Hair is an anti-war, pro-love, rock musical that challenged the culture of Broadway and London. It is the first play to introduce a “concept musical” where the meaning behind the play is more important than the narrative.
On this day, September 27th, in 1968, the musical “Hair” opens in London, a day after the abolition of theatre censorship, with scenes of nudity, drug use, & flag desecration. It addressed the Vietnam War conflict and desecrated the American flag on stage. There was an exceeding amount of explicit sexual language, but the nude scenes drew the most controversial reviews. However, someone in charge must have enjoyed the production because it ran on Broadway for 1,742 performances before closing.
The musical was so controversial that legal action was taken against it and brought to the Supreme Court twice. Nonetheless, it has reached over 30 million viewers with its contentious themes and scenes.