“Hair Live!” will be the next NBC live musical, coming to television screens in the spring of 2019.
The musical will be executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who have produced all of NBC’s live musicals, and will be broadcast in front of a live audience. “Hair,” with music by Galt MacDermot and book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, originally opened on Broadway in April 1968 and had revivals in 1977, 2009 and 2011.
“I’m overjoyed that James Rado and Galt MacDermot are trusting us with their masterpiece ‘Hair,’ one of the most original shows ever conceived for Broadway with one of the greatest scores,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “These songs are part of the vocabulary of popular music, and this rebellious story of young people protesting and standing up for what they believe in is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago.
“When we both, individually, saw ‘Hair’ on Broadway, we were knocked out by how musical theater could be stretched into something so daring, immersive and audacious,” said Zadan and Meron. “Its recent Broadway revival showed how timeless the show is and that it’s relevant to any era.”
When asked how the producers plan to make some of the musical’s scenes, such as the famous nudity scene, television-friendly, Zadan told Broadway News that the topic would be discussed once a director is hired.
“Once NBC, Neil and I sign a director and then meet with the director and the authors we’ll figure it all out together,” Zadan wrote in an email.
“Hair Live!” will be produced by Universal Television, MGM Television, and Zadan/Meron Productions.
NBC’s previously broadcast “The Sound of Music Live!” “Peter Pan Live!,” “The Wiz Live!,” “Hairspray Live!,” and most recently “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.”
