Shortly before “Hair” opened at Broadway’s Biltmore Theater on April 29, 1968 — 50 years ago this month — Variety reported, “The musical is vehemently anti-establishment and pro-dissenting youth.” Before then, most plays, films and TV shows had avoided antiwar protests and the sexual revolution, or mentioned those topics as a way of reasserting middle-class values. Variety reported another radical aspect: The show “includes a scene of total nudity, with several men and femmes facing downstage.” Police raids and arrests were common with nude shows, though “New York City authorities have adopted a hands-off policy re sexually extreme legit fare,” Variety said. While “Hair” was safe in Gotham, it was vulnerable in other cities: In Mexico, the show was shut down after one performance and the cast album was banned in some countries.
The “American tribal love-rock musical,” as it was billed, was originally produced off-Broadway by the New York Shakespeare Festival, then moved to the Cheetah, a Broadway discotheque, for a limited run. The Broadway edition was extensively revamped by the authors Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt MacDermot and proved to be an enduring hit.
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From early previews, the Broadway edition played to near-capacity audiences — top ticket was $8.75 on weeknights, $11 on weekends — and ran for more than 1,000 performances. Melba Moore and Diane Keaton were in the original cast and replacements included Ben Vereen, Keith Carradine and Meat Loaf; actors in other productions worldwide included Tim Curry, Donna Summer, Elaine Paige and Sonia Braga.
“Hair” was one of the last Broadway musicals to spawn top-10 hits, including “Aquarius,” “Let the Sun Shine In,” “Easy to Be Hard” and “Good Morning Starshine.” The era of singer-songwriters was taking over, so cover versions of songs became rarer, though some Broadway cast albums continue to be big-sellers, like “Wicked” and “Hamilton.”
Milos Forman directed the 1979 film version of “Hair,” and the musical enjoyed a successful 2009 Broadway revival. It has also been frequently performed in professional and amateur productions. The show that was once radical has become an accepted piece of Americana.
