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Presented outdoors by Music Theatre of Madison in July and August 2006.
Music by Galt MacDermot
Lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado
HAIR opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre in 1968. No one had any idea
that this off-beat, non-linear, rock show would change the face of Broadway forever.
HAIR's history is extensive and fascinating. It began
as a project of New York's downtown Experimental Theatre, and was the first piece produced at Joseph Papp's
Public Theatre. It moved to a disco off-Broadway, and eventually made it to the mainstream, casting unknown actors and many
rock singers as opposed to seasoned musical comedy performers. The show starred librettists James Rado as Claude and Gerome
Ragni as Berger. The reviews called it "Astonishing", "Fresh and Frank", "Wonderfully Wild", "Bold" and "Outrageous".
HAIR was an entirely new idea that challenged the genre
of Musical Theatre. The story was hardly a story at all. It was more of a merging of ideas; a frenetic haze of the issues
confronted by America's counterculture.
It challenged the idea that musicals had to be perfectly linear, have a beginning, middle and end, and rely on songs that
were to be interpreted literally. It merged mainstream rock with musical theatre, bringing Broadway back into the world of
popular music. It set the trend for the rock musicals that took off in subsequent decades, including JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR,
TOMMY, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, RENT and countless others.
DID YOU KNOW...?
-HAIR is one of the most recorded musicals in history. After
it's opening many of it's songs were covered by mainstream singers and bands. Some of them include "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine
In" by the Fifth Demension (which was number one on Billboard's pop charts in 1969), "Hair" by the Cowsills, "Good Morning
Starshine" by Oliver, "Walking In Space" by Quincy Jones, "Easy To Be Hard" by Three Dog Night, "Ain't Got No" by Nina Simone
and "Frank Mills" by the Lemonheads.
-The creators of the phenomenally successful musical RENT modeled
their piece on HAIR-both addressed the subject of drugs, sex, death, and community.
-A star in the constellation of Aquarius is named for HAIR.
-HAIR was heavily protested as it toured for it's nudity and
sexual frankness. A nationally publicized protest took place in Boston, where the city refused to allow the show to perform.
In Saint Paul, Minnesota,
someone was so against the show that they released 18 white mice into the theatre in hopes of making people flee. (It did
not work.)
-Jim Lovell, one of the astronauts of Apollo 13, attended a
performance of HAIR on Broadway and walked out of the theatre during the number "Don't Put It Down", which he believed showed
disrespect for the American flag. (In fact, that song is meant to challenge the notion that people who don't agree with the
government don't love their country.) In the original production a flag (not a real one) was manipulated into several items,
including a hammock. By the end of the song, it had been folded in proper military fashion.
-HAIR's lyricists, Gerome Ragni and James Rado played the roles
of Berger and Claude in the original Broadway cast.
-Oscar winner Diane Keaton appeared in the original Broadway
cast of HAIR. The Broadway, touring, and movie versions also served as a launching pad for the careers of stars such as Nell
Carter (Ain't Misbehavin', Gimme a Break), Ben Vereen (Pippin, Fosse, Wicked), Treat Williams(The Devil's
Own, The Substitute), Beverly D'Angelo (National Lampoon, Law and Order: SVU) , and Melba Moore (Les Miserables,
Purlie).
-There are cast recordings of HAIR from Australia, Brazil, Copenhagen,
France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy,
Japan, London, Mexico
and Sweden.
HAIR LINKS:
The official website: www.hairthemusical.com
Michael Butler's (Original Broadway production producer)
Hair pages: www.michaelbutler.com/hairpages
Click here to download a HAIR glossary
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