Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?

Maybe Miss Saigon casting? But probably not as 'national'. But social media wasn't a thing, so nothing would have been that big of a story, like it can be now.

The Scottsboro Boys

Hair

The only one I can think of right now is Jesus Christ Superstar.

What was the controversy with Superstar? I'm assuming it was considered profane?

A closer parallel would be the invitation to "1776" to perform at the Nixon White House. He and his minions wanted edits to remove any whiff of anti-war sentiment, notably "Momma, Look Sharp," which at the time had extraordinary resonance, with the draft pulling young men from their lives and inserting them into an unpopular war (the exact circumstances were obviously unrelated; it was the loss of soldiers on a front that resonated, and the song stands out in the show as a stand-alone commentary of a haunting sort). Peter Stone and Edwards refused to let a word be altered. And it was performed as written. I'm not sure if "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" was also on the table; it was later removed from the film at Jack Warner's request, and may have been part of Nixonian concern. But "Momma" had that Vietnam era vibe. We had no social media (I was in high school), but it was a big deal.

Well Valentina, as far as Hair goes I assume they are referring to the nude scene. I believe it was banned in Boston.

carnzee said: "After this week's Hamilton controversy, I am trying to remember another time when a Broadway musical (or even a play) was thrust into the national conversation in a comparable way. Any thoughts?



"

I will toss out Oh! Calcutta

http://www.storypick.com/oh-calcutta/

supposedly the nudity was so shocking that it forced the ghost of Belasco right out of his theater

Also there was that international backlash against WICKED, when Idina stole the Tony award from its rightful owner, Tonya Pinkins.

QueenAlice said: "Hair was initially banned almost everywhere it played because of widespread bans of nudity on stage. And that wasn't just in the states but in the UK and probably other international places as well. For that reason alone the tours of that show made front page news everywhere it went"

The producers played that up too. When I saw the national tour, they had a 'Cop' come out at intermission and announce everyone was under arrest for lewd and lascivious behavior. The bit went on for a few seconds, giving directions to pull out IDs, etc. Then the 'Cop' said "oink oink" and walked off the stage. I wasn't sure until then if it was real or not, but I was young and naive.

The nudity (in most productions, it was about 20-30 seconds worth) was the most sensationalized part of the Hair controversy. But, more than that, the themes of draft dodging, drug use, songs with titles like "Colored Spade" and "Sodomy," and it's religious references - or basically the whole tone of the musical - sparked a lot of controversy and discussion. For the time, it was the anti-musical. Godspell caused national controversy in and out of churches by depicting Jesus and his followers as clowns. And, while not national, the uproar in San Francisco when its original production of Godspell included an African-American Jesus was interesting to watch

The first national tour of South Pacific had to cut "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" when it played in the South.