[Mb-hair] FW: Variety.com - 'Hair' gets tangled

[Michael Butler]

Posted: Sun., Mar. 26, 2006, 6:00am PT
 
'Hair' gets tangled
 
Creatives tussle over revised prod'n
 
By RICHARD OUZOUNIAN
<http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=bio&peopleID=1932>

 
TORONTO -- James Rado just can't stop fiddling with his "Hair."

The co-author of the "tribal love-rock musical," which conquered the
world in the late 1960s is working on a series of revisions to the
show's script for its current production here at CanStage, the city's
largest regional theater.

And while that has added a certain level of new interest to the revival
opening on March 30, it's also caused a degree of concern from the
musical's original Broadway producer, Michael Butler.

"I love 'Hair,' and I love Jim Rado," says Butler. "But I wish he'd just
leave the show alone."

"Hair" began Off Broadway on Oct. 29, 1967, as the first offering of
Joseph Papp's Public Theater, directed by Gerald Freedman.

During that run, Butler saw the show and fell in love with it. He was
the scion of one of the Midwest's richest families, but also a committed
political activist who had been John F. Kennedy's adviser on Indian and
Middle Eastern affairs.

"I got into 'Hair' because I believed in its politics," says Butler,
"and I feel it still has a very pertinent and important message for
today."

After its initial run closed, Butler moved it briefly to a disco called
Cheetah, then brought in Tom O'Horgan, who completely overhauled the
project, adding 13 songs and cutting much of the book.

Co-writer/thesp GeromeRagni continued in the role of Berger he had
originated at the Public, and Rado (who had previously appeared on
Broadway as Richard in the original production of "The Lion in Winter")
took over the leading character of Claude.

It opened on Broadway on April 29, 1968, and became an instant hit,
running 1,750 performances. Its success was global and, as Butler
recalls, "at one point, there were 12 different productions running
simultaneously."

But subsequent revivals have generally been less successful. A 1977
Broadway remount folded after 43 perfs, the 1979 film by Milos Forman
was a flop, and a 1993 Old Vic production shuttered rapidly.

In 2001, both Gotham's Encores! and L.A.'s Reprise restaged the work,
but despite initial buzz, plans to transfer either version failed to
materialize.

However, in the last year, the political climate surrounding the war in
Iraq has heightened interest in the show, with an edgy updated revival
at London's Gate Theater last year, as well as the rewritten Toronto
version.

"The parallels are all there," says CanStage helmer Martin Bragg. "A lot
of what happens in the play is eerie. The echoes between Vietnam and
Iraq are amazing."

But Butler feels nothing needs to be changed to keep the show relevant.
His response to the Gate production was, "'Hair' is about freedom, peace
and love. Its lessons are permanent and universal. Even small tinkering
is in error."

Rado insists the impulse for revision began with the current director,
Robert Pryor.

"Robert had discovered the original script, with all the scenes Tom
O'Horgan cut out during the rehearsals for Broadway," reveals Rado.
"Robert thought it would be valuable for a modern audience to understand
more about these characters and their relationships."

"I was pleased that all these things I had written so long ago that I
thought would never be on a stage were now coming to life," he adds.

Most sources indicate that the changes to the Toronto version are
relatively minor, unlike the radical revisionist angle the Gate
production took, with specific updated allusions to Iraq and 9/11. The
new staging retains the musical's original time setting, allowing the
Vietnam-Iraq parallels to speak for themselves.

And the revisions are even less intrusive than a production earlier this
month at Juneau's Perseverance Theater that included a framing device in
which Berger, as an old man, revisited his memories of the past.

It was reports of that staging that prompted Butler to comment that, "I
was/am opposed to the changes in the book. 'Hair' was made famous by a
dedicated group of believers who go way beyond the normal theatrical
creators in their dedication to a musical show. Jim Rado has continued
to make changes without consideration for the others involved."

Rado still insists he has the best interest of the work at heart.

"Now it's a history piece, but it's also a fairy tale, and maybe we have
to tell it in a different way," he suggests. "You never know what actual
effect you're going to have until you see it in front of an audience."

Despite his unhappiness with the revisions, Butler plans no action. "I
am deeply conflicted about this, because I feel the show's message needs
to be heard today, even more than ever. I desperately want it to
succeed, even if I'm not involved."

"Hair's" opening number, "Aquarius," promised that "peace will guide the
planets and love will steer the stars," but it looks as if that elusive
moment has yet to arrive for the show's creators.
 
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/story.asp?l=story&a=VR1117940318&c=15
<http://www.variety.com/story.asp?l=story&a=VR1117940318&c=15>
 
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