Entertainment: Hair
| Name |
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| Birthname | Premiere of musical | ||||
| born on | 17 October 1967 at 20:30 (= 8:30 PM ) | ||||
| Place | New York, New York, 40n43, 74w00 | ||||
| Timezone | EDT h4w (is daylight saving time) | ||||
| Data source |
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| Astrology data |   23°57'   19°35 Asc. 11°22'
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Biography
American rock musical, subtitled "The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical," with a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 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. The musical broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of "rock musical", using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience onstage for a "Be-In" finale.
Hair tells the story of the "tribe", a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the "Age of Aquarius" living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War. Claude, his good friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves, and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war and their conservative parents and society. Ultimately, Claude must decide whether to resist the draft as his friends have done, or to succumb to the pressures of his parents (and conservative America) to serve in Vietnam, compromising his pacifist principles and risking his life.
After an off-Broadway debut on 17 October 1967 at Joseph Papp's Public Theater and a subsequent run at the Cheetah nightclub from December 1967 through January 1968, the show opened on Broadway in April 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances. Simultaneous productions in cities across the United States and Europe followed shortly thereafter, including a successful London production that ran for 1,997 performances. Since then, numerous productions have been staged around the world, spawning dozens of recordings of the musical, including the 3 million-selling original Broadway cast recording. Some of the songs from its score became Top 10 hits, and a feature film adaptation was released in 1979. A Broadway revival opened in 2009, earning strong reviews and winning the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Musical. In 2008, Time wrote, "Today Hair seems, if anything, more daring than ever."
Relationships
- associate relationship with Braga, Sônia (born 8 June 1950). Notes: Played in 1968 Brazilian production
- associate relationship with Carradine, Keith (born 8 August 1949). Notes: Played Claude in 1970 Broadway production
- associate relationship with Curry, Tim (born 19 April 1946). Notes: Played in 1968 London production
- associate relationship with De Shields, André (born 12 January 1945). Notes: Played in 1969 Chicago production
- associate relationship with Eaton, Sally (born 6 April 1947). Notes: Played Jeanie in 1967-1969 off- and on- Broadway productions
- associate relationship with Hines, Marcia (born 20 July 1953). Notes: Played in 1970 Australian tour production
- associate relationship with Keaton, Diane (born 5 January 1946). Notes: Played Sheila in 1968 Broadway production
- associate relationship with Meat Loaf (born 27 September 1947). Notes: Played in 1968 Los Angeles production
- associate relationship with Miller, Harry M. (born 6 January 1934). Notes: Producer of 1969 Sydney production
- associate relationship with Moore, Melba (born 29 October 1945). Notes: Played Dionne in 1967-1968 off- and on- Broadway productions
- associate relationship with Rado, James (born 23 January 1932). Notes: Playwright, lyricist, actor
- associate relationship with Ragni, Gerome (born 11 September 1935). Notes: Playwright, lyricist, actor
- associate relationship with Sharman, Jim (born 12 March 1945). Notes: Director of 1969 Sydney production
- associate relationship with Summer, Donna (born 31 December 1948). Notes: Played Sheila in 1968 Munich production
Source Notes
Sy Scholfield quotes "'Hair' at Public," Daily News (New York, New York), 15 Oct 1967, p. S3.
Categories
- Notable : Awards : Grammy
- Notable : Awards : Tony
- Mundane : Misc. Mundane : Release dates
