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.
[ 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.][Pacheco, Patrick (June 17, 2001). . "Peace, Love and Freedom Party; Cast and crew knew Hair wasn't just exhilarating, it was groundbreaking", 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" 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 compromise his pacifistic principles and risk his life by serving in Vietnam.
After an off-Broadway debut in October 1967 at Joseph Papp's Public Theater and a subsequent run in a midtown discothèque space, 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, which ran for 1,997 performances. Since then, numerous productions have been staged around the world, spawning dozens of recordings of the musical. Some of the songs from its score became Top 10 hits, and a feature film adaptation was released in 1979. A Broadway revival opened on March 31, 2009, earning strong reviews and winning the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for best revival of a musical. In 2008, Time magazine wrote, "Today Hair seems, if anything, more daring than ever."[Zoglin, Richard. "A New Dawn for Hair", Time magazine, July 31, 2008 (in August 11, 2008 issue, pp. 61–63)]
History
Hair was conceived by actors James Rado and Gerome Ragni. The two met in 1964 when they performed together in the off-Broadway flop Hang Down Your Head and Die,[Haun, Harry. "Age of Aquarius", Playbill, April 2009, from Hair at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, p. 7] and they began writing Hair together in late 1964.[Rado, James (February 14, 2003). "Hairstory - The Story Behind the Story", hairthemusical.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.]["Viet Rock". Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] The main characters were autobiographical, with Rado's Claude being a pensive romantic and Ragni's Berger an extrovert. Their close relationship, including its volatility, was reflected in the musical. Rado explained, "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."
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".[ He 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 [1] let our hair grow."][Taylor, Kate (September 14, 2007). "The Beat Goes On". The New York Sun. The New York Sun, One, SL, LLC. Retrieved on May 27, 2008.] Many cast members (Shelley Plimpton in particular) were recruited right off the street.[ Rado said, "It was very important historically, and if we hadn't written it, there'd not be any examples. You could read about it and see film clips, but you'd never experience it. We thought, 'This is happening in the streets,' and we wanted to bring it to the stage."]
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, one of several groups, mostly Off-off Broadway, that were developing experimental theatre techniques.[Miller, pp. 54–56] He introduced Rado to 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 improvisational exercises being used in the experimental theatre scene and later used in the development of Hair.[Horn, pp. 18–19]
Rado and Ragni brought their drafts of 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).["Galt MacDermot Biography". musiciansguide.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] The composer'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."[ "I never even heard of a hippie when I met Rado and Ragni."][ But he shared their enthusiasm to do a rock and roll show.][ "We work independently," explained MacDermot in May 1968. "I prefer it that way. They hand me the material. I set it to music."][Whittaker, Herbert (May 1968). "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 rewrote it into an uplifting anthem.]
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Off-Broadway productions
The creators pitched the show to 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 musical was Papp's first non-Shakespeare offering.[ 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). "The Aging of Aquarius". The New York Times. Retrieved on May 25, 2008.]
Hair premiered off-Broadway at the Public on October 17, 1967 and ran for a limited engagement of six weeks. The lead roles were played by Walker Daniels as Claude, Ragni as Berger, Jill O'Hara as Sheila, Steve Dean as Woof, Arnold Wilkerson as Hud, Sally Eaton as Jeanie and Shelley Plimpton as Crissy.[Horn, p. 34] Set design was by Ming Cho Lee, costume design by Theoni Aldredge, and although Anna Sokolow began rehearsals as choreographer, Freedman received choreographer credit.[Horn, pp. 32-33] Although the production had a "tepid critical reception", it was popular with audiences.
Chicago businessman Michael Butler was planning to 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 first moved the show to The Cheetah, a discothèque at 53rd Street and Broadway. It opened there on December 22, 1967][Zolotow, Sam (January 23, 1968). "Hair Closes Sunday" The New York Times, reproduced at michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on May 23, 2009] and ran 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, who had built a reputation directing experimental theater at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. He had been the authors' first choice to direct the Public Theater production, but he was in Europe at the time.[Horn, p. 29] Newsweek described O'Horgan's directing style as "sensual, savage, and thoroughly musical... [2] 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). "Director of the Year". Newsweek, orlok.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.]
Hair underwent a thorough 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 were added.[Horn, pp. 39–40] The song "Let the Sun Shine In" was added so that the ending would be more uplifting.[ In rehearsals, O'Horgan used techniques passed down by Viola Spolin and Paul Sills involving role playing and improvisational "games". Many of the improvisations tried during this process were incorporated into the Broadway script.][Horn, p. 53] O'Horgan and new choreographer Julie Arenal encouraged freedom and spontaneity in their actors, introducing "an organic, expansive style of staging" that had never been seen before on Broadway.[ The inspiration to include nudity came when the authors saw an anti-war demonstration in Central Park where two men stripped naked as an expression of defiance and freedom, and they decided to incorporate the idea into the show.][ O'Horgan had used nudity in many of the plays he directed, and he helped integrate the idea into the fabric of the show.]
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 Theatre available.[Horn, p. 42]
Synopsis
- Act I
Claude, 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 ("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 . 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.
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 II
Four 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, enter. One monk pours a can of gasoline over another monk, who is set afire (reminiscent of the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức) and runs off screaming. strangle the . shoot the nuns with ray guns. people stab the astronauts with knives. kill the Chinese with bows and tomahawks. 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").
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.)
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 Broadway "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 and Shelley Plimpton reprising their off-Broadway roles as Jeanie and Crissy, Melba Moore as Dionne, Steve Curry as Woof, Ronnie Dyson (who sang "Aquarius"), Paul Jabara and Diane Keaton (both Moore and Keaton later played Sheila).["Hair". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Among the performers who appeared in Hair during its original Broadway run were Ben Vereen, Keith Carradine, Barry McGuire, Ted Lange, Meat Loaf, 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.
The Hair team soon became embroiled in a lawsuit with the organizers of the Tony Awards. After assuring producer Michael Butler that commencing previews by April 3, 1968 would assure eligibility for consideration for the 1968 Tonys, the New York Theatre League later ruled Hair ineligible, moving the cutoff date to March 19. The producers brought suit["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). "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.["Past Winners, 1969". tonyawards.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008] The production ran for four years and 1,750 performances, closing 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, Gloria Jones, 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. "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 creative team from Broadway worked on 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 consisted mostly of local actors, although a few Broadway cast members 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. "How and Why I Got Into Hair". Pages from Michael Butler's Journal. michaelbutler.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.]
West End
Hair opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London on September 27, 1968 with the same creative team as the Broadway production. The opening night was delayed until the abolition of theatre censorship in England under the Theatres Act 1968.[Lewis, Anthony. "Londoners Cool To Hair's Nudity: Four Letter Words Shock Few at Musical's Debut", The New York Times, September 29, 1968] As with other early productions, the London show added 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 , Oliver Tobias and Tim Curry. This was Curry's first full-time theatrical acting role, where he met future Rocky Horror Show collaborator O'Brien.["Tim Curry – Actor". Edited Guide Entry. bbc.uk.co (January 2, 2007). Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Hairs engagement in London surpassed the Broadway production, running for 1,997 performances[ until its closure was forced by the roof of the theatre collapsing in July 1973.]["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 when Broadway shows were always done in English.[ The translations followed the original script closely, and the 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 companies in France, Germany, Mexico and other countries, sometimes also directing the productions.]
A German production, directed by Castelli,[ opened in 1968 in Munich;][Blumenthal, Ralph (October 26, 1968). "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.["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 original Australian production premiered in Sydney on 6 June 1969. It was produced by Harry M. Miller and directed by Jim Sharman, who also designed the production. The tribe included Keith Glass and then Reg Livermore as Berger, John Waters as Claude and Sharon Redd as The Magician and other roles. Redd was one of six African-Americans brought to Australia to provide a racially-integrated tribe.["Hair Reaches Australia", The New York Times (June 7, 1969), p. 26, reproduced at the Hair Online Archives. Retrieved on April 29, 2009.][Hair: Original Australian production, MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975, accessed April 29, 2009] The production broke local box-office records and ran for two years, but because of some of the language in the show, the cast album was banned in Queensland and New Zealand. It transferred to Melbourne in 1971 and then had a national tour. The production also marked the stage debut of Boston-born Australian vocalist Marcia Hines.
Another notable production was in the former Yugoslavia (Belgrade), the first Hair to be produced in a communist country.["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. "Here, There, Everywhere Hair", Performing Arts Magazine, October 1969. Retrieved on July 28, 2008.] and attended by president 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.
By 1970, Hair was a huge financial success, and nineteen productions had been staged outside of North America, including productions in Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Finland, Italy, Israel, Japan, Denmark, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.[ According to Billboard, the various productions of the show were raking in almost $1 million every ten days, and royalties were being collected for 300 different recordings of the show's songs, making it "the most successful score in history as well as the most performed score ever written for the Broadway stage."]
Themes
Hair explores many of the themes of the hippie movement of the '60s. Theatre writer Scott Miller described these themes in terms of the hippies' goals, targets and beliefs, as follows:
[3]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.... [4] 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.[Miller, Scott (2001). "HAIR – An analysis by Scott Miller"; excerpt from Rebels with applause: Broadway's groundbreaking musicals. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. ISBN 0-325-00357-2]
Race and the tribe
Extending the precedents set by Show Boat (1927) and Porgy and Bess (1935), Hair opened the Broadway musical to racial integration; fully one-third of the cast was African American.[Horn, p. 134] Except for satirically in skits, the roles for the black members of the tribe portrayed them as equals, breaking away from the traditional roles for blacks in entertainment as slaves or servants.[ An Ebony magazine article declared that the show was the biggest outlet for black actors in the history of the U.S. stage.]
Several songs and scenes from the show address racial issues.[ "Colored Spade", which introduces the character 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 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, as the tribe pretends to be frightened.[ "Dead End", sung by black tribe members, is a list of street signs that symbolize black frustration and alienation ("keep out... mad dog... hands off"). One of the tribe's protest chants is "What do we think is really great? To bomb, lynch and segregate!"][ "Black Boys/White Boys" is an exuberant acknowledgement of 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 Recording. RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 25, "White Boys".] the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down laws against the practice in 1967.[Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1; 87 S. Ct. 1817; 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010; 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1082] Another of the tribe's protest chants is "Black, white, yellow, red. Copulate in a king-sized bed."
"Abie Baby" is part of the Act 2 "trip" sequence: four African witch doctors, who have just killed various American historical, cultural and fictional characters, sing the praises of Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by 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 Recording. RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 27, "Abie Baby".] The first part of the song contains stereotypical language that black characters used in old movies, like "I's finished ... pluckin' y'all's chickens, fryin' mothers oats and grease" and "I's free now thanks to y'all Master Lincoln". The Lincoln character then recites a modernized version of the Gettysburg Address, while a white female tribe member polishes Lincoln's shoes with her blond hair.
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 characters in the show are referred to as the "tribe", borrowing the term for Native American communities.[ The cast of each production chooses a tribal name: "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 that 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.][The 1960s concept of a menage-a-trois as a tribe is illustrated by the cover of the book The Love Tribe, Mathewson, Joseph (1968). Signet. Retrieved on April 18, 2008.]
Nudity, sexual freedom and drug use
The brief nude scene at the end of Act I was a subject of controversy and notoriety.["Musical Hair opens as censors withdraw". On this Day. bbc.co.uk (November 27, 1968). Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] 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."
Hair glorifies sexual freedom in a variety of ways. In addition to acceptance of miscegenation, mentioned above, the characters' lifestyle acts as a sexually and politically-charged updating of La bohème; as Rado explained, "The love element of the peace movement was palpable."[ 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 Recording. RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 4, "Sodomy".] Toward the end of Act 2, the tribe members reveal their free love tendencies when they banter back and forth about who will sleep with whom that night. As Clive Barnes wrote in his original New York Times review of Hair, "homosexuality is not frowned upon."[Barnes, Clive (April 30, 1968). "Theater: Hair – It's Fresh and Frank; Likable Rock Musical Moves to Broadway", New York Times, p. 40. Retrieved on April 11, 2008.] Woof has a crush on Mick Jagger, and a three-way embrace between Claude, Berger and Sheila turns into a Claude-Berger kiss.[Rado, James; Gerome Ragni , 1969. Hair, Original Script, Tams Whitmark.]
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 "how dare they try to end this beauty ... in this dive we rediscover sensation ... our eyes are open, wide, wide, wide". Similarly, 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 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 favors hallucinogenic or "mind expanding" drugs, such as LSD and marijuana,][Miller, p. 116] while disapproving of other drugs such as speed and depressants. For example, Jeanie, 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.]
Pacifism and environmentalism
The theme of opposition to the war that pervades the show is unified by the plot thread that progresses through the book – Claude's moral dilemma over whether to burn his draft card.[ Pacifisim 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").][Ragni, Gerome and James Rado (Lyricists), Galt MacDermot (Composer), and Original Broadway Cast (Vocalists). (1968) Hair 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, echoing Maxwell's glee at reporting the enemy casualties, as the tribe chants "Take weapons up and begin to kill".[ The song also includes the repeated phrase "Prisoners in niggertown/ It's a dirty little war".]
"Don't Put It Down" satirizes the unexamined patriotism of people who are literally "crazy" for the American flag.[Miller, pp. 110–11] "Be In (Hare Krishna)" praises the peace movement and events like the San Francisco and Central Park Be-Ins.[McNeill, Don (March 30, 1967). "Be-In, be-in, Being". The Village Voice, The Village Voice, LLC. Retrieved on April 17, 2008.] Throughout the show, the tribe chants popular protest slogans like "What do we want? Peace – When do we want it? Now!" and "Do not enter the induction center".[ 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.[ Jeanie appears from a trap door in the stage wearing a gas mask and then sings the song "Air": "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 Recording. RCA Victor. Event occurs at Track 11, "Air".] She suggests that pollution will eventually kill her, "vapor and fume at the stone of my tomb, breathing like a sullen perfume".[ In a comic, pro-green vein, when Woof introduces himself, he explains 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.[ Berger sings of looking for "Donna", which takes on the double meaning of the woman he's searching for and the Madonna.][ During "Sodomy", a hymn-like paean to all that is "dirty" about sex, the cast strikes evocative religious positions: the Pietà and Christ on the cross.][Davis, Lorrie (1968). Album notes for Original Cast Recording of Hair, pp.5–6 booklet. : RCA Victor (1150-2-RC). Hair at MusicBrainz.] Before the song, Woof recites a modified rosary. In Act II, 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 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 textual allusions to Claude being on a cross, and, in the end, he is chosen to give his life for the others.[ Berger can be seen as a John the Baptist figure, preparing the way for Claude.]
Excerpt from "Aquarius"
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding.
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the minds true liberation.
Aquarius
