The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Acquires Artifacts From the Original Broadway Production of Hair

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History recently acquired several significant artifacts that reflect key moments in American history and culture, including objects from the 1968 original Broadway production of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.

The four additions from Hair, a cultural milestone with songs that shaped American society, are a handwritten score piece by composer Galt MacDermot for the song “Where Do I Go” (gift of the MacDermot family); two costume pieces — a red shirt worn by actor Gerome Ragni in the role of Berger (gift of James Rado estate) and a tie-dye vest worn by Shelley Plimpton in the role of Crissy (gift of Shelley Plimpton); and an original poster (gift of Merle Frimark).

Conceived by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and based on New York City’s 1960s youth culture, the musical chronicles the story of a “tribe” of friends as they navigate their personal identities amid the Vietnam War and rapidly evolving society. The album hit No. 1 on the Billboard Music charts and sold over 3 million copies in the US by December 1969.

Other additions to the museum include artifacts from the Titanic, a jersey from sports figure Shohei Ohtani, and artifacts that showcase innovations in automobile and steel recycling, audio engineering, closed captioning, and early computer-data processing.

Installation of the Hair artifacts into the “Entertainment Nation” exhibit at the Smithsonian will be announced at a later date.