The Rock Musical

1
The Rock Musical

• Reallymostly just Hair

2
First of allwhat is rock and roll?

• Distinctly American style
• Developed from blues, country, rhythm and blues,
  folk, and gospel music
• Usually uses electric guitar, bass, and drum set
• Piano and sax were original lead instruments, but
  eventually replaced by guitar

3
Rock in musicals prior to Hair

• First used in the 1957 Ziegfeld Follies
• One song The Juvenile Delinquent was a rock
  song
• Bye, Bye, Birdie (1960) integrated some elements
  of rock into the score

4
The roots of Hair

• Conceived by actors James Rado and Gerome Ragni
• Rado wanted to write in the Rodgers and
  Hammerstein tradition and studied acting with Lee
  Strasberg
• Ragni, on the other hand, was involved in an
  experimental theater group in NYC

5
The roots of Hair

• Main characters were autobiographical
• Most of the other characters were based on people
  they met in the East Village
• Based in hippie counterculture- anti-war,
  pro-civil rights, advocated drug use, bright
  clothing, long hair, challenging of gender role

6
The growth of Hair

• Off-Broadway Production opened in 1967
• Ran for six weeks
• Critical reception was tepid, but audiences
  raved
• Eventually bought by producer Michael Butler and
  moved to Broadway for 45 performances

7
The growth of Hair

• Later revised
• 13 songs
• Plot, already thin, was thinned even more
• Moved to Biltmore Theater for a 1968 opening
• Eventually nominated for two Tonys and ran for
  over 1700 performances

8
Why was Hair so controversial?

• One third of the cast was African-American
• Characters used marijuana and LSD
• Full nudity in the show
• Contains a message of sexual freedom
• Anti-War message

9
Two Listening selections

• Aquarius
• Opening number of the show
• What is the Age of Aquarius?
• Aquarius rules over technology, democracy,
  freedom, idealism, rebellion, astrology
• Age of nonconformity

• Let the sunshine in
• Final song in the show
• Quotes Romeo And Juliet and Hamlet