.htm "Hair" Songs by non-"Hair" artists"] . Hair "for the Record: A discography compiled by John Holleman". Retrieved on May 30, 2008.] including Barbra Streisand and Liza Minelli. [ [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Billboard3-22-69.html "Hair" Tunes Sprayed With Cuts"] . "Billboard" (March 22, 1969). michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.] The Fifth Dimension released a medley of the two songs "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" in 1969, the year after the show opened on Broadway, which won Record of the Year [ [http://grammys.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=&year=1969&genreID=0&hp=1 "Grammy Award Winners for 1968"] . "grammys.com". Retrieved on May 28, 2008.] and topped the charts for six weeks. Some other songs from the show became top 10 hits that year. The Cowsills's recording of the title song "Hair" climbed to #2 on the "Billboard" charts, [ [http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=COWSILLS&sql=11:kifuxqw5ldte~T51 "The Cowsills, Biography"] . "allmusic.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] "Good Morning Starshine" as sung by Oliver reached #3, [ [http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hpfqxqr5ldke~T51 "Oliver, Biography"] . "allmusic.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] and Three Dog Night's version of "Easy to Be Hard" went to #4. [ [http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hpfqxqr5ldke~T51 "Three Dog Night, Biography"] . "allmusic.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Another notable version of a song from "Hair" at the time was Nina Simone's medley "Ain't Got No — I Got Life" on her 1968 album "'Nuff Said!", which reached the top 5 on the British charts. [ [http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wifrxqw5ldhe~T1 "Nina Simone, Biography"] . "allmusic.com". Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] "Good Morning Starshine" was sung on a "Sesame Street" episode in 1969 by cast member Bob McGrath. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q2wXCiZ4oc&feature=related "Sesame Street"] . "Sesame Street". PBS. 1969. Retrieved on July 15, 2008.] In 1970, ASCAP announced that "Aquarius" was played more frequently on U.S. radio and television than any other song that year. [ [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Billboard12-11-71.html "CAPAC Member's Single Was Most Performed in 1970'] . "Billboard" (December 11, 1971). michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on May 29, 2008.]

Productions in England, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, Israel, Holland, Australia and elsewhere released cast albums, and over 1,000 vocal and/or instrumental performances of individual songs from Hair. Such broad attention was paid to the recordings of "Hair" that, after an unprecedented bidding war, ABC Records was willing to pay a record amount for MacDermot's next Broadway adaptation "Two Gentlemen of Verona". [ [http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety9-22-71.html| "ABC Gets Rights to "Verona" Album; New Royalty High"] . "Variety" (September 22, 1971). michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.]

Critical reception

Reception to "Hair" upon its Broadway premiere was, with exceptions, overwhelmingly positive. Clive Barnes wrote in the "New York Times": "What is so likable about "Hair", that tribal rock musical that last night completed its trek from downtown, via a discotheque, and landed, positively panting with love and smelling of sweat and flowers, at the Biltmore Theater? I think it is simply that it is so likable. So new, so fresh, and so unassuming, even in its pretensions." John J. O'Connor of "The Wall Street Journal" said the show was "exuberantly defiant and the production explodes into every nook and cranny of the Biltmore Theater". [O'Connor, John (May 1, 1968). [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/WallStJournal5-1-68.html "The Theater: "Hair"] , "Wall Street Journal", michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on April 16, 2008).] Richard Watts Jr. of the "New York Post" wrote that "it has a surprising if perhaps unintentional charm, its high spirits are contagious, and its young zestfulness makes it difficult to resist." [Watts Jr., Richard (April 30, 1968). [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/NYPost4-30-68.html "Two On The Aisle - Broadway Theater Review - Music of the American Tribe"] . "New York Post". michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on April 16, 2008.]

Television reviews were even more enthusiastic. Allan Jeffreys of ABC said the actors were "the most talented hippies you'll ever see... directed in a wonderfully wild fashion by Tom O'Horgan." [Jeffries, Allan (Critic). (April 29, 1968). [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/abctv4-29-68.html "Review of "Hair"] (Transcription) [Television production] . New York City: WABC-TV. Retrieved on April 18, 2008.] Leonard Probst of NBC said "Hair" is the only new concept in musicals on Broadway in years and it's more fun than any other this season". [Probst, Leonard (Critic). (April 29, 1968). [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/nbctv4-29-68.html "Review of "Hair"] (Transcription) [Television production] . New York City: WNBC-TV. Retrieved on April 18, 2008.] John Wingate of WOR TV praised MacDermot's "dynamic score" that "blasts and soars", [Wingate, John (Critic). (April 30, 1968). [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/wortv4-30-68.html "Review of "Hair"] (Transcription) [Television program] . New York City: WOR-TV. Retrieved on April 18, 2008.] and Len Harris of CBS said "I've finally found the best musical of the Broadway season... it's that sloppy, vulgar, terrific tribal love rock musical "Hair"." [Harris, Len (Critic). (April 29, 2008). [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/cbstv4_29_68.html "Review of "Hair"] (Transcription) [Television program] . New York City: WCBS-TV. Retrieved on April 18, 2008.]

A reviewer from "Variety", on the other hand, called the show "loony" and "without a story, form, music, dancing, beauty or artistry.... It's impossible to tell whether [the cast has] talent. Maybe talent is irrelevant in this new kind of show business." [cite news |title=Broadway Review |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety5-1-68.html |work= Variety |publisher=michaelbutler.com |date=May 1, 1968 |accessdate=2008-04-18] Reviews in the news weeklies were mixed; Jack Kroll in "Newsweek" wrote, "There is no denying the sheer kinetic drive of this new "Hair"... there is something hard, grabby, slightly corrupt about O'Horgan's virtuosity, like Busby Berkeley gone bitchy." [cite news |first=Jack |last=Kroll |title=Hairpiece |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Newsweek5-13-68.html |work=Newsweek |publisher=michaelbutler.com |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=May 13, 1968 |accessdate=2008-04-18] But a reviewer from "Time" wrote that although the show "thrums with vitality [it is] crippled by being a bookless musical and, like a boneless fish, it drifts when it should swim." [cite news|title=Hair|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,902205,00.html|work=Time|date=May 10, 1968|accessdate=2008-04-18]

Reviews were mixed when "Hair" opened in London. Irving Wardle in "The Times" wrote, "Its honesty and passion give it the quality of a true theatrical celebration—the joyous sound of a group of people telling the world exactly what they feel." B. A. Young in "The Financial Times" agreed that "Hair" was "not only a wildly enjoyable evening, but a thoroughly moral one." However, W. A. Darlington, the 78-year-old critic of "The Daily Telegraph", in his final review before retiring after 48 years, wrote that he had "tried hard", but found the evening "a complete bore—noisy, ugly and quite desperately funny."

By 1970, "Hair" was a huge financial success. "Billboard" reported that the various productions of the show were raking in almost $1 million a day and that royalties were collected for 300 different recordings of the show's songs. "Hair" also helped launch recording careers for performers Bert Sommers, Ronnie Dyson and Melba Moore, among others. [cite news |first=Mike |last=Gross |title=Hair Is Doing Runaway Business as Score & Play |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Billboard6-27-70.html |format= |work=Billboard |publisher=michaelbutler.com |date=June 27, 1970 |accessdate=2008-04-18] Later assessments continue to disagree over the quality of the show. According to theatre writer Scott Miller, "some people can't see past the appearance of chaos and randomness to the brilliant construction and sophisticated imagery underneath." Miller notes, "Not only did many of the lyrics not rhyme, but many of the songs didn't really have endings, just a slowing down and stopping, so the audience didn't know when to applaud.... The show rejected every convention of Broadway, of traditional theatre in general, and of the American musical in specific. And it was brilliant."

ocial change

"Hair" challenged many of the norms held by Western society in 1968. The name itself was a reaction to the restrictions of civilization and consumerism and a preference for naturalism. [cite video |people=Pola Rapaport (Director) and Wolfgang Held (Director) |date2= 2007-07-24 |title= Hair: Let the Sunshine In |publisher= Blinding Light Inc., Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA), arte |url=http://www.blindinglightfilms.com/Hair/home.htm |medium=Documentary |accessdate=2008-05-26] Rado remembers that long hair "was a visible form of awareness in the consciousness expansion. The longer the hair got, the more expansive the mind was. Long hair was shocking, and it was a revolutionary act to grow long hair. It was kind of a flag, really."

The musical caused controversy when it was first staged, and the Act I finale which included male and female nudity drew considerable publicity, as it was the first time a Broadway show had seen totally naked actors and actresses. The show was also charged with the desecration of the American flag and the use of obscene language. [cite news |title= Desecration of Flag Ires Hub More Than The Nudity In "Hair" |url= http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/VAriety2-25-70.html |format= |work= Variety |publisher= michaelbutler.com |date= 1970-02-25 |accessdate=2008-04-16] These controversies, in addition to the anti–Vietnam War theme, attracted occasional threats and acts of violence during the show's early years and became the basis for legal actions both when the show opened in other cities and on tour. Two cases eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

Legal challenges and violent reactions

When on tour, "Hair" met with resistance from various groups across the United States. In USCity|South Bend|Indiana, the Morris Civic Auditorium refused booking,cite news|url=http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety6-24-70.html|title=Hair Ruffles Officials In Ind'p'ls; SOuth Bend Nix, Evansville Maybe|date=June 26, 1968|work=Variety|publisher=michaelbutler.com|accessdate=2008-06-06] and in Evansville, Illinois, the production was picketed by several church groups. [cite news|url=http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety8-5-70a.html|title=Baptists Hit Use Of County Aud For Hair Two Nighter |date=August 5, 1970|work=Variety|publisher=michaelbutler.com|accessdate=2008-06-06] In the Indianapolis, Indiana, the authorities insisted that the cast wear body stockings during the nude scene, and the local theater canceled the performances. Productions were frequently confronted with the closure of theaters by the Fire Marshall, as in USCity|Gladewater|Texas. [cite news|url=http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety12-1-71b.html|title=Fire Marshall Nixes It |date=December 1, 1971|work=Variety|publisher=michaelbutler.com|accessdate=2008-06-06] Chattanooga's 1972 refusal to allow the play to be shown at the city-owned Memorial Auditorium [cite news |first=William |last=Warren |title= Attorney for "Hair" Irks Judge With Comments on Scopes Trial |url= http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/ChatanoogaTimes4-5-72.html |format= |work= Chattanooga Times |publisher= michaelbutler.com |date= 1972-04-05 |accessdate=2008-04-11] [cite news |title=Supreme Court: Letting The Sun Shine In |url= http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Newsweek3-31-75.html |work= Newsweek |publisher=michaelbutler.com |date= 1975-03-31 |accessdate=2008-04-11] was later found by the U.S. Supreme Court to be an unlawful prior restraint. [cite court |litigants = Southeastern Promotions, LTD v. Conrad |vol = 420 |reporter = U.S. |opinion = 546 |court = U.S. Supreme Court |date = 1975]

In Boston, the Chief of the Licensing Bureau took exception to the portrayal of the American flag in the piece, [cite news|url=http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/VAriety2-25-70.html|title=Desecration of Flag Ires Hub More Than The Nudity In Hair |date=February 25, 1970|work=Variety|publisher=michaelbutler.com|accessdate=2008-06-06] saying, "anyone who desecrates the flag should be whipped on Boston Common."cite news |first=Guy |last=Livingston |title= Nudity and Flag "Desecration" Figure In Appeal Against Hair Foldo in Hub |url= http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety4-15-70.html |work= Variety |publisher= michaelbutler.com |date= 1970-04-15 |accessdate=2008-04-11 ] While the scene was removed before opening, the District Attorney's office began plans to have the show stopped based on "lewd and lascivious" actions taking place onstage. The "Hair" legal team obtained an injunction against criminal prosecution from the Superior Court. [cite web|url=http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/BostonBerlin.html|title=Gerald Berlin and Defending Hair|publisher=michaelbutler.com|accessdate=2008-06-06] The D.A. appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and, at the request of both parties, five of the justices viewed the production. The justices, appalled at what they saw, ruled that "each member of the cast [must] be clothed to a reasonable extent," and the cast defiantly played the scene nude later that night, stating that the ruling was vague as to when it would take effect. The next day, April 10, 1970, the production closed, and movie houses, fearing the ruling on nudity, began excising scenes from films in their exhibition. After three Federal appellate judges reversed the Massachusetts court's ruling, the D.A. appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 4–4 decision, the Court upheld the lower court's decision, allowing "Hair" to re-open on May 22. [cite news|title= Supreme Court Clears 'Hair' for Boston Run|url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A16FE3B5A157493C1AB178ED85F448785F9&scp=1&sq=hair&st=p |format= |work= New York Times |page= 26|date= 1970-05-23|accessdate=2008-04-11]

On April 26, 1971, the "New York Times" reported that a bomb was thrown at the exterior of the Hanna Theater in USCity|Cleveland|Ohio where the show was on tour, bouncing off the marquee and shattering windows in the Hanna building and nearby storefronts. [cite news |title=Bomb Thrown at Theater |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40F1EFA3D5D117B93C4AB178FD85F458785F9&scp=1&sq=bomb+theater&st=p |work=New York Times |page=24 |date= 1971-04-26 |accessdate=2008-04-11] That same month, the families of cast member Jonathan Johnson and stage manager Rusty Carlson died in a suspicious fire in the Cleveland hotel where 33 members of the show's troupe had been staying. [Johnson, pp. 125–26] [cite news |title= Cleveland Fire Kills 4 in Hair Family
url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety4-71.html |work=Variety |publisher=michaelbutler.com |date= 1971-04-20 |accessdate=2008-04-11
] The Sydney, Australia production's opening night was interrupted by a bomb scare in June 1969. [cite news |title=Bomb Scare at "Hair" |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/SydneyDailyTelegraph2669.html |work=Sydney Daily Telegraph |publisher=michaelbutler.com |date= June 6, 1969|accessdate=2008-04-11]

Worldwide reactions

Local reactions to the controversial material varied greatly. In San Francisco, with a large hippie population, the show became an extension of the street activities there. Audience members often meditated with the cast at the beginning of the show and frequently ended up on stage during the show, blurring the barrier between art and life. An 18-year-old Princess Anne was seen dancing onstage in London, [cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20A16F93E5E1B7493C4A8178FD85F4D8685F9&scp=1&sq=Princess+Anne+Dances+On+Stage+During+Hair+&st=p|title=Princess Anne Dances On Stage During 'Hair'|date=April 16, 1969|work=The New York Times|pages=16|accessdate=2008-07-03] and in Washington DC, Henry Kissinger attended. In USCity|St. Paul|Minnesota, a protesting clergyman released 18 white mice into the lobby hoping to frighten the audience. Capt. Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert, after dubbing Apollo 13's lunar module "Aquarius" after the song, walked out of the production at the Biltmore in protest of perceived anti-Americanism and disrespect of the flag. [cite news|url=http://michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/Variety6-18-70.html|title=L'Affaire Hair And The Astronauts Who Walked Out; Slur To The Flag |last=Green|first=Abel|date=June 18, 1970|work=Variety|accessdate=2008-07-03]

A Mexican production of "Hair", directed by Castelli, opened in 1969 for one performance. The show, whose theater was located across the street from a popular local bordello, was shut down by the government, which said the production was "detrimental to the morals of youth." The cast members were forced to leave Mexico to avoid arrest. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Mexico Shuts 'Hair' And Expels Its Cast After One Showing |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B13F7395F127A93C4A9178AD85F4D8685F9&scp=1&sq=hair&st=p |work= New York Times |page= 35|date= January 6, 1969|accessdate=2008-04-11]

"Hair" effectively marked the end of stage censorship in the United Kingdom.cite news |first=Anthony |last=Lewis |title= Londoners Cool to 'Hair's' Nudity; Four-Letter Words Shock Few at Musical's Debut |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50E15FB3B541B7B93CBAB1782D85F4C8685F9&scp=1&sq=hair&st=p |work= New York Times |page=76 |date= September 29, 1968 |accessdate=2008-04-11] London's stage censor, the Lord Chamberlain, originally refused to license the musical, and the opening was delayed until Parliament passed a bill stripping him of his licensing power. In Munich, authorities threatened to close the production if the nude scene remained; however, after a local "Hair" spokesman declared that his relatives had been marched nude into Auschwitz, the authorities relented. In Stockholm, Sweden, where the show opened in 1968, choreographer Julie Arenal found the cast very reluctant to shed their clothes for the nude scene. In Bergen, Norway, local citizens formed a human barricade to try to prevent the performance.

Conversely, in Copenhagen, the Danish cast thought the nudity too tame and decided to walk naked up and down the aisle during the show's prelude. The Parisian production encountered little controversy, and the cast disrobed for the nude scene "almost religiously" according to Castelli, nudity being common on stage in Paris. [cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EF63D5C137A93C0A9178DD85F4D8685F9&scp=1&sq=Translated+Hair+Cheered+In+Paris+&st=p|title=Translated 'Hair' Cheered in Paris; Title Lends Itself to Jest at Candidate's Expense|last=Curtis|first=Thomas Quinn|work=New York Times|pages=53|accessdate=2008-06-05] Even in Paris there was nevertheless occasional opposition, such as when a member of the local Salvation Army used a portable loud speaker to exhort the audience to halt the presentation. [cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00D13FF3A5C117A93C0A91789D85F448785F9&scp=1&sq=Salvation+Army+Jousts+With+Hair+in+Paris+&st=p|title=Salvation Army Jousts With 'Hair' in Paris; A Counterattack by Religious Troops Draws Crowds|last=Hess|first=John L.|date=February 2, 1970|work=New York Times|pages=14|accessdate=2008-06-05]

Beyond the '60s

1970s

A Broadway revival of "Hair" opened in 1977 for a run of 43 performances. It was produced by Butler, directed by O'Horgan and performed in the Biltmore Theater, where the original Broadway production had played. The cast included Ellen Foley and Annie Golden. [cite web |url=http://ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4016 |title=Hair, the American Tribal Love Rock Musical |work=ibdb.com |accessdate= 2008-04-15] Reviews were generally negative, and critics accused the production of "showing its gray". [cite news |first= Richard |last= Eder |title= Stage: Revived 'Hair' Shows Its Gray |url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40D10F93E59157493C4A9178BD95F438785F9&scp=3&sq=hair+revival&st=p |format= |work= New York Times |page= 90 |date= 1977-10-06 |accessdate=2008-04-11] Few major revivals of "Hair" followed until the early 1990s.

A successful movie version of "Hair", with a screenplay by Michael Weller, was directed by Miloš Forman and released in 1979. Filmed primarily in New York City's Central Park and Washington Square Park, [cite web |url=http://imdb.com/title/tt0079261/locations |title=Filming Locations for "Hair" |work=imdb.com |accessdate= 2008-04-15] the cast includes Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, John Savage, Foley and Golden. [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079261/ |work=imdb.com |title=Hair (1979) |accessdate=2008-04-15] Several of the songs were deleted, and the film's storyline departs significantly from the musical. The character of Claude is rewritten as an innocent draftee from Oklahoma, newly arrived in New York to join the military, and Sheila is a high-society debutante who catches his eye. In perhaps the greatest diversion from the stage version, a mistake leads Berger to go to Vietnam in Claude's place, where he is killed. [cite video |people=Miloš Forman (Director) and Michael Weller (Screenplay) |date2=1979-03-14 |month2= |year2= |title=Hair |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079261/ |medium= Motion picture |publisher= United Artists|accessdate=2008-05-03]

Original writers James Rado and Gerome Ragni were unhappy with the film.Horn, pp. 117–18] In their view, Forman failed to capture the essence of "Hair"; that hippies were portrayed as "oddballs" and "some sort of aberration" without any connection to the peace movement. Both are quoted as saying: "Any resemblance between the 1979 film and the original Biltmore version, other than some of the songs, the names of the characters, and a common title, eludes us." In their view, the screen version of "Hair" has not yet been produced.

1980s and 1990s

On May 26, 1988, a 20th anniversary concert event was held at the United Nations General Assembly to benefit children with AIDS. [cite news |first=Nadine |last=Brozan |authorlink= |title= Nostalgia in the Air as 'Hair' Comes to U.N. to Fight AIDS |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D61E3EF934A15756C0A96E948260&scp=1&sq=hair+concert&st=nyt |work=New York Times |date=1988-05-28 |accessdate=2008-04-16] The event was sponsored by First Lady Nancy Reagan with Barbara Walters giving the night's opening introduction.Horn, pp. 118–20] Rado, Ragni and MacDermot reunited to write nine new songs for the concert. The cast of 163 included former stars of the show from various productions around the globe: Melba Moore, Treat Williams and Donna Summer, as well as guest performers Bea Arthur, Frank Stallone and Dr. Ruth Westheimer (who played the tourist lady). Ticket prices ranged from $250 to $5,000 and went to the United States Committee for UNICEF and the Creo Society's Fund for Children with AIDS.

A Montreal production of "Hair" mounted in 1985 was reportedly the 70th professional production of the musical. In November 1988, Michael Butler produced "Hair" at Chicago's Vic Theater to celebrate the shows' 20th anniversary. The production was well-received and ran until February 1989.

From 1990 to 1991, Pink Lace Productions ran a U.S. national tour of "Hair" that included stops in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. Ragni died in 1991, but revivals continued, and MacDermot and Rado added songs to the score through the 1990s. A successful and long-running adaptation, "Hair Sarajevo, AD 1992", was staged in Sarajevo as an appeal for peace. Rado directed a $1 million, 11 city national tour in 1994 that featured actors Luther Creek, Kent Dalian, Sean Jenness and Catrice Joseph. With Galt MacDermot returning to oversee the music, Rado's tour celebrated the show's 25th anniversary. A small 1990 "bus and truck" production of "Hair" toured Europe for over 3 years,cite news |first=Anne |last=Gowan |title=Hair Today |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/WashTimes3-6-94.html |work=The Washington Times |publisher= michaelbutler.com |date=1994-03-06
accessdate=2008-04-11
] and Rado directed various European productions from 1995 to 1999.

A production opened in Australia in 1992 and a short-lived West End revival starring John Barrowman and Paul Hipp opened at the Old Vic in London in 1993. [cite web |url=http://tv.yahoo.com/paul-hipp/contributor/32344 |title=Paul Hipp Biography |accessdate=2008-04-12 |format= |work=tv.yahoo.com] The London production was faithful to the original, with no major plot changes. A member of the production staff said the reason it didn't run longer was because the Tribe consisted of "Thatcher's children who didn't really get it". [cite news |first=Simon |last=Garfield |title=Hair restorer |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1562210,00.html |work=The Guardian UK |publisher= arts.guardian.co.uk |date= September 4, 2005 |accessdate= 2008-04-16] Other productions were mounted around the world, including South Africa, where the show had been banned until the eradication of Apartheid. In 1996, original "Hair" producer Michael Butler brought a month-long production to Chicago, employing the Pacific Musical Theater, a professional troupe in residence at California State University, Fullerton. Butler ran the show concurrently with the 1996 Democratic National Convention, echoing the last time the DNC was in Chicago: 1968. [cite news |first=William |last=Burghardt |title=Butler brings “Hair” back for convention |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/CoplyNews8-96.html |work=Copley News Service |publisher= michaelbutler.com |date= August, 1996 |accessdate= 2008-04-12]

2000s

In 2001, the Reprise! theater company in Los Angeles performed "Hair" at the Wadsworth Theater, starring Steven Weber as Berger, Sam Harris as Claude and Jennifer Leigh Warren as Sheila. [cite news |first=Steven |last=Oxman |title=Legit Review — Reprise! Hair |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/articles/HairArticles/DailyVariety6-19-01.html |work=Variety |publisher= michaelbutler.com |accessdate=2008-04-12] That same year, "Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert" ended its 2001 City Center season with a production of "Hair" starring Luther Creek, Idina Menzel, Jessica-Snow Wilson and Tom Plotkin, and featuring "Hair" composer Galt MacDermot on stage playing the keyboards. [cite news |first=Michael |last=Kuchwara |title=The return of a remarkable musical time capsule from a turbulent period of protest |url= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=APAB&p_theme=apab&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=Michael%20Kuchwara&p_field_label-0=Topics&s_dispstring=Michael%20Kuchwara%20AND%20allfields(Aquarius%20)%20AND%20date(5/1/2001%20to%205/5/2001)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=5/1/2001%20to%205/5/2001)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Aquarius%20)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_freq_:D&xcal_useweights=no|format= |work= Associated Press |date=2001-05-04 |accessdate=2008-04-11] An Actors' Fund benefit of the show was performed for one night at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City in 2004. The Tribe included Shoshana Bean, Raul Esparza, JM J. Bullock, Liz Callaway, Gavin Creel, Harvey Fierstein, Ana Gasteyer, Annie Golden, Jennifer Hudson, Jai Rodriguez, RuPaul, Michael McKean, Laura Benanti, Adam Pascal and Harris Doran. [cite news |first= Andrew |last= Gans |title=Hair Grows Longer; More Names Added to All-Star Benefit Concert |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88244.html |work=Playbill |date=2004-09-07 |accessdate=2008-04-11]

In 2005, a London production opened at the Gate Theatre, directed by Daniel Kramer. James Rado approved an updating of the musical's script to place it in the context of the 2003 Gulf War instead of the Vietnam War. [cite news |first= James |last= Inverne |title=Updated Hair Opens at London's Gate Theatre Sept. 22 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/95262.html |work=Playbill |date=2005-09-22 |accessdate=2008-04-11] Kramer's modernized interpretation included "Aquarius" sung over a megaphone in Times Square, and nudity that called to mind images from Abu Ghraib. [cite news |first= Matt |last= Wolf |title=Hair |url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117928382.html?categoryid=33&cs=1 |work=Variety |date=2005-10-02 |accessdate=2008-04-18] In March 2006, Rado collaborated with director Robert Prior for a CanStage production of "Hair" in Toronto, [cite web |url=http://www.hairthemusical.com/en00367journal.html |title=Hair in Toronto |accessdate=2008-04-11 |last=Rado |first=James |authorlink=James Rado |date=2006-03-24 |work=Journal: Words from Jim |publisher=hairthemusical.com] and a revival produced by Pieter Toerien toured South Africa in 2007. Directed by Paul Warwick Griffin, with choreography by Timothy Le Roux, the show ran at the Montecasino Theatre in Johannesburg and at Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town. [cite news |title= Hair |work= Playbill |publisher=Johannesburg |date= 2007]

For three nights in September 2007, Joe's Pub and the Public Theater presented a 40th anniversary production of "Hair" at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. This concert version, directed by Diane Paulus, featured Jonathan Groff of "Spring Awakening" as Claude and Galt MacDermot on stage on the keyboards. The cast also included Karen Olivo, Will Swenson, Darius Nichols, Patina Renea Miller and Megan Lawrence. [cite news |first= Andrew |last= Gans |title=The Long and the Short of It: Hair Plays the Delacorte Sept. 22–24 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/111236.html |format= |work=Playbill |date=2007-09-22 |accessdate=2008-04-11] Actors from the original Broadway production joined the cast on stage during the encore of "Let the Sun Shine In." Demand for the show was overwhelming, as long lines and overnight waits for tickets "dwarfed" other Delacorte productions such as "Mother Courage and Her Children" toplined by Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. [cite news |first=Gordon |last=Cox |title='Hair' goes Public with a trim |url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117983145&categoryid=2524 |format= |work=Variety.com |date=2008-03-28 |accessdate=2008-07-10]

Michael Butler produced "Hair" at the MET Theater in Los Angeles from September 14 through December 30, 2007. The show was directed and choreographed by Bo Crowell, with musical direction from Christian Nesmith (son of Michael Nesmith). The Tribe featured James Barry, Lee Ferris, Johanna Unger, Dawn Worrall and Trance Thompson. [cite web |url=http://www.plays411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=1104 |title=Hair The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (Musical) |accessdate=2008-04-11 |publisher=plays411.com] [cite news |first=David C. |last=Nichols |authorlink= |title=Age of Aquarius has electric return |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1371559671.html?dids=1371559671:1371559671&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&type=current&date=Oct+25%2C+2007&author=David+C.+Nichols&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=THEATER+REVIEW%3B+Age+of+Aquarius+has+electric+return |format= |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2007-10-25 |accessdate=2008-04-11] Butler's production of "Hair" won the "LA Weekly" musical of the year award. [cite news |first=Steven Leigh |last=Morris |title=The 29th Annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards |url=http://www.laweekly.com/stage/theater/the-29th-annual-la-weekly-theater-awards/18657/ |work=LA Weekly |date=2008-04-08 |accessdate=2008-04-11]

Nine months after its concert version, The Public Theater opened "Hair" in a fully staged production at the Delacorte Theater on July 22, 2008. The limited run, extended three times, is scheduled to close on September 14, 2008. [cite news |first=Adam |last=Hetrick |title=Hair Extended Again, Now Through Sept. 14 in Central Park |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/120504.html |format= |work=playbill.com |date=2008-08-18 |accessdate=2008-09-05] Diane Paulus again directs, with choreography by Karole Armitage. Jonathan Groff and Will Swenson reprised their 2007 roles as Claude and Berger. [cite news |first=Adam |last=Hetrick |title=Hair Extension: Public Adds Performances to Central Park Run; Casting Complete |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/118711.html |work=Playbill.com |date=2008-06-16 |accessdate=2008-07-08] Caryn Lyn-Manuel plays Sheila, and "Cry-Baby"'s Christopher J. Hanke replaced Groff as Claude on August 17. [Hetrick, Adam (August 4, 2008). " [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/120062.html Hanke to Succeed Groff in Central Park "Hair"] ", "playbill.com". Retrieved on August 4, 2008.] Reviews have been mostly positive, with Ben Brantley of The New York Times writing that "this production establishes the show as more than a vivacious period piece. "Hair," it seems, has deeper roots than anyone remembered". [ [http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/theater/reviews/08hair.html "Let the Sunshine In, and the Shadows" Ben Brantley, nytimes.com, 8/8/08] ] "Time" magazine wrote, "Hair" has not just been revived; it has been reinvigorated and reclaimed as one of the great milestones in musical-theatre history.... Today "Hair" seems, if anything, more daring than ever." [Zoglin, Richard. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1828301,00.html "A New Dawn for "Hair",] "Time" magazine, July 31, 2008 (in August 11, 2008 issue, pp. 61–63)]

The Public Theatre has announced that the production will transfer to Broadway in 2009, but no theatre or date has been set. [Hetrick, Adam. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/121169.html "Hair Transplant: Public's Central Park Staging to Arrive On Broadway in 2009",] Playbill.com, September 10, 2008, accessed 9/11/08]

International success

"Hair" has been performed in most of the countries of the world. After the Berlin Wall fell, the show traveled for the first time to Poland, Lebanon, the Czech Republic, and Sarajevo (featured on ABC's Nightline with Ted Koppel, when Phil Alden Robinson visited that city and discovered a production of "Hair" there in the midst of the war). In 1999, Michael Butler and director Bo Crowell helped produce "Hair" in Russia at the Stas Namin Theatre located in Moscow's Gorky Park. The Moscow production caused a similar reaction as the original did 30 years earlier because Russian soldiers were fighting in Chechnya at the time. ["Hair" 40th Anniversary Be-In program, New York, May 3, 2008] [cite web |url=http://stasnamin.com/ |title=Stas Namin |accessdate=2008-05-04 |publisher=stasnamin.com] According to Rado, the only places where the show hasn't been performed are "China, India, Vietnam, the Arctic and Antarctic continents as well as most African countries."cite web |url=http://www.hairthemusical.com/en00121content.html |title=Hair |accessdate=2008-04-11 |last=Rado |first=James |authorlink=James Rado |date=2003-02-14 |publisher=hairthemusical.com]

Cultural impact

Popular culture

The "New York Times" noted, in 2007, that "Hair" was one of the last Broadway musicals to saturate the culture as shows from the golden age once regularly did."

Songs from the show continue to be recorded by major artists. In the 90's, Evan Dando's group The Lemonheads recorded "Frank Mills" for their 1992 record "It's A Shame About Ray", and Run DMC sampled "Where Do I Go" for their 1993 single "Down With the King" which went to #1 on the Billboard rap charts and reached the top 25 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [cite web |url=http://www.galtmacdermot.com/works.htm |title=Galt MacDermot, Works |accessdate=2008-04-15 |work=galtmacdermot.com] [cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3vftxqugldae~T31 |title=Down with the King, Charts and Awards, Billboard Singles |accessdate=2008-04-15 |work=allmusic.com] Mike Doughty borrows the refrain from "Let the Sun Shine In" in the song "Fort Hood" from his 2008 record "Golden Delicious". [cite web|url=http://www.mikedoughty.com/pages/whos-mike|title=Who's Mike?|work=mikedoughty.com|accessdate=2008-07-03] In 2004, "Aquarius" was honored at number 33 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs. [cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gcfuxq95ld6e~T52 |title= The 5th Dimension, Charts & Awards |accessdate=2008-04-11 |work=allmusic.com]

Songs from the musical have been featured in films and television episodes. For example, in the 2005 movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", the character Willy Wonka welcomed the children with lyrics from "Good Morning Starshine". [cite video |people= Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka), Tim Burton (Director) |date2= 2005-07-10 |title= Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367594/ |medium= Motion picture |publisher= Warner Bros. |accessdate= 2008-04-11 |quote= Willy Wonka: Good morning, starshine... the earth says hello!] "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was performed in the final scene in the film "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", [cite video |people= Judd Apatow (Director and writer), Steve Carell (Writer) |date2= 2005-08-11 |title= The 40 Year Old Virgin |url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405422/soundtrack |medium= Motion picture |publisher= Universal Pictures |accessdate= 2008-04-11] and Three Dog Night's recording of "Easy to be Hard" was featured in the first part of David Fincher's film "Zodiac". [cite video |people= David Fincher (Director) |date2= 2007-03-02 |title= Zodiac |url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443706/soundtrack |medium= Motion picture |publisher= Paramount Pictures |accessdate= 2008-04-11] On the "Simpsons" episode "The Springfield Files", the townspeople, Leonard Nimoy, Chewbacca, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder all sing "Good Morning Starshine." [cite episode |title=The Springfield Files |episodelink=The Springfield Files |url= |series=The Simpsons |serieslink=The Simpsons |credits= Reid Harrison (Writer), Steven Dean Moore (Director) |network=FOX |airdate=1997-01-12 |season=8 |number=163] In addition, "Head of the Class" featured a two-part episode in 1990 where the head of the English department is determined to disrupt the school's performance of "Hair". [cite episode |title= From Hair to Eternity |episodelink= |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0788554/ |series= Head of the Class |serieslink= Head of the Class |credits=Michael Elias (writer), Rich Eustis (writer), Art Dielhenn (Director) |network=ABC |began=1990-02-07 |ended=1990-02-14 |season=4 |number=17, 18] The continued popularity of "Hair" is seen in its number ten ranking in a 2006 BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the " [United Kingdom] 's Number One Essential Musicals." [cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/paige/essentialvote.shtml |date=23 November 2006|title= Number One Essential Musicals |accessdate= 2008-04-11 |work= bbc.co.uk ]

Owing to the universality of its pacifist theme and the parallels that can be drawn between the Vietnam and later wars, the musical remains a favorite production for high-schools and universities. Amateur productions of "Hair" are also popular worldwide. [cite web |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/CurrentProductions.html |title=Current Productions of HAIR |accessdate=2008-04-11 |work=michaelbutler.com] In 2002, Peter Jennings featured a Boulder, Colorado high school production of "Hair" for his ABC documentary series "In Search of America". [cite episode |title= The Stage | url= http://www.thedocumentarygroup.com/projects.php#_2002 |series = In Search of America |credits=Peter Jennings |network= ABC |city=Boulder, Colorado |airdate= 2002-09-04] A September 2006 community theater production at the 2,000-seat Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, was praised by original producer Michael Butler, who said it was "one of the best "Hair"s I have seen in a long time." [cite web |url=http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/hair/?p=152 |title=HAIR in RED Bank, NJ |accessdate=2008-04-13 |last=Butler |first=Michael |date=2006-09-06 |authorlink=Michael Butler (producer) |work=MB Hair Blog |publisher=michaelbutler.com] Another example of a recent large-scale amateur production is the Mountain Play production at the 4,000-seat Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in Mount Tamalpais State Park in Mill Valley, California in the spring of 2007. [cite news |first= Label |last=Ephriam |authorlink= |author= |title=‘Hair’ still lets the sunshine in |url=http://www.examiner.com/a-743394~_Hair__still_lets_the_sunshine_in.html |work=examiner.com |date=2007-05-23 |accessdate=2008-04-11]

Legacy

"Hair" was Broadway's first concept musical, a form that dominated the musical theater of the seventies.Horn, pp. 127–29] Hal Prince's forays into the concept musical—"Company", "Follies", "A Little Night Music", and "Pacific Overtures"—refined the genre, while Michael Bennett's "A Chorus Line" popularized it. Like "Hair", "A Chorus Line" was crafted during an extended experimental workshop period at the Public Theatre. Unlike "Hair", however, it was hailed with a slew of Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

While the development of the concept musical was an unexpected consequence of "Hair"'s tenure on Broadway, the expected rock music revolution on Broadway turned out to be less than complete. MacDermot followed his "Hair" success with three successive rock scores: "Two Gentlemen of Verona" (1971); a second collaboration with Ragni, "Dude" (1972); and "Via Galactica" (1972). While "Two Gentlemen of Verona" found receptive audiences and a Tony for Best Musical, "Dude" failed after just sixteen performances, and "Via Galactica" flopped after a month later.Horn, pp. 131–32] "Grease" (1975) reverted to the rock sounds of the Fifties, and "Purlie"Fact|date=July 2008 (1970), "Raisin"Fact|date=July 2008 (1973), and "The Wiz" (1975) were heavily influenced by gospel, R&B and soul music. "Jesus Christ Superstar" (1970) and "Godspell" (1971) and were two religiously-themed successes of the genre. "Pippin (musical)" (1972) and "The Rocky Horror Show" (1973) are other examples of successful rock musicals.Fact|date=July 2008

By the late 1970s, the genre had played itself out. Except for a few outposts of rock, like "Dreamgirls" (1981) and "Little Shop of Horrors" (1982), audience tastes turned, in the 1980s, to shows with European pop scores, like "Les Miserables" (1985) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1986). [Wollman, Elizabeth Lara (2006), "The Theatre Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical from Hair to Hedwig" (University of Michigan Press)] The success of "Rent" (1996) and "Spring Awakening" (2006) point to a renaissance in the genre.Fact|date=July 2008

Horn explained why the rock musical did not come to dominate the musical theatre stage after "Hair": "Such failures may have been the result of producers simply relying on the label 'rock musical' to attract audiences without regard to the quality of the material presented." Critic Clive Barnes, responding to the statement that there were a few rock musicals said, "There really weren't any rock musicals. No major rock musician ever did a rock score for Broadway.... You might think of the musical "Tommy", but it was never conceived as a Broadway show.... And one can see why. There's so much more money in records and rock concerts. I mean, why bother going through the pain of a musical which may close in Philadelphia?"

On the other hand, "Hair" had a profound effect not only on what was acceptable on Broadway, but as part of the very social movements that it celebrated. As Ellen Stewart, La Mama's founder, noted:

"Hair" came with blue jeans, comfortable clothing, colors, beautiful colors, sounds, movement.... And you can go to AT&T and see a secretary today, and she's got on blue jeans.... You can go anywhere you want, and what "Hair" did, it is still doing "twenty years later".... A kind of emancipation, a spiritual emancipation that came from [O'Horgan's] staging.... "Hair" until this date has influenced every single thing that you see on Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, anywhere in the world, you will see elements of the experimental techniques that "Hair" brought not just to Broadway, but to the entire world. [Horn, pp. 137–38]

Notes

References

*Davis, Lorrie and Rachel Gallagher. "Letting Down My Hair: Two Years with the Love Rock Tribe" (1973) A. Fields Books ISBN 0525630058
*Horn, Barbara Lee. "The Age of Hair: Evolution and the Impact of Broadway's First Rock Musical" (New York, 1991) ISBN 0313275645
*Johnson, Jonathon. "Good Hair Days: A Personal Journey with the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical Hair" (iUniverse, 2004) ISBN 0595312977
*Miller, Scott. "Let the Sun Shine In: The Genius of Hair" (Heinemann, 2003) ISBN 0325005567
*Wollman, Elizabeth Lara, "The Theatre Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical from Hair to Hedwig" (University of Michigan Press, 2006).

External links

*
* [http://www.hairthemusical.com/ The official HAIR the musical website by James Rado] , one of the co-authors
* [http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/ The HAIR Archives] at Michael Butler.com, curator Nina Machlin Dayton, containing numerous historical documents about the musical
* [http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/hair/ Official HAIR blog from Michael Butler] , the musical's original producer
* [http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004172/Galt-MacDermot.html Galt MacDermot biography and discography]
* [http://www.mindspring.com/~holleman1/index.html Links to discographies and listings of original cast albums and recordings of songs in "Hair" compiled by John Holleman]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hair (musical) — Para la película del mismo nombre, véase Hair. Hair, subtitulado The American Tribal Love/Rock Musical, es una ópera beat sobre la cultura hippie de los años 1960 en los Estados Unidos, incluyendo el amor, la paz, la libertad sexual o el uso de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hair (musical) — Para la película del mismo nombre, véase Hair. Hair, subtitulado The American Tribal Love/Rock Musical, es una obra de teatro musical sobre la cultura hippie de los años 1960 en los Estados Unidos, incluyendo el amor, la paz, la libertad sexua …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Hair (disambiguation) — Hair may refer to:* Hair, keratinized protein filaments characteristic of mammals * Hair (musical), by James Rado and Gerome Ragni * Hair (film), adapted from the musical * Hair (song), from the musical …   Wikipedia

  • Hair — es una palabra del idioma inglés que significa pelo o cabello[1] y puede referirse: a Hair, musical de 1960 a Hair, película de 1979 dirigida por Miloš Forman a Hair, canción de Lady Gaga Referencias ↑ « …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hair (película) — Para el musical del mismo nombre, véase Hair (musical). Hair Ficha técnica Dirección Miloš Forman Producción Michael Butler Lester Persky …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hair — Para el musical del mismo nombre véase: Hair (musical) Hair es una película musical de 1979 basada en la obra de teatro musical del mismo nombre (Hair) de 1967, cuya banda sonora ha sido editada posteriormente y que trata sobre la cultura hippie… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Musical-Theater Bremen — Das Musical Theater Bremen ist eine Großspielstätte von überregionaler Bedeutung in Bremen. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Saal 2 Geschichte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Musical Theater Bremen — Das Musical Theater Bremen ist eine Großspielstätte von überregionaler Bedeutung in Bremen. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Saal …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hair (canción) — «Hair» Sencillo promocional de Lady Gaga Álbum Born This Way Publicación 16 de mayo de 2011 Grabación …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hair (comedie musicale) — Hair (comédie musicale) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Hair (film, 1979). Hair est une comédie musicale, créée « off Broadway » en 1967, jouée à Broadway à partir de 1968 pendant quatre ans sans interruption, puis à Londres. Elle est …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”