Coffeehouse Chronicles: Hair’s 50th Anniversary

The legendary musical Hair celebrates its 50th anniversary and its East Village roots in this one-time-only event. With music by Galt MacDermot and book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, this “American tribal rock musical” (Hair‘s subtitle) helped define its generation and the 1960s antiwar movement. Hair’s 50th Anniversary is presented as part of La MaMa’s Coffeehouse Chronicles series, which explores the history and development of off-off-Broadway. La MaMa’s attachment to Hair — and vice versa — dates back to the 1960s, when leading La MaMa director and innovator Tom O’Horgan was welcomed onto the musical’s team during its developmental phase.

Highlights of Hair’s 50th Anniversary celebration will include the following:

• Live performances by members of the original 1967 and 1968 casts, as well as by members of the 2009 Broadway revival. Among the songs to be performed are “Aquarius” and “Let the Sun Shine In.”
• The playing of the first demo recording of Hair‘s title song, in which Rado and Ragni sing while MacDermot accompanies them on piano. This recording has never before been heard publicly.
• Creators Rado and MacDermot in attendance! They will be on hand to share their personal stories with the audience.
• Photographs by Dagmar Krajnc, who took rarely seen pictures during the early years of Hair. Also on view will be photos from the Hair private collection, provided by producer Michael Butler.