Hair Sets Dates to Let the Sun Shine in at the West End's Gielgud Theatre

Broadway’s Tony-winning revival of Hair is getting ready to let the sun shine in at the West End’s Gielgud Theatre. The original Broadway cast of the peace-loving hippie musical, directed by Diane Paulus, will cross the pond to begin previews on April 1, 2010, and open on April 14. According to a production news release, this will be the first time an entire original Broadway cast has opened a musical in the West End.

The London production will be produced by the Public Theater and the Broadway team of Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, John Gore and Thomas B. McGrath in association with Cameron Mackintosh, who said in a statement, “Little did I think when I was the production runner on the original London production of Hair in 1968 that 41 years later I would be bringing the Public Theater’s acclaimed new production back to London complete with its extraordinary Broadway cast. Hair has always been far more than a musical. It’s a celebration of life, love and freedom. When it originally opened, my friends who were never interested in the theater flocked to see it because it mirrored their own sentiments, as peace, love and anti-war feelings were being expressed all over the world. Its success was not just theatrical but social. So I was amazed all these years later to find myself swept away again by the joyous electric exuberance and commitment of the current Broadway cast.”

Hair features a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot. The original production opened on Broadway and at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre in 1968. It caused a sensation in the West End as the first musical to open after the abolition of Lord Chamberlain (the British Censor). The production ran for 1,998 performances, forced to close only because the ceiling collapsed at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

The story of a group of young Americans searching for love and peace during the Vietnam era, Hair is a timeless portrait of a movement that changed the world. Its groundbreaking rock score includes hits such as “Aquarius,” “Let the Sun Shine In,” “Easy to Be Hard,” “Good Morning Starshine” and the title song.

Hair continues its run at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where it opened on March 31. No word on when the Broadway cast, led by Gavin Creel, Will Swenson and Caissie Levy, will depart, or who will replace them.