[Mb-hair] Corinne's Mexico Memories

[Little Birdie]

Here is the piece Corinne wrote about the Mexico production.
Nina

The Hair Archives
http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/Hair.html


MEXICO HAIR:

This ill fated company was put together through a collaboration between 
Michael Butler, Alfredo Calles, and Bertrand Castelli, in the Fall of 1968. 
It included cast members from Mexico, the U.S., England, and South America.

The US cast members auditioned the day after the Los Angeles opening in 
November of 1968, and were flown two days later to Mexico City, where 
rehearsals were held for the first few weeks. The cast was then moved to 
Acapulco, where an old “open air” movie theatre had been prepared and 
renovated for the show. Christmas dinner included a stuffed suckling pig 
around a flocked Christmas tree. (This was the writer’s first Christmas away 
from Western New York, and it was quite laughable to her.)

On the way to Acapulco, the cast recorded a full show album which was later 
distributed, but only about 500 copies were printed, so this is a very rare 
3-album set done in “Spanglish.” (A later printing included photos and 
articles on the deportation printed on the inside sleeves.)

Cast members, both American and Hispanic, were harassed on the beaches, in 
restaurants, and in shops. Several of the band members were accosted on the 
beach and had their heads shaved. (We went out and bought them wigs, they 
were so embarrassed.) We were always careful to keep a low profile, 
especially in Mexico City where we were rehearsing, as several hundred 
students had been wounded and killed in the same area the previous spring 
for protesting the Vietnam war.

The American cast members had applied for working visas, and there was no 
indication that they would not be approved by the time the show opened on 
January 3, 1969. However, upon learning that they had been stalled, the cast 
was told to “use their own discretion” in performing the nude scene on 
opening night. It was presumed that the show would be shut down, so the cast 
did the nude scene as planned.

The next morning, in the middle of the night, the Theatre was padlocked by 
the Government, all the equipment was seized (which the Mexican Producer 
Calles had put up thousands of $ in escrow to have brought in from the 
States), and the Producer’s Private Club “Club Tiberios,” was also shut 
down.

Surprised that they had not been detained, the cast partied the next night, 
only to be awakened at about 4:00 AM and taken to “Immigration,” for 
deportation. They had been arrested. After hours of negotiation, the cast 
signed legal documents saying that they would leave the country within 24 
hours, or be sent to prison. Unfortunately, those documents were dated the 
day before, and they were forced to go into hiding until the Producers could 
manage air transportation for them. Jerry and Jim had come to Acapulco for 
the opening. Luckily, they had hid under the bed in Danny Hurd’s apartment 
(the Musical Director), and were not included in the cast round
up. Jerry was very afraid that they would “cut his hair,” and the sight of 
him with that mane of hair stuffed under one of Danny’s hat’s can only bring 
a smile to anyone who knew him..... Still, Jerry and Jim went into hiding 
with the rest of the cast. The entire cast took three mini buses to a closed 
resort in the mountains near Mexico City, were we stayed for 3 days. Jerry 
and Jim put us through all kinds of acting exercises, and taught us songs 
that did not make the final cut of the show.

Finally, to a big media fan fare, we left Mexico City on January 10, 1968, 
flying into Los Angeles, and were met with a big party by the Los Angeles 
Cast. It was quite an adventure!