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Rock Musical Hair

Hair, by Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt Macdermot

8pm Thu Nov 16 – Fri Nov 17
7:30pm Sun Nov 19
8pm Mon Nov 20 – Tue Nov 21
11am Wed Nov 22

Southern Theatre, CAPA, 21 E. Main Street, downtown Columbus
Tickets $27.50 Orchestra and Loge
$22.50 Mezzanine
$17.50 Second Balcony
$11 Students (Mezzanine and Second Balcony)

Hair—The American Tribal Love/Rock Musical—that took Broadway by storm in the late 1960s will be performed by the Department of Theatre Nov 16–22 in downtown Columbus. The show, created by Gerome Ragni, James Rado and Galt Macdermot, set out to bring something new to the stage—the excitement of the long-haired, peace-loving hippies of New York City's East Village—and tells the story of a cross-section of young people who banded together as a tribe and tried to change the world. The first rock musical ever, Hair's score brought a new sound to Broadway with tunes like Aquarius, Let the Sunshine In, Easy to be Hard, Hashish and I Believe in Love.

Steven C. Anderson will serve as the guest director for the OSU production. Hair will be produced in collaboration with CAPA and will be presented on the stage of the historic Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St. “We are thrilled to be doing this show. Last year, Rocky was such a huge success, and we wanted to follow up with another rock musical,” says Anderson. “Hair is so well loved and celebrated, and everybody knows the songs.”

He says the production will include a cast of 20 undergraduate and graduate theatre students, and will rock to the sounds of a live band, with Theo Jackson serving as music director. Taking the show downtown is a treat, Anderson adds. “Mounting a show on campus, then packing it up and taking it downtown to work alongside the professionals at the theatre is an amazing experience for students,” she says. “And it's such an honor to be performing in this historic theatre.”

Hair was first produced in 1967 and opened on Broadway in 1968, and was nominated for two Tony Awards in 1969. At the time, its “controversial” subject matter and presentation made it vulnerable to attempts to censor performances across the country. Nonetheless, Hair has played pretty much continuously since its creation, in the U.S. and around the world.