Once upon a time, there was Hair. Originally, it was a Broadway musical that debuted in New York in 1967. Great music and a lot of hippiness. 1,750 performances. And nearly 2,000 in London. It was enticing and original, with music of the new generation, the setting of a hippy community/commune and tackling New Age thinking and the Vietnam War. At that time, all of this was still at its peak, but by the time Forman made Hair into a film it was all over. Which may help to explain why the breezy theatre script became tougher and more dramatic, with a far more serious plot. A guy from Oklahoma is called up by the army and decides to set off to see the world. In New York he comes across a hippy community, the counter-culture, rebellious minds, a unique musical world and love.
Hair became a cult hit. Which is no surprise, given that in a film full of song and dance, it manages to present the value system of the new generation. To put it simply, it showed everything that the young people refused to accept. Every minute of the film, Hair is provocative. It is full of contempt for power and stuffy citizens. It has had it up to here with three-letter institutions, power couplings, war and racism. With almost childlike glee, it badgers them with a list of drugs and other inappropriate words. Though the film failed to gain a shower of awards, it was loved by critics all the same. The joke lies in the fact that despite its originality, Hair greatly respects the rules of the American musical genre. Which is perhaps exactly what prevents this chilled out, episodic story from falling apart. And at the end - as you wipe your eyes - you will feel that this is far more than a musical. It is an uplifting tale of freedom, rebellion and about whether we have a choice.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest