Jill O'Hara "HAIR" Gerome Ragni / Shelley Plimpton 1967 Public Theatre Playbill

Description

This is a rare program (includes three cut songs) from the Original Off-Broadway production of the groundbreaking GEROME RAGNI, JAMES RADO and GALT MacDERMOT American Tribal Love-Rock Musical "HAIR" at the Public's Anspacher Theater in New York City. (The production originally opened October 29th, 1967 at New York's Joseph Papp Public Theatre and ran for 49 performances. An overwhelming demand for tickets resulted in a move December 22nd, 1967 to the Cheetah Theatre, a former discotheque on Broadway at 53rd Street, where it ran for an additional 45 performances. The production later opened April 29th, 1968 at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City and ran for 1750 performances.) ..... "HAIR" is a rock musical which was the product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960's. Several of its songs became anthems of the anti–Vietnam War peace movement. The musical's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality, its irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene caused much controversy and as a result initially made it difficult to find a home in a Broadway theatre. The show broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of the "rock musical" and utilizing a racially-integrated cast.
Hair
was conceived by actors JAMES RADO and GEROME RAGNI (both members of the Original Cast). The two actors met in 1964, when they acted together in the Off-Broadway play
Hang Down Your Head and Die
, and they began writing
Hair
together in early 1965. The main characters of Claude and Berger were autobiographical, Rado's Claude being the pensive romantic and Ragni's Berger the extrovert. Their close relationship, sometimes volatile, is symbolized in the show by the well known ballad "Easy to be Hard". In addition to the two authors, the Original Broadway Cast included a young DIANE KEATON and MELBA MOORE. Other prominent actors and singers who have appeared in productions throughout the U.S. and abroad include JILL O'HARA (Public and Cheetah Theatre), TIM CURRY, MEAT LOAF, ELAINE PAIGE, JOE MANTEGNA, PAUL JABARA (Public Theatre), BEN VEREEN, KEITH CARRADINE, TED NEELEY, JOBRIATH, JENNIFER WARREN, DAVID PATRICK KELLY, PHILIP MICHAEL THOMAS, DONNA SUMMER, ANDRE DeSHIELDS, PAUL NICHOLAS, SHARON REDD, REG LIVERMORE and RICHARD O'BRIEN. (Reprinted in part from Wikipedia.) ..... CREDITS: Music by GALT MacDERMOT ("Hair", "Two Gentlemen of Verona", "Dude", "Via Galactica", "The Human Comedy"); Book and Lyrics by GEROME RAGNI and JAMES RADO; Sets designed by MING CHO LEE; Costumes designed by THEONI V. ALDREDGE; Directed by GERALD FREEDMAN; Produced by JOSEPH PAPP ..... DETAILS: The twelve page playbill measures 4" X 9" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of musical numbers, promotional text, bios of each of the actors and members of the creative team and a two-page advertisement for the Off-Broadway Cast recording of "HAIR" on RCA Victor Records, but no cast photos ..... CUT SONGS: The list of musical numbers includes "Climax", "Dead End" and "Exanaplanetooch" which were cut between the Cheetah run and Broadway (shown in the second scanned image) ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light surface marks on the first inside page, this rare playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
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