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Controversial "Hair" Musical Comes To The
University Of Wisconsin-Fox Valley
by Bob
Lowe
April 8, 2004
"Hair,"
a tribal love-rock musical of the late '60s that "questions
the standards of morality, sexuality, individualism, racism,
violence, drug use, loyalty and social acceptance," comes
to the stage of the Fine Arts Theater at the University of
Wisconsin-Fox Valley in Menasha April 21-24. All performances
begin at 7 p.m.
Susan
Rabideau, theater director and communication arts professor
at UWFV, said that audience members should be advised that
it is "a very sexy, mature show for mature audiences,
with strong language and flashes of nudity."
She said most of the tickets to the performances are being
sold to baby boomers and other middle age adults who lived
in the '60s and recall that period.
The show's
continuing popularity after all these years is a reflection
that the issues it raises are still relevant today, according
to Rabideau. ""It was a rebellion against societal
standards," she said. The play demonstrates that peace,
love, freedom and happiness are never out of date."
Among
the 54 songs in the production are such classic hits as "Aquarius/Let
The Sun Shine," "Easy To Be Hard" and "Good
Morning Star Shine."
"Hair"
was created by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, two out-of-work
actors. The music was written by Galt McDermott.
According to Rado, "(We were) aware of the traditional
Broadway format, but we wanted to create something new, something
different, something that translated to the stage the wonderful
excitement we felt in the streets."
The excitement
he referred to were "The long-haired, peace-loving, freewheeling
hippies of New York’s East Village." So controversial
was the subject matter that it could not find any initial
takers on Broadway. The play utilized rock music instead of
the traditional show tunes that Americans were used to hearing
in stage productions.
"Hair"
also contained scenes that critics and censors said "desecrated
the American flag," and were "unpatriotic,"
such as draft card burning. The musical also was described
as "lewd and lascivious" because actors were given
the option to appear nude or in clothes. Many chose to appear
naked, which led to lawsuits.
One such lawsuit from Chattanooga, Tenn. went all the way
to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to rule whether or
not the show was obscene.
A district
attorney in Boston saw a preview of the show and declared
it was unfit to play in that city. He got seven judges on
the Massachusetts Supreme Court to view it. Those justices
agreed with him and issued a restraining order against the
cast and crew. The producers refused an order to revise the
play and delete certain scenes and appealed to the U.S. Supreme
Court. The high court ruled in their favor, saying that the
proposed restrictions would have a "chilling effect on
the right of free expression." "Hair" was first
staged at the then-under construction New York Shakespeare
Festival Public Theater for a limited run of six weeks. From
there, it moved to a New York disco, Cheetah, between 45th
and 46th streets, which is physically close to the Broadway
theater district.
The show
opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theater on April 29, 1968
and closed on July 1, 1972 after 1,742 performances. Rabideau
said initially she sought to present the popular Broadway
musical, "Rent," but it was not yet approved for
amateur theaters.
"‘Hair’
was the ‘Rent’ of the 1960s and it was available
so we decided to do it," she said. "All the cast
members are really into it and the demand for tickets is strong.
We are almost fully booked for Friday (April 23) and Saturday
(April 24)," Rabideau said.
Tickets
are $10 for adults, $7 for students and $5 for UWFV students.
For reservations call 832-2646.
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