Keaton wasn't nude in Hair?

[Princeton78]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:06pm

How did she get away with that?
When Hair opened in 1968, Diane Keaton was not a star, but she was allowed to not be nude? Hmmm..

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:08pm

Where did you hear this?

[americanboy99]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:10pm

From what I have read, performers were not required to appear nude. It was a choice for the actors. I read that in the booklet accompanying my two disc set of the on and off Broadway recordings.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:11pm

I believe that's true - the performers weren't required to do nudity, it was all optional.

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:14pm

americanboy and Yankeefan are correct, the nudity was a choice. During the song "Where Do I Go" (at the end of the Be-In), the cast except for Claude is sitting onstage under a scrim. Those who wished to shed their clothes at this time did. Near the song's end those cast members would emerge from the scrim and stand nude in the dim light. So even though Keaton never disrobed, she wouldn't have been out of place--I'm sure many other cast members made that decision as well. (Edit: Well then, as Michael Bennett says Keaton was the only one to *never* go nude, but at any given performance she probably wouldn't have stood out.)

Updated On: 1/8/07 at 09:14 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:14pm

The nude scene in HAIR was always "optional." Anybody who chose to do it received an extra $2 a week (chorus salary for the show incidentally was $130 a week to put it in perspective) and supposedly most of the original cast - at some point or another - chose to try being naked on a Broadway stage - even if as a one time only. All except Keaton, who famously was the sole hold out.

Keaton has talked about it on talk shows before - and of course is famous for keeping her entire body covered. She seems to have reached some peace with that though because she's had nude/partially nude scenes in her last two movies.

For a GREAT read on the creation of HAIR - try to track down Lorie Davis's long out of print book.
Updated On: 1/8/07 at 09:14 PM

[Princeton78]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:15pm

From IMDB:

"After appearing in summer stock for several months, she got her first major stage role in the Broadway rock musical "Hair". As understudy to the lead, she gained attention by not removing any of her clothing. "

From Wikipedia:
"In 1968, Keaton became an understudy on the original Broadway production of Hair.[10] She gained some notoriety for her refusal to disrobe in the portions of the musical when the entire cast performed nude, even though nudity in the production was optional for actors. (Those who performed nude received a $50 bonus.[11][4])

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:15pm

Fair enough.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:15pm

No...she was saving hers for the much more permanent medium of film when she was well over 40 years older.

Akiva

[Princeton78]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:16pm

I actually own and LOVE Davis' book, but don't remember Ms. Keaton being addressed in it.

Do you think this may have been strategic?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/8/07 at 9:20pm

No, I think Keaton was just really neurotic. I've heard an archival recording of her doing some of the songs as Shelia, though, and she really did have a terrific voice when she was young.