“Hair” spawned such memorable songs as “Aquarius,” “Good Morning Starshine” and “Easy to Be Hard.”
NBC has set the counterculture classic “Hair” as its live musical presentation next spring.
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who have executive produced all of the network’s live musicals since “The Sound of Music” revived the genre — including this year’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert”— will do so again.
It’s been more than half a century since the American tribal love musical first hit the Broadway boards, debuting at the Biltmore Theatre in April 1968. With music by Galt MacDermot and books and lyrics by James Rado and George Ragni, “Hair” spawned such memorable songs as its title tune, “Aquarius,” “Good Morning Starshine” and “Easy to Be Hard.”
The show had a four-year run on the Great White Way, and its original cast album spent three months at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
“I’m overjoyed that James Rado and Galt MacDermot are trusting us with their masterpiece Hair, one of the most original shows ever conceived for Broadway with one of the greatest scores,” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment. “These songs are part of the vocabulary of popular music, and this rebellious story of young people protesting and standing up for what they believe in is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. This will be the perfect live event, and I’m looking forward to seeing Craig and Neil, along with our partners at MGM and the original creators bring the audience to their feet as they experience these beloved songs and recognizable young characters.”
