'Hair' is back. But this time, everybody is feelin' groovy.
by Ross Raihala Pop, twincities.com
March 1st 2011 9:33 AM
A revival of "Hair" opens quietly tonight in Minneapolis. But 40 years ago,
when a touring production of the hippie-era musical first brought sex, drugs
and rock 'n' roll to Middle America, parents across the nation were alarmed.
Concerned community groups tried to cut "Hair" short at every turn. In Boston,
they brought legal challenges all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In St.
Paul, they employed a small army in an attempt to disrupt opening night, Feb.
23, 1971, at the Civic Center Theater.
The problem? That army consisted of about a dozen small white mice.
"The mice outnumbered the protesters and the teenyboppers eclipsed them both,"
read the next day's story in the Pioneer Press. "We could've had people
trampled if they'd have seen (the mice)," the musical's press agent told the
paper.
The story — headlined "Even mice pay visit to 'Hair' " — quoted a theater usher
who placed blame on the Rev. John Ballentine. Ballentine led a group that
"quietly distributed literature" with titles like "Red 'Hair' Is People
Pollution" to mostly uninterested theatergoers. Before the show, the usher
spotted mice scurrying in the lobby near an empty paper bag. He scooped up as
many of the rodents as he could, missing a few that were spotted wandering
around hours later.
The story also quoted an unnamed opening-night theatergoer as saying, "It
really worries me to see people spending money to see the likes of this." Then
notes: "He, of course, returned
to his seat well before the second act started."
Jonathon Johnson, an actor in that production, recalled the "great mice scare"
in his 2004 memoir "Good Hair Days." "I guess (the minister) thought the mice
would scare everyone out of the theater," he wrote. "He was however doomed to
disappointment, as no one even noticed."
Instead, "Hair" enjoyed a sold-out, two-week run in St. Paul, with locals
seemingly unfazed by the explicit exploits of a tribe of long-haired hippies
dropping out, having sex and dodging the draft.
Ballentine died in 2006 at the age of 90, long after his congregation had moved
from Highland Park to the Bryant Avenue Baptist Church in Minneapolis. The
current pastor at the church, David White, said he was not familiar with the
incident or the musical itself.
"(John) believed in things very strongly," White said, "so it doesn't surprise
me that he would not be in favor of that hippie love thing, whatever it was."
As for "Hair," the once-controversial musical — dubbed "merely pretty good" by
the New York Times in 1967 — has enjoyed four decades of success and, yes,
respectability. A 2009 Broadway revival won a Tony. Its youthful, smiling cast
donned hippie drag to promote it on early-morning TV talk shows.
"The thrilling revival of 'Hair' shows no signs of becoming domesticated,"
reported the Times some 42 years after its initial review.
So Tom Hoch, president and chief executive officer of Hennepin Theatre Trust,
is not expecting any mice tonight at the Orpheum Theatre, when a touring
version of the 2009 revival opens. When warned of the 1971 prank, he chuckled.
His group successfully staged "Hair" in 2004 without a hint of trouble. Indeed
Hoch, who started working for the group in the late 1980s, said he couldn't
remember protests at any musicals.
" 'Hair' was supposed to be controversial," he said. "It was about protest,
about pushing back against the establishment. (These people) were protesting
what is essentially a protest piece."
Ross Raihala can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5553. Read
more about local entertainment at blogs.twincities.com/playlist.
IF YOU GO
What: Tony-winning revival of "Hair"
When: Today through Sunday
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis
Tickets: $28-$78; call 800-982-2787
Original Page: http://www.twincities.com/ci_17506011%3E
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