Book and Lyrics by Gerome Ragni & James Rado
Music by Galt McDermott
Produced for the Broadway stage by Michael Butler
Originally Produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival Theatre
Introduction to Show
It is an LSD-fuelled cacophony of abstract interaction. It is free jazz for the mind. It is Jackson Pollock for the eyes. It is Hair, a story that is characteristically a product of its time. Hair is a story about struggle, sex, and social justice. It is a rejection of the insidiousness of the American military-industrial complex, and its ever-clenching grip on the commodification of its citizens in its best interest. Yet is a production — as the program notes of the original text note — without specific scenes; this is no accident, for its nearly sixty-year-old fluid abstraction is applicable across the West, through the Global South — and into the present day. The alignment of the six planets closest to the sun will make for the dawn of the Age of Aquarius— but with such words of war and wars of words that fuel our society, the achievement seems further out of grasp by each passing day.
The tune-yard — the record collection of musical numbers — reflects this cantankerous reality of revolt. Leonard Bernstein called its fast-paced, auctioneer-style of listing every drug on streets “laundry lists of debauchery”. It is the rhetoric that shaped the state and the nation. The systematized poverty in Ain’t Got No. The mocking of racial stereotypes in Coloured Spade. The appreciation of sanity and sanctity in I Got Life. They are all shouts — organized yet without bounds — by voices of the marginalized, the underprivileged, the laymen, the put down, the mocked, the people. For freedom and for conscience. For the mind, for the body, for the soul. For black and white. For straight and queer. For money. For life.
Berger — or “Cheese Berger” as he may rather be called — is expelled from school. Not being enrolled in an academic institution during the late 1960s as an able man between the ages of 25 and 30 elicited the issue of a Vietnam War draft card. Like millions at the time, he burns his card in protest, despite the potential for imprisonment, along with his friend Claude. A notable Sheila loves Berger, and a notable Jeannie loves Claude; yet, it is Sheila and Claude, after his drafting, who become a unit of “transcendental meditation on the ocean of reality”. It is all to say that if you’ve arrived here after roaming the seven seas in search of peace, love and understanding, you’re in for a cathartic revelation. One where Jesus transcends the Earth into space and another where Mary Magdalene smokes a lot of grass — and then some. Incensed and cleansed with a story that puts people over politics shall seek to inspire and spread a humanist gospel. Enjoy, but don’t sit back — get up, throw your fist in the air, and shout! Yet it provides insight Not airing on CBS Television, FOX News or your local draft office’s loudspeaker system — only live and in person, Moyse Hall, three nights in February, dig it.
Note From The Director
"HUMAN. HUMAN. HUMAN. Denial, rebellion, anger, protest, torment, pushing, pulling, opening, closing. Truth, freedom, unfettered JOY. The light-soaked days are coming. LET THE MOTHERFUCKING SUN SHINE IN.”
These were the words I wrote on my Post-It note the first time I read this script; a small insight into both the process of a young director and the beautiful chaos that is HAIR.
I brought this Post-It note with me to every rehearsal after that. During rehearsals with this incredible company, we talked about how the voices of our generation are mirrored in the voices of Claude, Sheila, Berger, and the ensemble. We were guided by the radical humanity of the characters and of ourselves. These threads have been our mainstays as we've worked through the show, against the show, towards the show, and with the show. The piece and its content have challenged and frustrated us, but have also cultivated the beautiful and hopeful community you see on stage tonight.
Thank you to the cast, crew, production team, creative team, musicians, artists, makers, and humans on this show. Thank you for believing in me as a young theatre artist, for holding space for my learning. Thank you for believing in yourselves as we all learn together.
We bring this production to you as an ensemble, a work in progress, and, in the words of Jordan Tannahill, an attempt. An attempt that will inevitably fail, but hopefully in a beautiful way. An attempt that will work to remind you of the powerful voice of a generation, the ineradicable hope of humanity, and to let the motherfucking sun shine in.
All my love,
Abi
Content Warning
Please be advised that this production addresses themes of race, racism, sexuality, misogyny, domestic violence, war, drug use, profane language, and violence, among other sensitive topics. Hair was produced in 1968 by a group of activists and artists; some of the attitudes and language presented in the work as it was written at the time are unacceptable. Some of the original text has been altered or removed to suit evolving discourse on these topics while simultaneously ensuring that the integrity of the plot, characters and storyline is maintained and uncompromised. Please note that ushers will be available at each performance to ensure safe and supported exit from the theatre if the need arises. Thank you for your understanding.
Land Acknowledgement
The work to dismantle white supremacy and colonialism and the systems created within them is intricate, complex, layered and long. As we sustain ourselves and create art on the land and waters that for time immemorial have been home to the different Indigenous and First Nations groups of Turtle Island, we vow to work towards the centering of decolonisation in our artistic practices and daily life as a settler/colonial presence on this land.
This AUTS performance is taking place on the unceded Indigenous lands of the Kanien’keha:ka nation in Tiohti:áke/Montreal. AUTS acknowledges that we are an organization that operates under the white colonial structure of McGill University. We recognize that colonial institutions such as McGill have with their research methods, financial investments and other practices, contributed to the suppression, oppression and destruction of Indigenous communities and cultural activities. We are in negotiations with the McGill organizations who fund AUTS to provide donations from our ticket sales to Productions Ondinnok, a local Indigenous theatre company. We recommend audience donations to Productions Ondinnok as well; their Paypal will be linked in our playbill.
The cast, crew, and creative team of HAIR stand in full support of the Land Back movement to build lasting Indigenous sovereignty. We pledge intention, awareness and work towards action until this stolen land is returned fully to its rightful Custodians.
Song List
ACT 1
"Aquarius" – Ronny and Company
"Donna" – Berger and Company
"Hashish" – Company
"Sodomy" – Woof and Company
"Coloured Spade" – Hud, and Company
"Manchester England" – Claude and Company
"I'm Black/Ain't Got No” — Hud, Woof, Berger, Claude,
Dionne and Company
"I Believe in Love" – Sheila and Company
“Aren't Got No Grass” - Company
"Air" – Jeanie with Crissy and Dionne
"Initials (L.B.J.)" – Company
"I Got Life" – Claude and Company
"Going Down" – Berger and Company
"Hair" – Claude, Berger, and Full Company
"My Conviction" – Margaret Mead, Hubert and Company
"Easy to Be Hard" – Sheila
"Don't Put It Down" – Berger, Woof and Steve
"Frank Mills" – Crissy
"Be-In" – Full Company
"Where Do I Go?" – Claude and Company
ACT 2
"Electric Blues" – Quartet and Company
“O' Great God of Power” - Company
"Walking in Space" – Company
"Three-Five-Zero-Zero" – Company
"What a Piece of Work Is Man" – Ronny and Walter
“How Dare They Try" – Company
"Good Morning Starshine" – Sheila and Company
“Aquarius Goodnights/ Ain't Got No Reprise” – Claude and Company
"The Flesh Failures” — Full Company
“Let the Sunshine In" – Claude, Sheila, Berger, Dionne and Full Company
“Hair Reprise” — Full Company