151-467: " Good Morning Starshine " is a pop song from the musical Hair (1967). It was a No. 3 hit in the United States in July 1969, and a No. 6 hit in the United Kingdom in October 1969, for the singer Oliver . The chorus makes extensive use of apparent nonsense words: "Glibby gloop gloopy, Nibby Nabby Noopy, La La La Lo Lo. Sabba Sibby Sabba, Nooby abba Nabba Le Le Lo Lo. Tooby ooby walla, nooby abba nabba, Early mornin' singin' song." "Good Morning Starshine"
302-719: A Piece of Work is Man"), Paul Jabara and Diane Keaton (both Moore and Keaton later played Sheila). Among the performers who appeared in Hair during its original Broadway run were Ben Vereen , Keith Carradine , Barry McGuire , Ted Lange , Meat Loaf , La La Brooks , Mary Seymour (of Musique ), Joe Butler , Peppy Castro (of the Blues Magoos ), Robin McNamara , Heather MacRae (daughter of Gordon MacRae and Sheila MacRae ), Eddie Rambeau , Vicki Sue Robinson , Beverly Bremers , Bert Sommer , Dale Soules and Kim Milford . It
453-406: A book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot . The work reflects the creators' observations of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s, and several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement . The musical's profanity, its depiction of the use of illegal drugs, its treatment of sexuality , its irreverence for
604-466: A classic Christ figure at various points in the script. In Act I, Claude enters, saying, "I am the Son of God. I shall vanish and be forgotten," then gives benediction to the tribe and the audience. Claude suffers from indecision, and, in his Gethsemane at the end of Act I, he asks "Where Do I Go?". There are textual allusions to Claude being on a cross, and, in the end, he is chosen to give his life for
755-598: A college dorm. over requests of community groups and elected officials. Furthermore, the LPC acts on no particular schedule, leaving open indefinitely some "calendared" requests for designation. Sometimes it simply declines requests for consideration, as it did regarding an intact Italianate tenement at 143 East 13th Street. In other cases the LPC has refused the expansion of existing historic districts, as in 2016 when it declined to add 264 East 7th Street (the former home of illustrator Felicia Bond ) and four neighboring rowhouses to
906-452: A crush on Mick Jagger, and a three-way embrace between Claude, Berger and Sheila turns into a Claude–Berger kiss. Illegal drugs taken by the characters include a hallucinogen during the trip sequence. The song "Walking in Space" begins the sequence, declaring "how dare they try to end this beauty ... in this dive we rediscover sensation ... our eyes are open, wide, wide, wide". Similarly, in
1057-418: A drug-infested no man's land to the epicenter of downtown cool". This part of the neighborhood has long been an ethnic enclave for Manhattan's German , Polish , Hispanic , and Jewish populations. Crime went up in the area in the late 20th century but then declined in the 21st, as the area became gentrified . Alphabet City's alternate name Loisaida , which is also used as the alternate name for Avenue C,
1208-468: A hundred art galleries in the East Village by the mid-1980s. These included Patti Astor and Bill Stelling's Fun Gallery at 11th Street, as well as numerous galleries on 7th Street. By 1987 the visual arts scene was in decline. Many of these art galleries relocated to more profitable neighborhoods such as SoHo , or closed altogether. The arts scene had become a victim of its own success, since
1359-402: A joint to Claude that is laced with a hallucinogen . Claude starts to trip as the tribe acts out his visions ("Walking in Space"). He hallucinates that he is skydiving from a plane into the jungles of Vietnam. Berger appears as General George Washington and is told to retreat because of an Indian attack. The Indians shoot all of Washington's men. General Ulysses S. Grant appears and begins
1510-531: A larger district focused around lower Second Avenue. before later being expanded. In January 2012 the East 10th Street Historic District was designated by the LPC, and that October, the larger East Village/Lower East Side Historic District was also designated by the LPC. Several notable buildings are designated as individual landmarks, some due to the GVSHP's efforts. These include: Landmark efforts have included
1661-458: A list of things they lack ("Ain't Got No"). Four African-American tribe members recite street signs in symbolic sequence ("Dead End"). Sheila is carried onstage ("I Believe in Love") and leads the tribe in a protest chant. Jeanie, an eccentric young woman, appears wearing a gas mask, satirizing pollution ("Air"). She is pregnant and in love with Claude. Although she wishes it was Claude's baby, she
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#17327867343251812-416: A loincloth. Interacting with the audience, he introduces himself as a "psychedelic teddy bear" and reveals that he is "looking for my Donna" ("Donna"). The tribe recites a list of pharmaceuticals, legal and illegal ("Hashish"). Woof, a gentle soul, extols several sexual practices ("Sodomy") and says, "I grow things." He loves plants, his family and the audience, telling the audience, "We are all one." Hud,
1963-557: A man out of you", presenting him with his draft notice. In defiance, Claude leads the tribe in celebrating their vitality ("I Got Life"). After handing out imaginary pills to the tribe members, saying the pills are for high-profile people such as Richard Nixon , the Pope , and " Alabama Wallace ", Berger relates how he was expelled from high school. Three tribe members dress up as principals in Hitler mustaches and swastika arm bands, mocking
2114-465: A manic dance number, echoing Maxwell's glee at reporting the enemy casualties, as the tribe chants "Take weapons up and begin to kill". The song also includes the repeated phrase "Prisoners in niggertown/ It's a dirty little war". "Don't Put It Down" satirizes the unexamined patriotism of people who are "crazy for the American flag". "Be In (Hare Krishna)" praises the peace movement and events like
2265-457: A marketplace that was ultimately never built. Rowhouses up to three stories were built on the side streets by such developers as Elisha Peck and Anson Green Phelps ; Ephraim H. Wentworth ; and Christopher S. Hubbard and Henry H. Casey . Mansions were also built on the East Side. One notable address was the twelve-house development called "Albion Place", located on Fourth Street between
2416-546: A militant African-American, is carried in upside down on a pole. He declares himself "president of the United States of Love" ("Colored Spade"). In a fake English accent, Claude says that he is "the most beautiful beast in the forest" from " Manchester , England". A tribe member reminds him that he's really from Flushing , New York ("Manchester England"). Hud, Woof and Berger declare what color they are ("I'm Black"), while Claude says that he's "invisible". The tribe recites
2567-428: A militant black male, is a long list of racial slurs ("jungle bunny ... little black sambo") topped off with the declaration that Hud is the "president of the United States of love". At the end of his song, he tells the tribe that the "boogie man" will get them, as the tribe pretends to be frightened. "Dead End", sung by black tribe members, is a list of street signs that symbolize black frustration and alienation. One of
2718-502: A modernized version of the Gettysburg Address, while a white female tribe member polishes Lincoln's shoes with her blond hair. The many references to Native Americans throughout the script are part of the anti-consumerism , naturalism focus of the hippie movement and of Hair . The characters in the show are referred to as the "tribe", borrowing the term for Native American communities. The cast of each production chooses
2869-572: A month later in Munich ; the tribe included Donna Summer , Liz Mitchell and Donna Wyant . A successful Parisian production of Hair opened on June 1, 1969. The original Australian production premiered in Sydney on June 6, 1969, produced by Harry M. Miller and directed by Jim Sharman , who also designed the production. The tribe included Keith Glass and then Reg Livermore as Berger, John Waters as Claude and Sharon Redd as The Magician. Redd
3020-600: A number of losses as well. For instance, although the GVSHP and allied groups asked in 2012 that the Mary Help of Christians school, church and rectory be designated as landmarks, the site was demolished starting in 2013. In 2011, an early 19th-century Federal house at 35 Cooper Square – one of the oldest on the Bowery and in the East Village ;– was approved for demolition to make way for
3171-618: A painting of a tuft of hair by the Pop artist Jim Dine . Its title was 'Hair'." Rado and Ragni came from different artistic backgrounds. In college, Rado wrote musical revues and aspired to be a Broadway composer in the Rodgers and Hammerstein tradition. He went on to study acting with Lee Strasberg . Ragni, on the other hand, was an active member of The Open Theater , one of several groups, mostly Off-off Broadway , that were developing experimental theatre techniques. He introduced Rado to
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#17327867343253322-413: A protest chant and then wonder where Claude has gone. Berger calls out "Claude! Claude!" Claude enters dressed in a military uniform, his hair short, but they do not see him because he is an invisible spirit. Claude says, "like it or not, they got me." Claude and everyone sing "Flesh Failures". The tribe moves in front of Claude as Sheila and Dionne take up the lyric. The whole tribe launches into "Let
3473-480: A rejection of synthetics, a return to natural things and simpler times. ... [O]ld World War II or Civil War jackets [co-opted] the symbols of war into their newfound philosophy of nonviolence. Extending the precedents set by Show Boat (1927) and Porgy and Bess (1935), Hair opened the Broadway musical to racial integration; fully one-third of the cast was African American. Except for satirically in skits,
3624-426: A rejection of the sexual repression of their parents and also as a statement about naturalism, spirituality, honesty, openness, and freedom. The naked body was beautiful, something to be celebrated and appreciated, not scorned and hidden. They saw their bodies and their sexuality as gifts, not as 'dirty' things." Hair glorifies sexual freedom in a variety of ways. In addition to acceptance of interracial attraction,
3775-525: A result of real-estate price increases following the success of the arts scene. In the 1970s, rents were extremely low and the neighborhood was considered one of the least desirable places in Manhattan to live in. However, as early as 1983, the Times reported that because of the influx of artists, many longtime establishments and immigrants were being forced to leave the East Village due to rising rents. By
3926-484: A rise in commerce and population following the Erie Canal 's opening in the 1820s. Following the grading of the streets, development of rowhouses came to the East Side and NoHo by the early 1830s. One set of Federal-style rowhouses was built in the 1830s by Thomas E. Davis on 8th Street between Second and Third Avenues . That block was renamed " St. Mark's Place " and is one of the few remaining terrace names in
4077-484: A roll call: Abraham Lincoln (played by a black female tribe member), John Wilkes Booth , Calvin Coolidge , Clark Gable , Scarlett O'Hara , Aretha Franklin , Colonel George Custer . Claude Bukowski is called in the roll call, but Clark Gable says "he couldn't make it". They all dance a minuet until three African witch doctors kill them – all except for Abraham Lincoln who says, "I'm one of you". Lincoln, after
4228-541: A run at the Cheetah nightclub from December 1967 through January 1968, the show opened on Broadway in April 1968 and ran for 1,750 performances. Simultaneous productions in cities across the United States and Europe followed shortly thereafter, including a successful London production that ran for 1,997 performances. Since then, numerous productions have been staged around the world, spawning dozens of recordings of
4379-501: A second set of laws was passed in 1879, requiring each room to have windows, resulting in the creation of air shafts between each building. Subsequent tenements built to the law's specifications were referred to as Old Law Tenements . Reform movements, such as the one started by Jacob Riis 's 1890 book How the Other Half Lives , continued to attempt to alleviate the problems of the area through settlement houses , such as
4530-786: A significant impact in the East Side, erecting houses of worship next to each other along 7th Street at the turn of the 20th century. American-born New Yorkers would build other churches and community institutions, including the Olivet Memorial Church at 59 East 2nd Street (built 1891), the Middle Collegiate Church at 112 Second Avenue (built 1891–1892), and the Society of the Music School Settlement, now Third Street Music School Settlement , at 53–55 East 3rd Street (converted 1903–1904). By
4681-438: A trap door in the stage wearing a gas mask and then sings the song "Air": "Welcome, sulfur dioxide. Hello carbon monoxide. The air ... is everywhere". She suggests that pollution will eventually kill her, "vapor and fume at the stone of my tomb, breathing like a sullen perfume". In a comic, pro-green vein, when Woof introduces himself, he explains that he "grows things" like "beets, and corn ... and sweet peas" and that he "loves
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4832-471: A tribal name: "The practice is not just cosmetic ... the entire cast must work together, must like each other, and often within the show, must work as a single organism. All the sense of family, of belonging, of responsibility and loyalty inherent in the word 'tribe' has to be felt by the cast." To enhance this feeling, O'Horgan put the cast through sensitivity exercises based on trust, touching, listening and intensive examination that broke down barriers between
4983-437: A yellow shirt. He goofs around and ends up tearing it in two. Sheila voices her distress that Berger seems to care more about the "bleeding crowd" than about her (" Easy to Be Hard "). Jeanie summarizes everyone's romantic entanglements: "I'm hung up on Claude, Sheila's hung up on Berger, Berger is hung up everywhere. Claude is hung up on a cross over Sheila and Berger." Berger, Woof and another tribe member pay satiric tribute to
5134-528: Is a bad scene". The song "Hashish" provides a list of pharmaceuticals, both illegal and legal, including cocaine, alcohol, LSD, opium and the antipsychotic Thorazine . The theme of opposition to the war that pervades the show is unified by the plot thread that progresses through the book – Claude's moral dilemma over whether to burn his draft card . Pacifism is explored throughout the extended trip sequence in Act 2. The lyrics to "Three-Five-Zero-Zero", which
5285-409: Is a song from the second act of the musical Hair (1967). It is performed by the character Sheila, played off-Broadway in 1967 by Jill O'Hara , and by Lynn Kellogg in the original 1968 Broadway production. In the 1979 film version of the musical, Sheila is portrayed by Beverly D'Angelo . Hair (musical) Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with
5436-415: Is sung during that sequence, evoke the horrors of war ("ripped open by metal explosion"). The song is based on Allen Ginsberg 's 1966 poem, " Wichita Vortex Sutra ". In the poem, General Maxwell Taylor proudly reports to the press the number of enemy soldiers killed in one month, repeating it digit by digit, for effect: "Three-Five-Zero-Zero." The song begins with images of death and dying and turns into
5587-447: Is the someone, that tells me why I live and die?" ("Where Do I Go"). The tribe emerges naked, intoning "beads, flowers, freedom, happiness." Four tribe members have the "Electric Blues". After a black-out, the tribe enters worshiping in an attempt to summon Claude ("Oh Great God of Power"). Claude returns from the induction center, and tribe members act out an imagined conversation from Claude's draft interview, with Hud saying "the draft
5738-504: Is their son and they are very proud of him. The bodies rise and play like children. The play escalates to violence until they are all dead again. They rise again and comment about the casualties in Vietnam: "It's a dirty little war" (" Three-Five-Zero-Zero "). At the end of the trip sequence, two tribe members sing, over the dead bodies, a Shakespeare speech about the nobility of Man ("What A Piece of Work Is Man"), set to music. After
5889-486: Is white people sending black people to make war on the yellow people to defend the land they stole from the red people". Claude gives Woof a Mick Jagger poster, and Woof is excited about the gift, as he has said he's hung up on Jagger. Three white women of the tribe tell why they like "Black Boys" ("black boys are delicious ..."), and three black women of the tribe, dressed like The Supremes , explain why they like "White Boys" ("white boys are so pretty ..."). Berger gives
6040-580: The American flag , and its nude scene caused much comment and controversy. The work broke new ground in musical theatre by defining the genre of "rock musical", using a racially integrated cast, and inviting the audience onstage for a " Be-In " finale. Hair tells the story of the "tribe", a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the " Age of Aquarius " living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into
6191-637: The Aquarius Theater in Los Angeles beginning about six months after the Broadway opening and running for an unprecedented two years. The Los Angeles tribe included Rado, Ragni, Ben Vereen (who started as Hud and then replaced Ragni), Willie Weatherly (who played Berger and Claude), Ted Neeley (who replaced Rado), Meat Loaf , Gloria Jones , Táta Vega , Jobriath , Jennifer Warnes and Dobie Gray . There were soon nine simultaneous productions in U.S. cities, followed by national tours. Among
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6342-494: The Astor family and Stephen Whitney . The developers rarely involved themselves with the daily operations of the tenements, instead subcontracting landlords (many of them immigrants or their children) to run each building. Numerous tenements were erected, typically with footprints of 25 by 25 feet (7.6 by 7.6 m), before regulatory legislation was passed in the 1860s. To address concerns about unsafe and unsanitary conditions,
6493-678: The Henry Street Settlement , and other welfare and service agencies. Because most of the new immigrants were German speakers, the East Village and the Lower East Side collectively became known as " Little Germany " (German: Kleindeutschland ). The neighborhood had the third largest urban population of Germans outside of Vienna and Berlin . It was America's first foreign language neighborhood; hundreds of political, social, sports and recreational clubs were set up during this period. Numerous churches were built in
6644-918: The Nuyorican literary movement. Multiple former Yiddish theaters were converted for use by Off-Broadway shows: for instance, the Public Theater at 66 Second Avenue became the Phyllis Anderson Theater. Numerous buildings on East 4th Street hosted Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, including the Royal Playhouse, the Fourth Street Theatre, the Downtown Theatre, the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club , and
6795-473: The Nuyorican Poets Café . Some of the neighborhoods most iconic establishments such as Pyramid Club and Lucy's have since shuttered due to new ownership and subsequent evictions . Alphabet City also contains St. Marks Place , the continuation of Eighth Street between Third Avenue and Avenue A. The street contains a Japanese street culture; an aged punk culture and CBGB 's new store;
6946-470: The Pietà and Christ on the cross. Before the song, Woof recites a modified rosary . In Act II, when Berger gives imaginary pills to various famous figures, he offers "a pill for the Pope ". In "Going Down", after being kicked out of school, Berger compares himself to Lucifer : "Just like the angel that fell / Banished forever to hell / Today have I been expelled / From high school heaven." Claude becomes
7097-562: The San Francisco and Central Park Be-Ins . Throughout the show, the tribe chants popular protest slogans like "What do we want? Peace! – When do we want it? Now!" and "Do not enter the induction center". The upbeat song, "Let the Sun Shine In", is a call to action, to reject the darkness of war and change the world for the better. Hair also aims its satire at the pollution caused by civilization. Jeanie appears from
7248-495: The Third Avenue elevated railway above the Bowery and Third Avenue was removed. This in turn made the neighborhood more attractive to potential residents; in 1960 The New York Times reported: "This area is gradually becoming recognized as an extension of Greenwich Village ... thereby extending New York's Bohemia from river to river." The 1960 Times article stated that rental agents were increasingly referring to
7399-626: The Vietnam War . Claude, his good friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution, with their rebellion against the war and their conservative parents and society. Ultimately, Claude must decide whether to resist the draft as his friends have done, or to serve in Vietnam, compromising his pacifist principles and risking his life. After an off-Broadway debut on October 17, 1967, at Joseph Papp 's Public Theater and
7550-436: The "Bowery House" to the south and "Petersfield" to the north. Many of these farms had become wealthy country estates by the middle of the 18th century. The Stuyvesant, DeLancey, and Rutgers families would come to own most of the land on the Lower East Side, including the portions that would later become the East Village. By the late 18th century Lower Manhattan estate owners started having their lands surveyed to facilitate
7701-478: The "tribe" mingles with the audience. Tribe members Sheila, a New York University student who is a determined political activist , and Berger, an irreverent free spirit, cut a lock of Claude's hair and burn it in a receptacle. After the tribe converges in slow-motion toward the stage, through the audience, they begin their celebration as children of the Age of Aquarius ("Aquarius"). Berger removes his trousers to reveal
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#17327867343257852-558: The 1890s tenements were being designed in the ornate Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles. Tenements built in the later part of the decade were built in the Renaissance Revival style. At the time, the area was increasingly being identified as part of the Lower East Side. By the 1890s and 1900s any remaining manors on Second Avenue had been demolished and replaced with tenements or apartment buildings. The New York State Tenement House Act of 1901 drastically changed
8003-569: The 1968 Tonys, the New York Theatre League ruled Hair ineligible, moving the cutoff date to March 19. The producers brought suit but were unable to force the League to reconsider. At the 1969 Tonys , Hair was nominated for Best Musical and Best Director but lost out to 1776 in both categories. The production ran for four years and 1,750 performances, closing on July 1, 1972. The West Coast version played at
8154-623: The 2000s, gentrification has changed the character of the neighborhood. The East Village is part of Manhattan Community District 3 , and its primary ZIP Codes are 10003 and 10009. It is patrolled by the 9th Precinct of the New York City Police Department . Unlike the West Village , the East Village is not located within Greenwich Village . The area that is today known as the East Village
8305-617: The 20th century. A substantial portion of the neighborhood, including the Ukrainian enclave, was slated for demolition under the Cooper Square Urban Renewal Plan of 1956, which was to redevelop the area from Ninth to Delancey Streets from the Bowery/Third Avenue to Chrystie Street /Second Avenue with new privately owned cooperative housing . The United Housing Foundation was selected as
8456-496: The 21st century. The city first released a draft in July 2006, which concerned an area bounded by East 13th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west, Delancey Street on the south, and Avenue D on the east. The rezoning proposal was done in response to concerns about the character and scale of some of the new buildings in the neighborhood. Despite protests and accusations of promoting gentrification and increased property values over
8607-488: The Act 2 "trip" sequence: four African witch doctors, who have just killed various American historical, cultural and fictional characters, sing the praises of Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by a black female tribe member, whom they decide not to kill. The first part of the song contains stereotypical language that black characters used in old movies, like "I's finished ... pluckin' y'all's chickens" and "I's free now thanks to y'all, Master Lincoln". The Lincoln character then recites
8758-437: The American education system. Berger and the tribe defy them, singing "Going Down". Claude returns from his draft board physical, which he passed. He pretends to burn his Vietnam War draft card, which Berger reveals as a library card. Claude agonizes about what to do about being drafted. Two tribe members dressed as tourists come down the aisle to ask the tribe why they have such long hair . In answer, Claude and Berger lead
8909-405: The American flag as they fold it ("Don't Put it Down"). The tribe runs out to the audience, inviting them to a Be-In . After young and innocent Crissy describes "Frank Mills", a boy she's looking for, the tribe participates in the "Be-In". The men of the tribe burn their draft cards . Claude puts his card in the fire, then changes his mind and pulls it out. He asks, "where is the something, where
9060-463: The Bowery and Second Avenue, built for Peck and Phelps in 1832–1833. Second Avenue also had its own concentration of mansions, though most residences on that avenue were row houses built by speculative land owners , including the Isaac T. Hopper House . One New York Evening Post article in 1846 said that Second Avenue was to become one of "the two great avenues for elegant residences" in Manhattan,
9211-532: The Broadway show. Castelli was a writer/producer who traveled in Paris art circles and rubbed elbows with Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau . Butler described him as a "crazy showman ... the guy with the business suit and beads". Castelli decided to do the show in the local language of each country at a time when Broadway shows were always done in English. The translations followed the original script closely, and
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#17327867343259362-484: The Broadway staging served as a rough template for these and other early regional productions. A notable addition to the team in Los Angeles was Tom Smothers , who served as co-producer. Regional casts consisted mostly of local actors, although a few Broadway cast members reprised their roles in other cities. O'Horgan or the authors sometimes took new ideas and improvisations from a regional show and brought them back to New York, such as when live chickens were tossed onto
9513-713: The Broadway stagings were used. Each script contained local references, such as street names and the names or depictions of local politicians and celebrities. Castelli produced companies in France, Germany, Mexico and other countries, sometimes also directing the productions. The first European production opened in Stockholm , Sweden, on September 20, 1968, with a cast including Ulf Brunnberg and Bill Öhrström , produced and directed by Pierre Fränckel and choreographed by Julie Arenal, and ran for 134 performances until March 1969. A German production, directed by Castelli, opened
9664-456: The East Side. It contained many theaters and other forms of entertainment for the Jewish immigrants of the city. While most of the early Yiddish theaters were located south of Houston Street, several theater producers were considering moving north along Second Avenue by the first decades of the 20th century. Second Avenue gained more prominence as a Yiddish theater destination in the 1910s with
9815-429: The East Village. In 1833 Davis and Arthur Bronson bought the entire block of 10th Street from Avenue A to Avenue B . The block was located adjacent to Tompkins Square Park , located between 7th and 10th Streets from Avenue A to Avenue B, designated the same year. Though the park was not in the original Commissioners' Plan of 1811, part of the land from 7th to 10th Streets east of First Avenue had been set aside for
9966-523: The East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. On March 26, 2015, a gas explosion occurred on Second Avenue after a gas line was tapped. The explosion and resulting fire destroyed three buildings at 119, 121 and 123 Second Avenue, between East 7th Street and St. Marks Place . Two people were killed, and at least twenty-two people were injured, four critically. Three restaurants were also destroyed in
10117-513: The GVSHP are actively working to gain individual and district landmark designations for the East Village to preserve and protect the architectural and cultural identity of the neighborhood. In early 2011 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) proposed two East Village historic districts: a small district along the block of 10th Street that lies north of Tompkins Square Park , and
10268-539: The Manhattan side of the East River" has shifted in part to new neighborhoods like Williamsburg in Brooklyn . There are still some performance spaces, such as Sidewalk Cafe on 6th Street and Avenue A , where downtown acts find space to exhibit their talent, as well as the poetry clubs Bowery Poetry Club and Nuyorican Poets Café . In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the East Village became gentrified as
10419-471: The Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria. According to Billboard '' , the various productions of the show were raking in almost $ 1 million every ten days, and royalties were being collected for 300 different recordings of the show's songs, making it "the most successful score in history as well as the most performed score ever written for the Broadway stage." Hair explores many of the themes of
10570-584: The Other Half Lives Riis wrote: "A map of the city, colored to designate nationalities, would show more stripes than on the skin of a zebra, and more colors than any rainbow." One of the first groups to populate the former Little Germany were Yiddish -speaking Ashkenazi Jews , who first settled south of Houston Street before moving northward. The Roman Catholic Poles as well as the Protestant Hungarians would also have
10721-516: The Public on October 17, 1967, and ran for a limited engagement of six weeks. The lead roles were played by Walker Daniels as Claude, Ragni as Berger, Jill O'Hara as Sheila, Steve Dean as Woof, Arnold Wilkerson as Hud, Sally Eaton as Jeanie and Shelley Plimpton as Crissy. Set design was by Ming Cho Lee , costume design by Theoni Aldredge , and, although Anna Sokolow began rehearsals as choreographer, Freedman received choreographer credit. Although
10872-492: The Sun Shine In", and as they exit, they reveal Claude lying down center stage on a black cloth. During the curtain call, the tribe reprises "Let the Sun Shine In" and brings audience members up on stage to dance. (Note: This plot summary is based on the original Broadway script. The script has varied in subsequent productions. ) Hair opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre on April 29, 1968. The production
11023-473: The Truck & Warehouse Theater just on the block between Bowery and Second Avenue. By the 1970s and 1980s the city in general was in decline and nearing bankruptcy, especially after the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis . Residential buildings in the East Village suffered from high levels of neglect, as property owners did not properly maintain their buildings. The city purchased many of these buildings, but
11174-436: The area as "Village East" or "East Village". The new name was used to dissociate the area from the image of slums evoked by the Lower East Side. According to The New York Times , a 1964 guide called Earl Wilson's New York wrote: "Artists, poets and promoters of coffeehouses from Greenwich Village are trying to remelt the neighborhood under the high-sounding name of 'East Village'." Newcomers and real estate brokers popularized
11325-617: The area from Avenue B to the Bowery, while the latter covered the area from Avenue B to the East River . By the middle of the 19th century, many of the wealthy had continued to move further northward to the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side . Some wealthy families remained, and one observer noted in the 1880s that these families "look[ed] down with disdain upon the parvenus of Fifth avenue". In general, though,
11476-437: The area's history and need for affordable housing, the rezoning was approved in 2008. Among other things, the zoning established height limits for new development throughout the affected area, modified allowable density of real estate, capped air rights transfers, eliminated the current zoning bonus for dorms and hotels, and created incentives for the creation and retention of affordable housing. Local community groups such as
11627-422: The border between former boweries 1 and 2, and the grid surrounding it included four north–south and nine west–east streets. Because each landowner had done their own survey, there were different street grids that did not align with each other. Various state laws, passed in the 1790s, gave the city of New York the ability to plan out, open, and close streets. The final plan, published in 1811, resulted in
11778-479: The cast and crew and encouraged bonding. These exercises were based on techniques developed at the Esalen Institute and Polish Lab Theater. The idea of Claude, Berger and Sheila living together is another facet of the 1960s concept of tribe . The brief nude scene at the end of Act I was a subject of controversy and notoriety. Miller writes that "nudity was a big part of the hippie culture, both as
11929-419: The characters' lifestyle acts as a sexually and politically charged updating of La bohème ; as Rado explained, "The love element of the peace movement was palpable." In the song "Sodomy", Woof exhorts everyone to "join the holy orgy Kama Sutra ". Toward the end of Act 2, the tribe members reveal their free love tendencies when they banter back and forth about who will sleep with whom that night. Woof has
12080-472: The city's most highly populated ward at that time. As a result of the Panic of 1837 , the city had experienced less construction in the previous years, and so there was a dearth of units available for immigrants, resulting in the subdivision of many houses in lower Manhattan. Another solution was brand-new "tenant houses", or tenements , within the East Side. Clusters of these buildings were constructed by
12231-431: The city's most opulent estates. By the middle of the century, it grew to include a large immigrant population – including what was once referred to as Manhattan 's Little Germany – and was considered part of the nearby Lower East Side . By the late 1960s, many artists, musicians, students and hippies began to move into the area, and the East Village was given its own identity. Since at least
12382-590: The city, and for a short period, the portion of the Lower East Side that is now the East Village was one of the wealthiest residential neighborhoods in the city. Bond Street between the Bowery and Broadway, just west of the East Side within present-day NoHo , was considered the most upscale street address in the city by the 1830s, with structures such as the Greek Revival -style Colonnade Row and Federal -style rowhouses . The neighborhood's prestigious nature could be attributed to several factors, including
12533-422: The current street grid north of Houston Street – and most of the streets in the modern East Village – were conformed to this plan, except for Stuyvesant Street. The north–south avenues within the Lower East Side were finished in the 1810s, followed by the west–east streets in the 1820s. The Commissioners' Plan and resulting street grid was the catalyst for the northward expansion of
12684-418: The development of Hair . Rado and Ragni brought their drafts of the show to producer Eric Blau who, through common friend Nat Shapiro , connected the two with Canadian composer Galt MacDermot. MacDermot won two Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Composition and Best Original Jazz Composition in 1961 for his composition "African Waltz" (recorded by Cannonball Adderley ). The composer's lifestyle
12835-426: The director-general of New Netherland, owned adjacent bowery no. 1 and bought bowery no. 2 in 1656 for his farm . Stuyvesant's manor, also called Bowery, was near what is now 10th Street between Second and Third Avenues. Though the manor burned down in the 1770s, his family held onto the land for over seven generations, until a descendant began selling off parcels in the early 19th century. Bowery no. 3
12986-461: The district's theaters hosted as many as twenty to thirty shows a night. After World War II Yiddish theater became less popular, and by the mid-1950s few theaters were still extant in the District. The city built First Houses on the south side of East 3rd Street between First Avenue and Avenue A , and on the west side of Avenue A between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets in 1935–1936,
13137-486: The draft , and there were also lots of articles in the press about how kids were being kicked out of school for growing their hair long". He recalled, "There was so much excitement in the streets and the parks and the hippie areas, and we thought if we could transmit this excitement to the stage it would be wonderful. ... We hung out with them and went to their Be-Ins [and] let our hair grow." Many cast members ( Shelley Plimpton in particular) were recruited right off
13288-579: The early 21st century some buildings in the area were torn down and replaced by newer buildings. Due to the gentrification of the neighborhood, parties including the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), Manhattan Community Board 3 , the East Village Community Coalition, and City Councilmember Rosie Mendez , began calling for a change to the area's zoning in the first decade of
13439-565: The explosion. Landlord Maria Hrynenko and an unlicensed plumber and another employee were sentenced to prison time for their part in causing the explosion in New York State Supreme Court. Ms. Hrynenko allowed an illegal gas line to be constructed on her property. Neighboring the East Village are the Lower East Side to the south, NoHo to the west, Stuyvesant Park to the northwest, and Stuyvesant Town to
13590-533: The first displaced Greenwich Villagers to move to the area were writers Allen Ginsberg , W. H. Auden , and Norman Mailer , who all moved to the area in 1951–1953. A cluster of cooperative art galleries on East 10th Street (later collectively referred to as the 10th Street galleries ) were opened around the same time, starting with the Tanger and the Hansa which both opened in 1952. Further change came in 1955 when
13741-498: The first score in three weeks, starting with the songs "I Got Life", "Ain't Got No", "Where Do I Go" and the title song. He first wrote "Aquarius" as an unconventional art piece, but later rewrote it into an uplifting anthem. The creators pitched the show to Broadway producers and received many rejections. Eventually Joe Papp , who ran the New York Shakespeare Festival , decided he wanted Hair to open
13892-462: The first such public housing project in the United States. The neighborhood originally ended at the East River , to the east of where Avenue D was later located. In the mid-20th-century, landfill – including World War II debris and rubble shipped from London – was used to extend the shoreline to provide foundation for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive . In
14043-474: The flowers and the fuzz and the trees". Religion, particularly Catholicism, appears both overtly and symbolically throughout the piece, and it is often made the brunt of a joke. Berger sings of looking for "my Donna", giving it the double meaning of the woman he's searching for and the Madonna . During "Sodomy", a hymn-like paean to all that is "dirty" about sex, the cast strikes evocative religious positions:
14194-481: The following year, young professionals constituted a large portion of the neighborhood's demographics. Even so, crimes remained prevalent and there were often drug deals being held openly in Tompkins Square Park. Tensions over gentrification resulted in the 1988 Tompkins Square Park riot , which occurred following opposition to a proposed curfew that had targeted the park's homeless. The aftermath of
14345-433: The former location of one of New York City's only Automats ; and a portion of the "Mosaic Trail", a trail of eighty mosaic-encrusted lampposts that runs from Broadway down Eighth Street to Avenue A, to Fourth Street and then back to Eighth Street. Alphabet City was once the archetype of a dangerous New York City neighborhood. Its turn-around was cause for The New York Times to observe in 2005 that Alphabet City went "from
14496-464: The future growth of Lower Manhattan into a street grid system. The Stuyvesant plot, surveyed in the 1780s or 1790s, was planned to be developed with a new grid around Stuyvesant Street , a street that ran compass west–east. This contrasted with the grid system that was ultimately laid out under the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , which is offset by 28.9 degrees clockwise. Stuyvesant Street formed
14647-428: The hippie movement of the 1960s. Theatre writer Scott Miller described these as follows: [Youth protests in the 1960s concerned]: racism, environmental destruction, poverty, sexism and sexual repression, violence at home and the war in Vietnam, depersonalization from new technologies, and corruption in politics. ... [T]he hippies had great respect for America and believed that they were the true patriots. ... [Long] hair
14798-646: The idea into the show. O'Horgan had used nudity in many of the plays he directed, and he helped integrate the idea into the fabric of the show. Papp declined to pursue a Broadway production, and so Butler produced the show himself. For a time it seemed that Butler would be unable to secure a Broadway theater, as the Shuberts , Nederlanders and other theater owners deemed the material too controversial. However, Butler had family connections and knew important people; he persuaded Biltmore Theatre owner David Cogan to make his venue available. Claude sits center stage as
14949-552: The improvisations tried during this process were incorporated into the Broadway script. O'Horgan and new choreographer Julie Arenal encouraged freedom and spontaneity in their actors, introducing "an organic, expansive style of staging" that had never been seen before on Broadway. The inspiration to include nudity came when the authors saw an anti-war demonstration in Central Park where two men stripped naked as an expression of defiance and freedom, and they decided to incorporate
15100-685: The last resident moved out of the Thomas E. Davis mansion at Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place, which The New York Times had called the "last fashionable residence" on Second Avenue. In 1916, the Slovenian community and Franciscans established the Slovenian Church of St. Cyril , which still operates. Simultaneously with the decline of the last manors, the Yiddish Theatre District or "Yiddish Rialto" developed within
15251-409: The mid-20th century Ukrainians created a Ukrainian enclave in the neighborhood, centered around Second Avenue and 6th and 7th Streets. The Polish enclave in the East Village persisted as well. Numerous other immigrant groups had moved out, and their former churches were sold and became Orthodox cathedrals . Latin American immigrants started to move to the East Side, settling in the eastern part of
15402-435: The modern Bowery between Prince Street and Astor Place , as well as the "only separate enclave" of this type within Manhattan. These Black farmers were some of the earliest settlers of the area. There were several "boweries" within what is now the East Village. Bowery no. 2 passed through several inhabitants, before the eastern half of the land was subdivided and given to Harmen Smeeman in 1647. Peter Stuyvesant ,
15553-542: The modern theatre styles and methods being developed at The Open Theater. In 1966, while the two were developing Hair , Ragni performed in The Open Theater's production of Megan Terry 's play Viet Rock , a story about young men being deployed to the Vietnam War. In addition to the war theme, Viet Rock employed the improvisational exercises being used in the experimental theatre scene and later used in
15704-553: The musical, including the 3 million-selling original Broadway cast recording . Some of the songs from its score became Top 10 hits, and a feature film adaptation was released in 1979. A Broadway revival opened in 2009, earning strong reviews and winning the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Musical. In 2008, Richard Zoglin wrote in Time that "Today Hair seems, if anything, more daring than ever." Hair
15855-501: The musical. Rado explained, "We were great friends. It was a passionate kind of relationship that we directed into creativity, into writing, into creating this piece. We put the drama between us on stage." Rado described the inspiration for Hair as "a combination of some characters we met in the streets, people we knew and our own imaginations. We knew this group of kids in the East Village who were dropping out and dodging
16006-611: The neighborhood and creating an enclave that later came to be known as Loisaida . The East Side's population started to decline at the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s and the implementation of the Immigration Act of 1924 , and the expansion of the New York City Subway into the outer boroughs. Many old tenements, deemed to be "blighted" and unnecessary, were destroyed in the middle of
16157-787: The neighborhood, of which many are still extant. In addition, Little Germany also had its own library on Second Avenue, now the New York Public Library 's Ottendorfer branch. However, the community started to decline after the sinking of the General Slocum on June 15, 1904, in which more than a thousand German-Americans died. The Germans who moved out of the area were replaced by immigrants of many different nationalities. This included groups of Italians and Eastern European Jews, as well as Greeks, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Slovaks and Ukrainians, each of whom settled in relatively homogeneous enclaves. In How
16308-730: The neighborhood. These included the Fillmore East Music Hall (later a gay private nightclub called The Saint), which was located in a movie theater at 105 Second Avenue. The Phyllis Anderson Theatre was converted into Second Avenue Theater, an annex of the CBGB music club, and hosted musicians and bands such as Bruce Springsteen , Patti Smith , and Talking Heads . The Pyramid Club , which opened in 1979 at 101 Avenue A, hosted musical acts such as Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers , as well as drag performers such as RuPaul and Ann Magnuson . In addition, there were more than
16459-418: The new Public Theater (still under construction) in New York City's East Village . The musical was the first work by living authors that Papp produced. The director, Gerald Freedman , the theater's associate artistic director, decided that Rado, at 35, was too old to play Claude, although he agreed to cast the 32-year-old Ragni as Berger. The production did not go smoothly: "The rehearsal and casting process
16610-543: The new name, and the term was adopted by the popular media by the mid-1960s. A weekly newspaper with the neighborhood's new name, The East Village Other , started publication in 1966. The New York Times declared that the neighborhood "had come to be known" as the East Village in the edition of June 5, 1967. The East Village became a center of the counterculture in New York, and was the birthplace and historical home of many artistic movements, including punk rock and
16761-492: The northeast. The East Village contains several smaller vibrant communities, each with its own character. Alphabet City is the eastern section of the East Village that is so named because it contains avenues with single-lettered names, e.g. Avenues A , B , C , and D . It is bordered by Houston Street to the south and 14th Street to the north. Notable places within Alphabet City include Tompkins Square Park and
16912-696: The opening of two theatres: the Second Avenue Theatre , which opened in 1911 at 35–37 Second Avenue, and the National Theater , which opened in 1912 at 111–117 East Houston Street. This was followed by the opening of several other theaters, such as the Louis N. Jaffe Theater and the Public Theatre in 1926 and 1927 respectively. Numerous movie houses also opened in the East Side, including six on Second Avenue. By World War I
17063-632: The other being Fifth Avenue . Two marble cemeteries were also built on the East Side: the New York City Marble Cemetery , built in 1831 on 2nd Street between First and Second Avenues, and the New York Marble Cemetery , built in 1830 within the backlots of the block to the west. Following the rapid growth of the neighborhood, Manhattan's 17th ward was split from the 11th ward in 1837. The former covered
17214-693: The others. Berger has been seen as a John the Baptist figure, preparing the way for Claude. East Village, Manhattan The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City , United States. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue , between 14th Street on the north and Houston Street on the south. The East Village contains three subsections: Alphabet City , in reference to
17365-411: The performers in these were Joe Mantegna , André DeShields , Charlotte Crossley and Alaina Reed (Chicago), David Lasley , David Patrick Kelly , Meat Loaf, and Shaun Murphy ( Detroit ) Kenny Ortega and Arnold McCuller (tour), Bob Bingham ( Seattle ) and Philip Michael Thomas (San Francisco). The creative team from Broadway worked on Hair in Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco, as
17516-438: The popularity of the art galleries had revived the East Village's real estate market. One club that tried to resurrect the neighborhood's past artistic prominence was Mo Pitkins' House of Satisfaction, part-owned by comedian Jimmy Fallon before it closed in 2007. A Fordham University study, examining the decline of the East Village performance and art scene, stated that "the young, liberal culture that once found its place on
17667-505: The production had a "tepid critical reception", it was popular with audiences. A cast album was released in 1967. Chicago businessman Michael Butler was planning to run for the U.S. Senate on an anti-war platform. After seeing an ad for Hair in The New York Times that led him to believe the show was about Native Americans , he watched the Public's production several times and joined forces with Joe Papp to reproduce
17818-500: The production received 250 performances and was attended by president Tito . Local references in the script included barbs aimed at Mao Zedong as well as Albania , Yugoslavia's traditional rival. By 1970, Hair was a huge financial success, and nineteen productions had been staged outside of North America. In addition to those named above, these included productions in Scandinavia, South America, Italy, Israel, Japan, Canada,
17969-672: The production was banned by the government after one night in Acapulco. An 18-year-old Sônia Braga appeared in the 1969 Brazilian production. Another notable production was in Belgrade , Yugoslavia , in 1969. It was the first Hair to be produced in a communist country. The show, translated into Serbian, was directed by female producer-director Mira Trailović at the Atelje 212 theatre. It featured Dragan Nikolić , Branko Milićević , Seka Sablić and Dušan Prelević . Over four years,
18120-405: The regulations to which tenement buildings had to conform. The early 20th century marked the creation of apartment houses, office buildings, and other commercial or institutional structures on Second Avenue. After the widening of Second Avenue's roadbed in the early 1910s, many of the front stoops on that road were eliminated. The symbolic demise of the old fashionable district came in 1912 when
18271-401: The riot slowed down the gentrification process somewhat as real estate prices declined. By the end of the 20th century, however, real estate prices had resumed their rapid rise. About half of the East Village's stores had opened within the decade since the riot, while vacancy rates in that period had dropped from 20% to 3%, indicating that many of the longtime merchants had been pushed out. By
18422-415: The roles for the black members of the tribe portrayed them as equals, breaking away from the traditional roles for black people in entertainment as slaves or servants. An Ebony magazine article declared that the show was the biggest outlet for black actors in the history of the U.S. stage. Several songs and scenes from the show address racial issues. "Colored Spade", which introduces the character Hud,
18573-788: The same creative team as the Broadway production. The opening night was delayed until the abolition of theatre censorship in England under the Theatres Act 1968 so that the show could include nudity and profanity. As with other early productions, the London show added a sprinkling of local allusions and other minor departures from the Broadway version. The original London tribe included Sonja Kristina , Peter Straker , Paul Nicholas , Melba Moore, Annabel Leventon , Elaine Paige , Paul Korda , Marsha Hunt , Floella Benjamin , Alex Harvey , Oliver Tobias , Richard O'Brien and Tim Curry . This
18724-606: The show at another New York venue after the close of its run at the Public. Papp and Butler first moved the show to The Cheetah , a discothèque at 53rd Street and Broadway. It opened there on December 22, 1967, and ran for 45 performances. There was no nudity in either the Public Theater or Cheetah production. Hair underwent a thorough overhaul between its closing at the Cheetah in January 1968 and its Broadway opening three months later. The off-Broadway book, already light on plot,
18875-491: The single-letter-named avenues that are located to the east of First Avenue ; Little Ukraine , near Second Avenue and 6th and 7th Streets; and the Bowery , located around the street of the same name. Initially the location of the present-day East Village was occupied by the Lenape Native people, and was then divided into plantations by Dutch settlers. During the early 19th century, the East Village contained many of
19026-403: The site of the old St. Nicholas Kirche . Until the mid-20th century the area was simply the northern part of the Lower East Side, with a similar culture of immigrant, working-class life. In the 1950s and 1960s the migration of Beatniks into the neighborhood later attracted hippies, musicians, writers, and artists who had been priced out of the rapidly gentrifying Greenwich Village . Among
19177-431: The song "Donna", Berger sings, "I'm evolving through the drugs that you put down." At another point, Jeanie smokes marijuana and dismisses the critics of "pot". Generally, the tribe favors hallucinogenic or "mind expanding" drugs, such as LSD and marijuana, while disapproving of other drugs such as speed and depressants. For example, Jeanie, after revealing that she is pregnant by a " speed freak", says that " methedrine
19328-549: The sponsor for the project, and there was significant opposition to the plan, as it would have displaced thousands of people. Neither the original large-scale development nor a 1961 revised proposal were implemented and the city's government lost interest in performing such large-scale slum-clearance projects. Another redevelopment project that was completed was the Village View Houses on First Avenue between East 2nd and 6th Streets, which opened in 1964 partially on
19479-520: The stage in Los Angeles. It was rare for so many productions to run simultaneously during an initial Broadway run. Producer Michael Butler, who had declared that Hair is "the strongest anti-war statement ever written", said the reason that he opened so many productions was to influence public opinion against the Vietnam War and end it as soon as possible. Hair opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London on September 27, 1968, led by
19630-489: The street. Rado said, "It was very important historically, and if we hadn't written it, there'd not be any examples. You could read about it and see film clips, but you'd never experience it. We thought, 'This is happening in the streets', and we wanted to bring it to the stage." According to Rado's obituary in The New York Times , the title was inspired by "a museum stroll in mid-1965, [when he and Ragni saw]
19781-503: The three Africans sing his praises, recites an alternate version of the Gettysburg Address ("Abie Baby"). Booth shoots Lincoln, but Lincoln says to him, "Shit! I'm not dyin' for no white man". As the visions continue, four Buddhist monks enter. One monk pours a can of gasoline over another monk, who is set afire (reminiscent of the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức ) and runs off screaming. Three Catholic nuns strangle
19932-523: The three remaining Buddhist monks. Three astronauts shoot the nuns with ray guns . Three Chinese people stab the astronauts with knives. Three Native Americans kill the Chinese with bows and tomahawks. Three green berets kill the Native Americans with machine guns and then kill each other. A Sergeant and two parents appear holding up a suit on a hanger. The parents talk to the suit as if it
20083-435: The tribe in explaining the significance of their locks (" Hair "). The woman states that kids should "be free, no guilt" and should "do whatever you want, just so long as you don't hurt anyone." She observes that long hair is natural, like the "elegant plumage" of male birds ("My Conviction"). She opens her coat to reveal that she's a man in drag . As the couple leaves, the tribe calls her Margaret Mead . Sheila gives Berger
20234-400: The tribe's protest chants is "What do we think is really great? To bomb, lynch and segregate!" "Black Boys/White Boys" is an exuberant acknowledgement of interracial sexual attraction; the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down laws banning interracial marriage in 1967. Another of the tribe's protest chants is "Black, white, yellow, red. Copulate in a king-sized bed." "Abie Baby" is part of
20385-465: The trip, Claude says "I can't take this moment to moment living on the streets. ... I know what I want to be ... invisible". As they "look at the Moon," Sheila and the others enjoy a light moment (" Good Morning Starshine "). The tribe pays tribute to an old mattress ("The Bed"). Claude is left alone with his doubts. He leaves as the tribe enters wrapped in blankets in the midst of a snow storm. They start
20536-417: The wealthy population of the neighborhood started to decline as many moved northward. Immigrants from modern-day Ireland, Germany, and Austria moved into the rowhouses and manors. The population of Manhattan's 17th ward – which includes the western part of the East Village and Lower East Side – grew from 18,000 in 1840 to over 43,000 by 1850 and to 73,000 persons in 1860, becoming
20687-620: Was "knocked up by some crazy speed freak". The tribe link together LBJ (President Lyndon B. Johnson ), FBI (the Federal Bureau of Investigation ), CIA (the Central Intelligence Agency ) and LSD ("Initials"). Six members of the tribe appear dressed as Claude's parents, berating him for his various transgressions – he does not have a job, and he collects "mountains of paper" clippings and notes. They say that they will not give him any more money, and "the army'll make
20838-442: Was Curry's first full-time theatrical acting role, where he met future Rocky Horror Show collaborator O'Brien. Hair ' s engagement in London surpassed the Broadway production, running for 1,997 performances until its closure was forced by the roof of the theatre collapsing in July 1973. The job of leading the foreign language productions of Hair was given to Bertrand Castelli , Butler's partner and executive producer of
20989-528: Was also unable to maintain them due to a lack of funds. Following the publication of a revised Cooper Square renewal plan in 1986, some properties were given to the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association as part of a 1991 agreement. In spite of the deterioration of the structures within the East Village, its music and arts scenes were doing well. By the 1970s gay dance halls and punk rock clubs had started to open in
21140-471: Was conceived by actors James Rado and Gerome Ragni . The two met in 1964 when they performed together in the Off-Broadway flop Hang Down Your Head and Die , and they began writing Hair together in late 1964. The main characters were autobiographical, with Rado's Claude being a pensive romantic and Ragni's Berger an extrovert. Their close relationship, including its volatility, was reflected in
21291-499: Was confused, the material itself incomprehensible to many of the theater's staff. [Freedman] withdrew in frustration during the final week of rehearsals and offered his resignation. Papp accepted it, and the choreographer Anna Sokolow took over the show. ... After a disastrous final dress rehearsal, Papp wired Mr. Freedman in Washington, where he'd fled: 'Please come back.' Mr. Freedman did." Hair premiered off-Broadway at
21442-560: Was directed by Tom O'Horgan and choreographed by Julie Arenal, with set design by Robin Wagner , costume design by Nancy Potts, and lighting design by Jules Fisher . The original Broadway "tribe" (i.e., cast) included authors Rado and Ragni, who played the lead roles of Claude and Berger, respectively, Kellogg as Sheila, Washington as Hud, Eaton and Plimpton reprising their off-Broadway roles as Jeanie and Crissy, Melba Moore as Dionne, Curry as Woof, Ronnie Dyson (who sang "Aquarius" and "What
21593-500: Was in Europe at the time. Newsweek described O'Horgan's directing style as "sensual, savage, and thoroughly musical ... [he] disintegrates verbal structure and often breaks up and distributes narrative and even character among different actors. ... He enjoys sensory bombardment." In rehearsals, O'Horgan used techniques passed down by Viola Spolin and Paul Sills involving role playing and improvisational "games". Many of
21744-460: Was in marked contrast to his co-creators: "I had short hair, a wife, and, at that point, four children, and I lived on Staten Island ." "I never even heard of a hippie when I met Rado and Ragni." But he shared their enthusiasm to do a rock and roll show. "We work independently", explained MacDermot in May 1968. "I prefer it that way. They hand me the material. I set it to music." MacDermot wrote
21895-479: Was located near today's 2nd Street between Second Avenue and the modern street named Bowery. It was owned by Gerrit Hendricksen in 1646 and later given to Philip Minthorne by 1732. The Minthorne and Stuyvesant families both held enslaved people on their farms. According to an 1803 deed, enslaved people held by Stuyvesant were to be buried in a cemetery plot at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery . The Stuyvesants' estate later expanded to include two Georgian -style manors:
22046-464: Was located primarily below the current Fulton Street , while north of it were a number of small plantations and large farms that were then called bouwerij (anglicized to "boweries"; modern Dutch : boerderij ). Around these farms were a number of enclaves of free or "half-free" Africans, which served as a buffer between the Dutch and the Native Americans. One of the largest of these was located along
22197-424: Was loosened even further and made more realistic. Thirteen new songs were added, including "Let the Sun Shine In", to make the ending more uplifting. Before the move to Broadway, the creative team hired director Tom O'Horgan , who had built a reputation directing experimental theater at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club . He had been the authors' first choice to direct the Public Theater production, but he
22348-502: Was one of six African-Americans brought to Australia to provide a racially integrated tribe. The production broke local box-office records and ran for two years, but because of some of the language in the show, the cast album was banned in Queensland and New Zealand. The production transferred to Melbourne in 1971 and then had a national tour. It marked the stage debut of Boston -born Australian vocalist Marcia Hines . In Mexico
22499-494: Was originally occupied by the Lenape Native people. The Lenape relocated during different seasons, moving toward the shore to fish during the summers, and moving inland to hunt and grow crops during the fall and winter. Manhattan was purchased in 1626 by Peter Minuit of the Dutch West India Company , who served as director-general of New Netherland . The population of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam
22650-470: Was the first Broadway show to have a regular ticket price of $ 50, with 12 of the seats at this price for sale to large corporations from July 1968. The top price when it opened was $ 11. The Hair team soon became embroiled in a lawsuit with the organizers of the Tony Awards . After assuring producer Michael Butler that commencing previews by April 3, 1968, would assure eligibility for consideration for
22801-559: Was the hippies' flag – their ... symbol not only of rebellion but also of new possibilities, a symbol of the rejection of discrimination and restrictive gender roles (a philosophy celebrated in the song "My Conviction"). ... Drab work clothes (jeans, work shirts, pea coats) were a rejection of materialism. Clothing from ... the Third World and native Americans represented their awareness of the global community and their rejection of U.S. imperialism and selfishness. ... [N]atural fabrics were
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