[Mb-hair] Visceral connections

[Michael Butler]

Richard & Martin,

Capeman was a tragedy of too many cooks in the kitchen.

HAIR is still very relevant. It takes little imagination for the audience to
plug its message into today's scene. In almost all cases the amateur
productions have sold out out and wished for an extended run. HAIR does not
respond to the normal commercial production rules. That is why all the
commercial producers have had trouble. They will continue to have a problem.
Current candidates will have a similar situation.
Remember that HAIR was produced by amateurs to the Broadway scene, in
particular myself. We sure were disliked by the establishment and those
feelings still exist.
Michael
 

> capeman was an abortion
> remember even with the most brilliant people
> trying to come up with a property
> 90% + fail
> i am trying to package HAIR commercially
> trying to rival the current bid on the table
> so these contingencies of making it viable
> are of supreme importance to me
> also
> to the life of the project
> ?
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Martin Eayrs" <martin at eayrs.com>
> To: <mb-hair at islandlists.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 12:53 PM
> Subject: [Mb-hair] Visceral connections
> 
> 
>> 
>> Richard
>> 
>> I wasn't belittling the Iraq war - just saying times were different
>> and people were being conscripted back in the 60s - 'be the first one
>> on the block to have your boy come home in a box' is not so relevant
>> today. Not yet.
>> 
>> But your second point is a good one, if confused. (Not you confused,
>> the point confusing two things). If HAiR arrives DOA it is DOA in the
>> commercial sense. Most (all really) of my theatrical life has been in
>> amateur theatre where making money is merely hoping to cover costs if
>> you couldn't find a sponsor.
>> 
>> Nothing wrong with amateur theatre (yeh, I know, 'theater' to you
>> guys) and nothing wrong with professional theatre either (and a
>> guy/gal has to eat) but the confusion comes in when you consider how
>> to rate success.
>> 
>> If success is measured in $$ signs then we're betraying values we
>> once believed in (maybe rightly, who am I to say). But a show can be
>> a great show and not make money. Does that make it any worse a show.
>> The public is notoriously fickle, often intellectually challenged and
>> mentalised by reviewers and such. Why did Paul Simon's Capeman flop ?
>> 
>> Maybe HAiR will never have the impact it once had - maybe it won't
>> have the long runs - but that doesn't make it any worse. Sure, people
>> won't react viscerally to the issues - it would be odd if they did if
>> you think about it - but it's not the fault of the musical itself or
>> the production.
>> 
>> The decision to stage HAiR can't be an easy one today given the cost
>> of mounting any show - but if I had an amateur theatre group of young
>> people wanting to stage a fun musical and learn about themselves
>> maybe HAiR would still be a good candidate.
>> 
>> Martin
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