A look at how Hair was born from national upheaval and became a musical theatre classic.
By Madison Mae Williams
Fifty-three years ago this spring, “the dawning of the age of Aquarius” took Broadway by storm with the debut of James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot’s Hair. The show’s opening in April 1968—after a highly successful Off Broadway run at The Public Theater—took place in a moment marked by a radical cultural shift. The civil rights movement was making way for the emergence of the Black power/arts movement; second wave feminism was developing; and the Vietnam War was at its height. Young people were seeking connection within the rise of the sexual revolution and anti-war and hippie communities, leading to the height of the countercultural movement of the decade. These aspects of a changing America are captured in Hair, which would revolutionize Broadway as one of the first concept and rock musicals. However, Hair is much more than just a museum piece of the late ’60s. Filled with cultural, historical, and political references, the show is a living, evolving archive of the counterculture with a legacy that continues to grow and resonate decades later.
The musical, subtitled The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, was born out of the close relationship between co-writers James Rado and Gerome Ragni, who met and began working on early drafts of Hair in 1964. Inspired by the growing hippie movement they saw among youth in the East Village of New York City, the duo was determined to create a show that reflected the current cultural moment. In a 2007 interview, Rado 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.” Through local producer and friend Nat Shapiro, Rado and Ragni would connect with Grammy Award–winning jazz composer Galt MacDermot. Though MacDermot was completely unfamiliar with the world of the youth counterculture, he was enthused by the material Rado and Ragni provided him, and he agreed to compose the score to the rock musical.
After searching for a producer for their show, the new trio found their perfect match in legendary producer and founder of The Public Theater Joseph Papp, who chose to open the new theatre in the East Village with Hair in 1967. After a successful six weeks at the Public and a brief run at a discotheque called The Cheetah, two more key players joined the creative team: Michael Butler joined as producer, and director Tom O’Horgan would help reshape the show for Broadway. The show ran for over 1,700 performances in its original run, with multiple tours, regional performances, and international productions to follow. Though some of Broadway’s old guard, like Leonard Bernstein and Richard Rodgers, were resistant to the new sound of the evolving rock musical, public response was generally positive. Popular recordings of songs from the show—such as The 5th Dimension’s take on “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” Oliver’s cover of “Good Morning Starshine,” and Three Dog Night’s interpretation of “Easy to Be Hard”—cemented the show’s impact on pop culture for decades to come.
Hair is, at its core, a show about young people seeking meaningful connection in a tumultuous political moment. Gavin Creel, who played Claude in the highly lauded 2009 Broadway revival, stated in an interview that four simple goals drive the actions of the Tribe: “we want to be young, we want to be heard, we want to be seen, and we want to stay alive.” The group of young hippies living in New York and actively protesting the Vietnam War balances racial, sexual, and political conflict within both their Tribe and mainstream society. Claude, our protagonist, struggles with both his “invisibility” and his destiny for either “greatness or madness.” It is no coincidence that much of the first act of the show consists of the Tribe members introducing themselves to the theatrical audience—it is their way of taking up space, announcing their presence, and, as director James Vásquez has pointed out, introducing us to and celebrating their authentic selves.
Hair and its ongoing legacies have never been more relevant to explore than in our current moment. These young Tribe members fight back against “evil and social injustice” with spirit, humanity, and a clever sense of humor that never lets the audience sit back and relax. Hair is a whirlwind of satirical text, gorgeous choreography, and an amazing score that reminds us of the strength and beauty found in the power of the collective. When the Tribe sings “Let the Sunshine In,” it is a demand, a rally, a desperate cry, and a celebration in one; Hair states that in order for change to occur, we cannot sit idly back, but must take up the good fight ourselves.
Learn More:
Burns, Ken and Lynn Novick, The Vietnam War documentary series.
Grode, Eric. Hair: The Story of the Show that Defined a Generation.
Horn, Barbara Lee. The Age of Hair: Evolution and the Impact of Broadway’s First Rock Musical.
Papp, Joseph and Kenneth Turan. Free for All: Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told.
