HAIR at the Circle in the Square?- Page 2
HAIR at the Circle in the Square?
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
re: HAIR at the Circle in the Square?#25
Posted: 10/13/08 at 1:00pmIt is looking likely that Vanities would take the Lyceum after Title of Show. But, if they are smart they will try to take The Booth. Only because The Booth is in a better location.
re: HAIR at the Circle in the Square?#26
Posted: 10/13/08 at 4:01pm
winston89, I don't think VANITIES is taking The Lyceum.
They are only offering orchestra and mezzanine seating locations for group sales. Since The Lyceum has a balcony, that would surely be up for grabs on the price chart if they were headed there.
I'm thinking they're taking The Booth after a limited run of DIVIDING THE ESTATE (which should end January 4th.)
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/06
Hair After Hairspray?#27
Posted: 10/13/08 at 4:27pm
Hair could go into the Neil Simon
I think this Might work
Broadway Star Joined: 3/5/04
re: HAIR at the Circle in the Square?#28
Posted: 10/13/08 at 4:30pmIf it transfers it will flop. This was a "cool" summer event that was overrated- while great because of the score and the venue (perfect), it lacked the shock value that partly made it a hit way back when. This does not have the teen appeal of LB,or SA, or Wicked. And at these ridiculous prices, I doubt people will be lining up to see it- especially the groups. I know it is moving but Liz McCann can add this to Passing Strange- 2 out of 2.
Hair After Hairspray?#29
Posted: 10/13/08 at 4:30pmI personally would not love it if Hair went into the Neil Simon. I don't love the lotto seats and wish HAIR could go into the Belasco or the Booth. It's also not in a central location and could be forgotten up there.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
Hair After Hairspray?#30
Posted: 10/13/08 at 4:42pm
>It's also not in a central location and could be forgotten up there.<
That location didn't hurt Hairspray for the lsst six years, or that other little show across the street.
Hair After Hairspray?#31
Posted: 10/13/08 at 4:45pmAnd the location of the Belasco is any better? Something is much more likely to be "forgotten" there, I think. And what are lotto seats at a particular theater for one show may not be for another.
Hair After Hairspray?#32
Posted: 10/13/08 at 6:06pmWell both of those shows won the Tony for Best Musical and they're more recognizable and family friendly than HAIR. Also I think that HAIR (despite it's large cast) feels very intimate and could get lost in the Simon.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
Hair After Hairspray?#33
Posted: 10/13/08 at 6:19pm
There are no "title recognition" factors at work against Hair. It's been around for 40 years. Its songs are thoroughly a part of popular culture. It is beloved by baby boomers who grew up seeing it or listening to it, and who may have no objections to bringing their older children to it - especially as we find ourselves once again fighting an unpopular, unnecessary war overseas. And this production of Hair has already played a technically larger theatre than the Neil Simon ... the Delacorte has something like 1,800 or 1,900 seats. The Neil Simon has slightly over 1,400. Since the band was located upstage, this production could go into a traditional proscenium house, build out and over the orchestra pit, and try to recreate the intimacy it had at the Delacorte. All of the Delacorte musicals have lost a little something when moving indoors, but Pirates of Penzance, Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Mystery of Edwin Drood all managed to succeed - and all in much larger theatres than Hair is currently considering. (On the Town also moved - to the Gershwin, no less - but that was an ill-advised move).
Broadway Star Joined: 7/21/06
Hair After Hairspray?#34
Posted: 10/13/08 at 6:19pm
Also I think that HAIR (despite it's large cast) feels very intimate and could get lost in the Simon.
My thoughts exactly. As soon as we got the news about Hairspray's closing, I immediately thought "Hair at the Neil Simon"--because I couldn't think of many other free theaters (given that Circle in the Square had already been discussed to death on this board, with most deciding it was too small). But that said, I do think the Neil Simon has the opposite problem--it's too big for Hair. A theater like the Belasco would be nice, except everything dies at the Belasco.
Very sadly, I also agree with Trekkie's earlier comment...I'm finding it harder and harder to believe in this transfer. That's a huge shame because, although I'm grateful that I was able to see a performance in the Park, Hair is one of the few upcoming shows I'd be willing to spend any money on.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
Hair After Hairspray?#35
Posted: 10/13/08 at 7:55pmDo you think the design and logo, and whatnot, are going to see a major overhaul for the transfer? I wish they would take a cue from Eugene Lee, and do a sort-of environmental staging with this. They could utilize the whole "sitting on stage" craze, and make it really cool. Although, I'm not sure how the staging is going to work for a proscenium house. It was kind of scattered, but still cool.
Joined: 12/31/69
Hair After Hairspray? -- Wish PS had been at Circle in the Square#36
Posted: 10/14/08 at 7:43pmThe size of the Belasco took the intimacy (and potential profitability) out of Passing Strange....I wish someone had considered Circle in the Square for PS.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/21/06
Hair After Hairspray? -- Wish PS had been at Circle in the Square#37
Posted: 10/14/08 at 7:54pm
Do you think the design and logo, and whatnot, are going to see a major overhaul for the transfer?
God, I hope so. Although I like the simplicity of this summer's logo, and I know the original graphic design was itself pretty simple, I'd just really like to see them do something interesting with it...there are so many possibilities. And I'd really like to buy a Hair poster that looks cool.
Hair After Hairspray? -- Wish PS had been at Circle in the Square#38
Posted: 10/14/08 at 8:32pmThe logo for HAIR was a very simple design used later in the productions run on flyers. It was perfect for the understated approach of the Public's advertising campaign. I'm sure the logo will be rehauled for the revival. If they were smart, they'd do some type of revamp to the original iconic poster design - particularly if the audience aim is nostalgic baby boomers remembering their LPs.
Hair After Hairspray? -- Wish PS had been at Circle in the Square#39
Posted: 10/14/08 at 8:32pmThe logo for HAIR was a very simple design used later in the original production's run on flyers. It was perfect for the understated approach of the Public's advertising campaign. I'm sure the logo will be rehauled for the revival. If they were smart, they'd do some type of revamp to the original iconic poster design - particularly if the audience aim is nostalgic baby boomers remembering their LPs.
Hair After Hairspray? -- Wish PS had been at Circle in the Square#40
Posted: 10/14/08 at 9:44pmHmmm...well, GODSPELL transfer is dead, so do the honorable thing and steal their poster idea. Put HAIR's logo on a brick wall. Gives them that whole edgy feel the original show had. Or kitschy enough to sell. Take your pick.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/21/06
Hair After Hairspray? -- Wish PS had been at Circle in the Square#41
Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:19pm
That's a fine idea, except for the part when everyone realizes that Godspell's poster was a tacky, lazy Photoshop-arama. 
I'd like to see them get back to basics with the Hair poster. Revive some old trippy photography techniques a la the original, or at least do a proper digital imitation. Or do something hand-drawn, hand-painted, hand-collaged...whatever "look" could hearken back to the era of tribal, psychedelic art.
To go a step further, ditch the flower child look and emphasize the more gritty, militaristic aesthetic of the hippie era. This is something I think they should do with the production design as a whole--flowers and Indian fringe worked as dominant elements of an outdoor production, but the transfer to a dark, indoor proscenium should make more use of darker elements representative of the anti-war movement and of dirty New York, circa 1967.
For a Hair poster I designed as part of an art concentration, I did a "red, white, & blue" theme, riffing on traditional Americana the same way the show satirizes American history. They don't need to do that exactly, but I'd really like them to put some thought into rethinking the look of the show and the look of its ad campaign...too many people think Hair has to be advertised in cartoonish tie-dye colors, and that's not always the case. If this production is going to work indoors it needs to shed all associations with "nature hippies" and be strictly "city hippie".
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
Hair After Hairspray? -- Wish PS had been at Circle in the Square#42
Posted: 10/14/08 at 11:18pmMaybe not red, white, and blue - that's kinda tacky if it's not the 4th of july - but I like the idea of a more militaristic approach.
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