NBC Cancels Plans for Hair Live!

NBC has announced that it will no longer air Hair Live!, which the network had previously announced for Sunday, May 19. According to Variety, NBC does not plan to remove live musicals from its schedule entirely but will present them less frequently going forward. The announcement comes on the heels of Fox's Rent, the least-watched live musical of the genre.

"Live musicals are a part of this network's DNA and we are committed to continuing that tradition with the right show at the right time," said Paul Telegdy and George Cheeks, cochairmen of NBC Entertainment in a statement. "Since these shows are such enormous undertakings, we need titles that have a wide appeal and we're in the process of acquiring the rights to a couple of new shows that we're really excited about."

The musical was set to be directed by Hair veteran Diane Paulus (her 2009 production won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical) alongside Alex Rudzinski, who would serve as live television director.

Hair features a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, and music by Galt MacDermot, with musical numbers such as "Let the Sunshine In," "Aquarius," "Hair," and "Good Morning Starshine."

The musical premiered at the Public Theater in 1967 and tells the story of a group of hopeful, free-spirited young people who advocate a lifestyle of pacifism and free love in a society riddled with intolerance and brutality during the Vietnam War.