| Hair (musical) |
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Information AboutHair (musical) |
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Hair, subtitled '''The American Tribal Love/Rock Musical''', is a Musical about Hippie s and was a significant part of the drug, music and peace-love culture of the 1960s . It is famous for originally being performed with all the players totally naked in some scenes. It was written by James Rado and Gerome Ragni (book and lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music). The original cast previewed a few performances at a go-go club called The Cheetah. It premiered Off-Broadway , with much fanfare, as the inaugural performance of the Public Theater , on October 17 , 1967 , and moved to the Biltmore Theater on Broadway on April 29 1968 where it stayed for 1,873 performances. The West Coast version played at the Aquarius Theatre on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles . A fateful Mexican production opened in 1968 for one performance. The show was shut down by the government and the cast members were forced to leave Mexico or else they who be arrested. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London on September 27 1968 , continuing for 1,998 performances until closure was forced by the roof collapsing in July 1973 . It went on to stage productions across the world and continues to be performed today. The film version was released in 1979, to low reviews. Hair was rather quited until the early 1990's. A hit production opened in Australia in 1992 with a new song, and instrumental called "War". A big revival opened at the Old Vic in London in 1993. The show flopped, unfortunately. It starred John Barrowman and Paul Hipp. A new libretto was also made. One production member was quoted as saying "The cast was a group of Thatcher's children who didn't understand it". Many Hair fans said it was overproduced and had lost the message. In 1995, another revised script was published. The next big revival would be in 2001, in Vienna. It was radically updated. The arrangements were rather derivative of other pop/rock/hip hop songs. It was a hit, though. A Movie Version Of ''Hair'' was directed by Milos Forman in 1979 with a cast including Treat Williams , Beverly D'Angelo and John Savage . It came tenth in a BBC Radio 2 listener Poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals" (wherein "Nation" refers to the United Kingdom). {Link without Title} POLITICAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE The show challenged many of the Norms held by Western society at the time. It caused controversy when it was first staged, and much publicity was provoked by the Act I finale which included male and female Nudity . This became a legal issue when the show left New York on tour. Stage nudity was acceptable in New York at that time but was unknown elsewhere in the U.S. The show was also charged with the desecration of the American Flag and the use of Obscene Language . The case eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court . The show also effectively marked the end of stage Censorship in the United Kingdom . PLOT Stage The musical follows "The Tribe", a group of politically-active, long-haired "Hippies of the Age Of Aquarius " fighting against conscription to the Vietnam War . Among them are Claude and Berger; a pair of friends battling against Claude's draft notice, and Sheila, who is in love with both of them, but her politically-active lifestyle leaves her little time to act on her feelings. Together with Jeanie, Woof, Crissy, Hud, and Dionne, among others, they epitomise the hippy days of the late Sixties. Ultimately, Claude and Berger lose the battle, as Claude decides that the tribe life isn't for him and goes to Vietnam. Movie Claude is divided between his loyalty to the tribe and the pressure he feels to conform to his draft notice. In the end, Claude reports for boot camp. When Sheila receives a letter from Claude, the tribe decides to go to Nevada and visit him. When they arrive the base is under lock down and Berger sneaks in to take Claude's place so Claude can see Sheila and the tribe one more time. Unexpectedly, Claude's unit gets sent to Vietnam before Claude comes back, and Berger goes to Vietnam in his place, where he is killed. PLAYERS
Original Off-Broadway Songlist ACT ONE
ACT TWO
Initial Broadway Songlist ACT ONE
ACT TWO
Broadway Songlist ACT ONE
ACT TWO
London 1993 Songs ACT ONE
ACT TWO
Albums: 1967 Off Broadway 1968 Broadway 1968 German 1968 Mexican 1968 Swedish 1969 Brazilian 1969 London 1969 Australian 1970 Argentina 1970 Live Germany 1970 Dutch 1970 Finnish 1970 French 1970 Italian 1970 Israeli 1971 Japanese 1971 Danish 1971 Argentina 1971 Norweigan 1979 Movie Soundtrack 1992 Australian 1992 Live Europe 1993 London 1996 Hungarian 1996 C.C. Productions Studio 1996 Live 2000 Norweigan 2001 Vienna 2005 Actor's Fund of America Benefit Recording SEE ALSO
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