Hair has been nothing but trouble this season. First the
New York Encores!
production was batted about as a Broadway transfer, but
interest more or
less disappeared in recent days. Then Los Angeles' Reprise!
series announced
their revival of the rock musical (including the infamous
nude scene) would
transfer, with Fran and Barry Weisslers as their producing
arm.
Now, according to the Nederlander Organization, owners
of Los Angeles
Wilshire Theatre where Hair was to have transferred,
the July 24 Sept. 2 run
is cancelled. No official reason for the cancellation
was given at press
time.
The Reprise! cast featured Sam Harris, Jennifer Leigh
Warren and TV's Steven
Weber for Reprise!'s revival of the Galt MacDermot, Gerome
Ragni and James
Rado rock opera. Harris, who stars as the drafted hippie
Claude, was
Tony-nominated as JoJo in The Life. An L.A. Ovation Award
winner for Hello,
Again, Warren (Shelia) performed in South Coast Repertory's
world premiere
musical The Education of Randy Newman and in Broadway's
Marie Christine and
Big River. Weber (Berger) is best known for his work
on "Wings" and the
current sitcom "The Weber Show." His theatre credits
include Death of a
Salesman, The Real Thing, directed by Mike Nichols and
The School for Wives
directed by Olympia Dukakis.
Also in the cast were Rod Keller (Woof), Allan Louis (Hud),
Stacy Francis
(Dionne), Marissa Winokur (Jeannie), Alisan Porter (Crissy),
and Dan O'Brien
(Margaret Mead).
Frequent Reprise! helmer Arthur Allan Seidelman directed.
He staged last
season's Reprise! staging of Mack and Mabel, now headed
to Broadway, and is
currently at work on Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks for
the Geffen
Playhouse.
Travis Payne choreographed with musical direction by Peter
Matz. Payne's
credits include the WB series "Popstars," Naked Boys
Singing and the famous
swing dance Gap Khakis commercial.
Hair rocked Broadway when it transferred there from the
Public Theatre in
1968. The loosely-plotted musical follows a group of
young hippies as they
live, love and then lose one of their number to the Vietnam
War. "Aquarius,"
"Hair" and "Let the Sunshine In" were big pop hits; the
score also includes
"Frank Mills," "Easy to Be Hard," "Where Do I Go" and
"Good Morning
Starshine."
Refunds for tickets to the Wilshire Theatre staging of
Hair are available at
the point of purchase.
Copyright Playbill Online.