[Mb-hair] HAIR PEOPLE; the curren t state of affairs

[richard haase]

speaking to the authors directly
the Frankel group has now gone to contract on producing HAIR and has perrogitive over all rights in the english speaking world

possible ways to do a production is to get the rights as julie did and the people in san diego and do a " second class " production ( the definition of which is thankfully for producers becoming more and more blurred ) and then get big media attention on it; obviously similar to glen close coming into 
webbers sunset boulevard on bdwy in 94 - 95 unanticipated
the production of HAIR that gets the big press will likely be the ruling one and Frankel / rado/ galt et al ( which includes biff liff and whatever sonys perrogitives of the holders of the film ) would likely have to come to terms with the producers of such a production; however as Michael and I have both noted tams witmark ( spelling? ) in accordance with usual industry practices will probably begin severely curtailing rights imminently

As far as the logo etc; logic would say that the current merchandising rights are split between the authors, frankel, the producers of the film and sony and others

even if one owns the original logo whether one could use it ultimately without the approval of these said entities is questionable

also as one notes particularly in the julie arenal production
people are coming up with variations on the original logo
which helps intentionally or just pragmatically to surmount any problems with original logo use

i would think i was one of the last people to see the original production ( eg i was 10 and 11 respectively ) and regretfully
i think the resonance of the impact of the original logo 
( which i fully feel and agree is better ) is now negligible
eg were all harking to an archetypal visceral thing that has meaning to all of us but means nothing to a younger generation

obviously the rights will free up again in 5 - 10 years
sooner if frankel flops but that remains to be seen
i would say 50 - 50 chances of success
i dont see the frankel unit as hooking up with the essential power of hair effectively although on the other hand the show is so so good any good production of hair may just be good and go based on the source material; also the size of frankels machine may propel the production to success;
on the other hand everything passes, it is a big question mark
i reflect for example that toms 77 production on bdwy was brilliant with a gorgeous cast
but died
quickly
?


one thing that was odd a strange thought looking at the pictures of everyone at hair in san diego and thinking how mature everyone has gotten
( eg not being insulting time waits for no one its the human condition etc )
eg it looked a social at a senior club 
i was struck with an odd thought
that as hair like godspell like similar pieces with a strong improvisational component
it would be very interesting to do a production of HAIR utlizing the concept of " old hippies "
either using for the mis en scene that the production takes place at a community or senior center
etc
im not quite sure
but i think a production with the old hippies ( because god knows no one can compare with the old hippies for heart and passion and authenticity )
might have extreme merit


thoughts

richard haase
ssdc wgae
director HAIR 1980
GODSPELL the Harlem production 96 - 98
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