Tony Award-Winning Revival of Hair Closes On Broadway June 27
By Adam Hetrick
27 Jun 2010
The Tony Award-winning revival of the Gerome Ragni-James Rado-Galt
MacDermot musical Hair, the iconic 1968 rock tuner about peace and
free love that changed Broadway's musical landscape, ends its
Broadway run June 27 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Directed by Tony Award nominee Diane Paulus, the revival of Hair
began life in 2007 as a special 40th anniversary concert staging at
the Delacorte Theater. In 2008 the Public mounted Hair as part of
Shakespeare in the Park, where the run was extended three times. The
production transferred to Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where it
opened to rave reviews March 31, 2009. The revival recouped its
initial investment of $5.76 million in August 2009.
Upon its closing, Hair will have played 29 preview performance and
519 regular performances. The West End production, which opened with
members of the original Broadway revival cast in April 2010, will
shutter Sept. 4. Hair opened to strong reviews in London but failed
to ignite the box office. A U.S. tour will launch in October at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
When the musical made a fresh, acclaimed return to Broadway, Paulus
spoke with Playbill.com about bringing truth to the hippy
counterculture movement. "It was really [about] getting to the inside
of what those clothes meant, or what the peace sign meant, and
encouraging the actors to always be real and truthful. My whole
approach for the process with the actors was very strict with how
they would approach the work, how they would bring justice to this
period and time, and how they would relive it," she said.
Paulus also discussed the passionate response from audience members.
"To live here and feel the city of New York come out for the show and
demand the show and want the show, it was bigger than theatre. It was
about some kind of community coming together and taking over and
saying, 'We want to feel alive, we want to make change. Watch out,
here we come.' . . . I really feel like as a director, you look for
these moments when something you do in the theatre actually hooks up
with the larger culture. That's what I dream of: When theatre can
finally be bigger than theatre. And this is one of those meetings of
time and material and audience and subject matter."
The Broadway revival cast of Hair currently features "American Idol"
contestants Diana DeGarmo as Sheila and Ace Young as Berger, as well
as Annaleigh Ashford (Wicked, Legally Blonde) as Jeanie, Jeannette
Bayardelle (The Color Purple) as Dionne, Vanessa Ray as Crissy, Kyle
Riabko (Spring Awakening) as Claude, Wallace Smith as Hud and Jason
Wooten as Woof.
Completing the company are Justin Badger, Nicholas Belton, Larkin
Bogan, Natalie Bradshaw, Catherine Brookman, Briana Carlson-Goodman,
Antwayn Hopper, Erika Jerry, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Rachel Bay Jones,
Mykal Kilgore, Josh Lamon, Nicole Lewis, Anastacia McClesky, Paris
Remillard, Arbender Robinson, Kate Rockwell, Cailan Rose, Rashidra
Scott, Jen Sese, Lawrence Stallings, Terrance Thomas and Emma Zaks.
The Hair creative team includes set designer Scott Pask, costume
designer Michael McDonald, lighting designer Kevin Adams, sound
designer Acme Sound Partners and choreographer Karole Armitage.
Hair is presented on Broadway by The Public Theater, Jeffrey
Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Kathleen K.
Johnson, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Fran Kirmser
Productions/Jed Bernstein, Marc Frankel, Broadway Across America,
Barbara Manocherian/WenCarLar Productions, JK Productions/Terry
Schnuck, Andy Sandberg, JAM Theatricals, The Weinstein Company/Norton
Herrick, Jujamcyn Theaters, Joey Parnes and by special arrangement
with Elizabeth Ireland McCann.
The revival earned the 2009 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
The critically acclaimed production also earned Tony nominations for
Best Direction (Paulus), Best Choreography (Karole Armitage), Best
Actor (Gavin Creele), Best Featured Actor (Will Swenson), Best Sound
Design (Acme Sound Partners), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams) and
Best Costume Design (Michael McDonald).
Hair has book and lyrics by the late Gerome Ragni and James Rado and
music by Galt MacDermot. Hair was the first indoor production
produced by the Public Theater (at the time known as the New York
Shakespeare Festival), inaugurating the Public's current Lafayette
Street address. Under the direction of Gerald Freeman, Hair premiered
at the Public Oct. 17, 1967, and ran for six weeks, prior to
transferring to the Cheetah discotheque, where it ran through January 1968.
A retooled version of Hair, under the direction of the late Tom
O'Horgan, featuring an augmented score, shortened book, the now
infamous nude scene and author-lyricist James Rado in the role of
Claude, opened on Broadway April 29, 1968, at the Biltmore Theatre
where it ran for 1,750 performances.
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is located at 302 West 45th Street. For
further information visit HairBroadway.
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