The Beat Goes On

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

In October 1967, Joseph Papp’s Public Theater opened with the world premiere of “HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.” It didn’t yet include the famous nude scene — that would be added for the Broadway production, which opened in 1968 — but it was already something different: a rock musical, set in the present, about the kids who were turning on and dropping out, hanging out in the East Village and protesting the Vietnam War in Central Park.

The show aroused strong reactions. Some people were offended by the four-letter words and what they saw as desecration of the American flag in the song “Don’t Put It Down.” Two cases involving the show went to the Supreme Court, and in some cities where it toured, there were bomb threats against the theater. Others loved it.

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