I don't remember any out of breath problems any of the times I have seen it. You also have to remember the capacity of this performance. The performance was also bigger meaning there was much more interaction than there is in the show(during "Hair") and there were more people in the Tony performance as well.
Maybe it was just YOUR family members, those smelly cousins, that stank - don't blame it on the so-called 'hippies don't bathe' nonsense - started by some, no doubt, smelly pro-war conservative jerks.