NBC has announced the next Broadway hit to get its now-signature live TV musical treatment, with THR reporting that Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado’s hippie opus Hair will air on the network in spring of 2019.
Probably best known these days for breakout hits like “Aquarius” and “Good Morning Starshine,” the 1967 musical made a valiant attempt to translate the American counter-culture into a stage-friendly format, telling the story of a group of drop out/be-ins living in the shadow of the draft during Vietnam. Like the previous NBC live musicals, Hair is being produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who expressed their delight at bringing the 50-year-old play to people’s screens, free of the burden of having to hear any old hippies in the audiences tell you how accurate it may or may not be. Meanwhile, the play will step into the hole recently vacated by the Jennifer Lopez-led Bye Bye, Birdie, which has now been twice delayed on its way to the Peacock’s stage.