HAIR: The Story of a Show That Defined a Generation

Somehow I missed this. Has anybody read it? Thoughts? I've heard mixed things about some of the other books on Hair, but I'm curious about this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Story-Show-Defined-Generation/dp/0762441283/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311220783&sr=1-1

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I am, so I think I might like it. I really like the Cabaret and Aida ones. Is this similar?

What I really want is to get my hands on a copy of this:

http://www.amazon.com/Letting-down-hair-tribe---Aquarius/dp/0525630058/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311222149&sr=8-1

I'd like to spend less but I don't think I'll do better. I've tried libraries in two states and nobody can get it.

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All memoir goes with a grain of salt.

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I still think the definitive book on Hair has yet to be written. The memoirs are too personally motivated, and the more scholarly approaches (by Barbara Lee Horn and Scott Miller respectively) are too cold and clinical (Miller's is markedly less so, but still comes from a rather biased position). The book that is the subject of this thread, in my estimation, is just a coffee table book that barely scratches the surface.

As shown by Lorrie Davis' memoir Letting Down My HAIR and the recent Jonathon Johnson publication Good HAIR Days (which included his personal story and also the personal stories of several previous cast members, as well as a Master Cast List with chronologies of the lead roles in major companies), there is large potential for what I would call a "Voices of the Tribe" project, an anthology a la Making It on Broadway that runs down stories about the show by category (Gerry & Jim, Michael Butler, backstage politics [sexual and otherwise], a chapter on the movie, etc.). There are a lot of memories and history surrounding this show and the times it came out of, from all cast and crew of first run productions and tours, and others who were there, that would be great to get down on paper. It'd be a purely academic exercise, clearly, because I don't know what audience would buy it, but it would certainly prove to be fascinating research material for future productions.

I also think that the definitive publication of Hair's script as a purely academic exercise would be an intriguing possibility. The script originally published by Pocket Books in 1969 reflected a version of the show that has never been staged anywhere, a hybrid of Off-Broadway and Broadway material and some material never seen in either guise of the show. The first step would be replacing it with an accurate version of the script. Then, a la Martin Gardner's Annotated Alice, it could provide new context to what many regard as a collection of lyrics, notes, some dialogue, and scanty stage directions, by offering explanations and derivations of lines, essays on relevant topics such as the Vietnam War, the hippie culture of the times, the peace movement, and extensive production support.

None of the above will ever happen, but a man can dream.

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I thought the book was very well done. Mine came with a slightly 'warped' cover but otherwise intact. It was only $6 through one of Amazons's selelrs.

Seeing the recent revival made me wonder if we can still have a Broadway show that can "define a generation"

http://www.crazytownblog.com/crazytown/2011/07/where-where-where-where-where-where-where-where.html

Well, yes, but how many times have we seen a show "changed" to accommodate the trade? There was a reason why HAIR was played one way at the NYSF and another when it made the move to Broadway, and that was simply to get the audience. Yes, it was "safer", but let's face it, had they not made those changes, we probably wouldnt be having this discussion.

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SeanMartin, the point I was making was that we have reports form at least one source (there are actually more) who saw all three versions of Hair and who say the earlier versions were vastly better, more interesting, more textured, a more genuine representation of the hippie response to Vietnam.

It's an ancient tale - lower your sights, dumb down your work if you want the herd to give you lots of money for it.

Yes, the Hair we now know made more money; but I've never read an opinion that it's superior to its earlier version. And that seems to be why it's as popular as it is - the masses prefer the cheap imitation to the real article.

So they cleaned it up a bit, made it a bit more palatable, and we all moved on.

It's probably more complicated and interesting than that. Read the Gibson description.

Oh, sure, why not, since you don't seem to have much interest in finding out something you don't already know.

Here are some of the changes between the Public/Cheetah (original) Hair, and the tourist-friendly Broadway version:

Claude was changed from an alien movie director to a human draftee
13 songs were added
Nudity was added
The director was replaced
One of the authors, although far too old for the part, replaced the actor playing Claude
The ending was changed from an accusation against the military machine to a celebratory/happy procession
Joe Papp chose not to put Public money in the Broadway version, finding it inferior

As a side note, the show is considered by many to be a processed version of Megan Terry's Viet Rock (in which Jerome Ragni had appeared), a much grittier, more intense rock musical about hippie response to Viet Nam.

Happy to do your research for you. Even "cut to its essence," it was clearly a lot more than a simple "clean up."

If anyone's from Canada, Chapters/Indigo/Coles are selling the book for $1 in stores. Not sure about online.

I don't get the part of Claude being an alien movie director in the Public version of the show. Jerry Tallmer reviewed it for The New York Post on October 30, 1967 and he mentions Walker Daniel as playing an unwilling hippie draftee not an alien movie director.

Lordy!

Briefly: agree with the express reservations about the existing academic texts. I am so much for academic writing about the theater, but those in particular have struck me as inappropriately clinical. Free For All and The Season are staples on my shelf. Love them both. I guess I'm looking for something more in-depth but also middle-ground on the fluff/academic spectrum, when it may not in fact exist. I might check this one out anyway. I have a soft spot for theater coffee table books, even if it isn't the most stimulating piece of writing ever.

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