Hair (musical)
Hair is a rock musical. The booklet and the lyrics were written by James Rado and Gerome Ragni. The music was written by Galt MacDermot. It opened Off-Broadway in 1967, was revised, and premiered on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre in April 1968. It ran for 1,750 performances. The musical is about drugs, sex, the Vietnam War, nudity, race, and other hot topics of the 1960s.
Anti-war musical
The musical results from the American hippie conter-culture of the sixties, some songssuch as Let the sunshine have become hymns against the Vietnam-war.
French version
In 1969, a French version has been created in Paris at the Porte Saint Martin theatre. It is the first American musical that has been translated in French. The public was surprised by scenes of nudity. At the time, it was defined as the version “the most hippie and the most festive” by the New York Times. Some famous personalities as Julien Clerc and Gerard Lenorman appear in the musical.
Songs
The musical contains many songs and singles as Hair, Let the sunshine, Aquarius. Clearly, it is a rock musical with folk influences. It refers to Gospel chants and possesses a psychedelic side.
Aquarius
It is the opening song of the first act. Dionne (a character of the musical) sings the verses, then is accompagned by the troup during the chorus.
Hair
It is the name of the musical but also the name of a song sung by Claude and Berger (characters of the musical). The song with gospel influences captivates the public. At the end of the verse the lyrics Hallejuah can be heards. Then the American hymn is sung just before the chorus that is sung by the troup. The lyrics consist of a repetition of the word Hair.
Let the sunshine
It is the last song of the musical (at the end of Act 2). Composed by 2 parts : The Flesh Failures and Let the sunshine are sung by all the troup. By its popular theme and its famous chorus it offers reflexion about the peace.
Reception
The musical was a huge success not only in America but also in big cities with capitalist politic.
Adaptation
A movie has even been produced in 1979. In 2009, a new version of Hair has been played in Broadway.
References
- Article Hair on French, Italian, English and simple English wiki.
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