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HAIR
Let The Sunshine In
Hair-The Musical
The year was 1968, turmoil was dividing the country and Hair opens on Broadway providing a breath of fresh air to Broadway and to our nation. Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, enthusiastically called the show “the first Broadway musical in some time to have the authentic voice of today rather than the day before yesterday.”
It was a short time ago when the idea of a rock musical on Broadway seemed absurd. Yet when James Rado and the late Gerome Ragni, who wrote the book and lyrics for Hair, initially tried to interest Broadway producers in the show, there were no takers. And that was precisely why Rado and Ragni set their sights on Broadway. “We wanted to reach the uptown crowd and shake things up,” says Rado. “The subject matter was unlike anything that had been done on Broadway.”
Hair follows a group of hopeful, free-spirited young people who advocate a lifestyle of pacifism and free-love in a society riddled with intolerance and brutality during the Vietnam War. As they explore sexual identity, challenge racism, experiment with drugs and burn draft cards, the show resonates with an irresistible message of hope.
Jump ahead 43 years, and much of our story is the same. And, out of the haze comes the same refreshing voice. The musical stands the test of time with its energetic performances, uplifting music and joyous singing. And the show’s timelessness was validated when the recent production, directed by Diane Paulus, won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Ms. Paulus was nominated for the Best Director Tony Award for her revival of the show.
The revival is considerably different from the original Broadway production. The premise and the characters have stayed the same, but the details have changed. “The idea was to write a show about hippies, about the ‘peace/love movement,” says Rado. “The hippie movement was largely a white movement, but we wanted to have an integrated cast. So we decided to bring in black characters and address the civil rights aspects of the day. Jerry and I weren’t hippies, but the show reflected our experiences, what we were going through in observing and mingling with the counterculture, with protest marches. We found the theater of the streets so exciting that we wanted to bring it to the stage.”
Hair arrives this month to the Colonial Theatre stage helmed again by Diane Paulus, who’s also now the current Artistic Director of American Repertory Theatre (a.r.t.). She had long been a fan of the show, although she was familiar only with its incredible music. “I was a Hair fanatic,” she says, “even though I’d never seen the show.” So when she got a call from the Public asking her if she would be interested in directing a fortieth anniversary concert version of Hair in 2007, “I almost dropped the telephone. I’d fantasized about Hair for years.”
In casting the show, whether for the Broadway production or the national tour, Paulus and her creative team chose young and, for the most part, unknown actors who could inhabit the characters they played. “We had to find people who made you believe in who they were onstage,” says Paulus. “They had to have the right essence, the right passion, the right conviction, the right kind of energy. And they had to sing like nobody’s business.”
Paulus believes that Hair speaks to everyone: Democrats and Republicans, veterans and anti-war activists, hippies and preppies, those that loved the ’60s and those that loathed the ’60s, young and old. “Hair is a show of affirmation of what it means to be alive, what it means to care and have passion, what it means to get beyond our cynicism,” she says. “That’s why I’m excited about Hair going out across America. I’ve seen how it starts a dialogue across generations about this time in our history. And I’ve seen how it moves and touches and unites all kinds of people.”
Rado explains, “The piece is now in the hands of real actors, who are well trained and very disciplined. They really get behind the message and the feel of the piece. Young people are coming to see Hair, and they’re loving it and relating to it. To me, Hair has gone to new heights. I think the show has even more impact now, because things that were supposed to change haven’t really changed.”