Following a Public Theater concert in 2007, the 2009 revival of Hair opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre March 31 after beginning preview performances March 6. The revival, starring Gavin Creel, Will Swenson, Caissie Levy, Sasha Allen, and more, ran for 519 performances, concluding it’s run June 27, 2010. The Diane Paulus-helmed production would go on to earn eight Tony Award nominations including a win for Best Revival of a Musical.
Heralded as the first rock musical to play Broadway, Hair tells the story of a group of 60s-era youth struggling for generational and personal identity, dealing with the Vietnam War, and exploring drugs and the sexual revolution.
Gavin Creel and cast in Hair
The production starred Sasha Allen as Dionne, Allison Case as Crissy, Gavin Creel as Claude, Caissie Levy as Sheila, Darius Nichols as Hud, Bryce Ryness as Woof, Kacie Sheik as Jeanie, and Will Swenson as Berger alongside tribe members Ato Blankson-Wood, Steel Burkhardt, Jackie Burns, Lauren Elder, Allison Guinn, Anthony Hollock, Kaitlin Kiyan, Andrew Kober, Megan Lawrence, Nicole Lewis, John Moauro, Brandon Pearson, Megan Reinking, Paris Remillard, Saycon Sengbloh, Maya Sharpe, Theo Stockman, and Tommar Wilson. Rounding out the company were Briana Carlson-Goodman, Chasten Harmon, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Josh Lamon, Ryan Link, and Michael James Scott as swings.
The revival featured choreography by Karole Armitage, scenic design by Scott Pask, costume design by Michael McDonald, lighting design by Kevin Adams, and sound design by Acme Sound Partners with stage management by Nancy Harrington, Julie Baldauff, and Elizabeth Miller. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.
Hair features book and lyrics by the Gerome Ragni and James Rado, and music by Galt MacDermot. The premiere production was the first indoor show produced by the Public Theater (at the time known as the New York Shakespeare Festival), inaugurating the Public's current Lafayette Street address. Under the direction of Gerald Freeman, Hair premiered at the Public October 17, 1967, and ran for six-weeks, prior to transferring to the Cheetah discotheque, where it ran through January of 1968. It transferred to Broadway's Biltmore Theatre in April 1968.
