Billed as The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, Hair was written By Gerome Ragni and James Rado with music by Galt McDermott. It premiered off-Broadway, October 17th, 1967 at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater then, Broadway on April 1968. With parallels to our present political situation, it was a protest against the Vietnam War, the Draft, oppression of Gay Rights, Women’s Rights, Black Rights. The Hippie Movement was gaining traction, pitching the Bohemian Lifestyle: polyamoros, adventurous sex, unconditional love, bliss of hallucinogenics, tolerance for alternative lifestyle, and an overall rejection of Middle-Class values.
The content inspired the structure. Such as it was/is. If shows like Godspell and Pippin featured cast members interacting with the audience and cast climbing scaffolds and perching willy-nilly onstage, for most of the show, Hair did it first. Hair embraced an unencumbered ideology. Minimal sets, nonchalant dialogue, casual attitude, childlike shenanigans. It does raise serious issues like the draft, apathy, social injustice. By and large the songs carry the heavy lifting, some of it compassionate and deeply touching, others facetious. They add gravitas and poignance to a narrative that sometimes swings wide. Hair’s salient impetus, it’s stock in trade,is jubilant, cosmic, joie de vivre’. When they encourage us to claim our destiny as bright shiners, when it wields nothing but radiance, we believe it. We believe the frissons along our spines, the nuanced rapture.
I do not envy director Brian Harden (aka Claude) who coordinated this enormous cast of raucous rapscallions. This menagerie of maniacal monkeys. Sometimes when they sing as a group it seems like small, earnest children. Caught up in the moment. Other times it’s like the ridiculous fun of drinking with friends, and you all spontaneously break into song. It just feels right.
Arts Mission Oak Cliff presents Hair: playing September 11-27th, 2025. The last three performances are Thursday-Saturday of this week, curtain at 7:30. AMOC (Arts Mission Oak Cliff) is a converted church. 410 S. Windomere, Dallas, TX, United States, Texas 75208. 469-262-0465.