Bulldozing HAiR History
Zoe Hall, a tribe member of our Shoshonee Tribe, sent me the very disconcerting news that New York has demolished the famous central fountain of Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park. This fountain was a defining feature of the park, and the park, in turn, is an important part of Greenwich Village. The following links to a picture of this tragic event: http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL83/532620/15499366/299236466.jpg
Greenwich Village gave birth first to the Beatnik’s, and later, the Hippie Movement. It was/is the home of the avant-garde/experimental theater movement, hosting, among others, La Mama ETC, The Judson Poet’s Theatre, Caffe Cino, the Negro Ensemble Company, the Living Theatre, the (Wooster) Performance Group, and Joseph Papp’s Public Theatre where HAiR originated.
Rado and Ragni’s HAiR is placed in the Greenwich Village area, and reportedly incorporates the stories of many of the people who lived there. George Berger lives on Avenue B, Claude lives on Avenue C, and Sheila’s alma mater, the trendy New York University, borders on, and has long coveted the lands of, Washington Square Park. Chrissy pines for Frank Mills in front of the Waverly Hotel.
The bohemian atmosphere of the Village at the time contrasted very vividly with the atmosphere of Wall Street and the New York Financial Center that is located a short distance to its south. The loss of the famous fountain exemplifies the loss of the Village of old to gentrification for the rich.
It was especially sad to discover that while we were involved in mounting the Shoshonee Tribe’s production of HAiR in Los Angeles, I was completely unaware of the plans to demolish the fountain, and of the protests against that demolition. What makes this even more painful for me is that our production turned its back on the history related by Msrs. Rado and Ragni in HAiR by re-locating the action from the Greenwich Village area to mid-town Manhattan’s Central Park.
R.I.P. Our Favorite Fountain
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Blessed be with peace, love, freedom, and happiness!
John
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 AM and filed under Uncategorized. Follow comments here with the RSS 2.0 feed. Skip to the end and leave a response. Trackbacks are closed.
that’s a total bummer about the fountain!
just for the record, the tribe, according to Jeannie, lives on “teeny bopper island” and Claude, Berger and Sheila live together in an “East Village” apartment in an arrangement that is “highly unusual”
Posted on 23-Jan-08 at 1:03 pm | PermalinkThanks, Mike. It is gratifying when people not only read my posts, but then take the time to respond to them!
Re. your comment that Jeannie says: “I live with a whole bunch of people on Teeny Bopper Island:†I always wondered if she was simply declaring Manhattan Island to be “Teeny Bopper Island,†or that her comment was more of a philosophical reference to the somewhat isolated “island†of the tribe. Maybe both — maybe neither — maybe something else entirely.
Re. your statement that Berger, Claude, and Sheila were cohabiting in an East Village apartment: I agree that, according to Sheila, all three live in the East Village. Specifically, she says: “I live in the East Village with these two magnificent beasts. Claude, the purist mind on Avenue C. … And, Berger, the grooviest ball on Avenue B.†This is consistent with the fact that Avenues B and C run through the East Village. However, I know of no reference in the production script that indicates that they are actually cohabiting, whether in an apartment or otherwise. Please tell me where you found the apartment reference.
As for Jeannie’s statement about the “highly unusual†things going on, I see it as a reference to the love/lust arrangements within the tribe, rather than a specific indication of which tribe members are physically living together. Jeannie’s monologue from the production script is: “This is the way it is. I’m hung up on Claude. Sheila’s hung up on Berger, Berger is hung up everywhere. Claude is hung up on a cross over Sheila and Berger. And, as a prospective mother, I would just like to say that there is something highly unusual going on here, and furthermore, Woof is hung up on Berger.â€
I am looking forward to any further comments and clarifications.
Blessed be with peace, love, freedom, and happiness!
John
PS: Give my warmest regards to Debbie.
Posted on 23-Jan-08 at 6:40 pm | PermalinkThe fountain is demolished, yes, but only to be moved, according to the article at this link:
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_141/squaresfountain.html
The picture linked in the original post does give a good shot of Judson Church, home of Al Carmine’s Judson Poet’s Theater. They still present theater, music and dance events, as well as being a progressive church.
Minor correction: The Waverly was a movie theater, not a hotel, and the Waverly switched over to become the IFC (independent film center?) a couple years ago– so that marquis has been gone for a while as well.
rj
Posted on 26-Jan-08 at 12:23 pm | PermalinkThank you RJ for posting the following link to The Villager’s article on the changes being made to Washington Square: http://www.thevillager.com/villager_141/squaresfountain.html
The article appears (IMHO) to expose New York’s claim that they were “just moving the fountain†to improve the park’s esthetics as a lie. The new fountain is described as utilizing large, computer-controlled pumps to create “nine high-powered water jets,†one shooting a water plume 45 feet up into the air. This radical change from the peaceful fountain that was demolished indicates that New York is intent on creating an automated show piece for display to tourists to replace the community- and family-friendly gathering place for relaxation and impromptu entertainment.
Thank you also for correcting my erroneous statement that when Chrissy sings about meeting Frank Mills in front of the “Waverly†that she was referring to the Washington Square Hotel (aka Waverly Hotel) rather than the old Waverly theater (now reborn as the Independent Film Center theater). Michael Butler, in an intra-tribal communication, also caught this gaffe. Thanks, Michael. It does make much more sense that they would have met in front of the avant-garde theater than the hotel. Since both are in Greenwich Village, my original point that the reference was to a location within the Village still stands.
Michael Butler also advised me of another error in my post. I made the error of lumping the West Village and the East Village areas into Greenwich Village. While the West Village is, in fact, a part of Greenwich Village, the East Village is not. The legal border between Greenwich Village (aka “The Villageâ€) and the East Village is Broadway. Even though both La Mama ETC and the Public Theatre are located just a few blocks from Washington Square, the theaters lie on the east side of Broadway, and thus are in the East Village rather than Greenwich Village. I should have said “the Greenwich Village area.â€
In his intra-tribal communication, Mr. Butler pointed out that “(m)ost of the action in HAIR was in Central Park.†rather than Greenwich and East Villages many miles to Central Park’s south. This came as quite a surprise to me since almost all of the references in the play are to places in the Villages. Further confusing me is the fact that, though the production script does not explicitly call out the play’s location, the paperback script opens with:
“TIME: The Present.
PLACE: New York City, mostly the East Village.â€
This location question is immaterial for all HAiR productions that I had seen previous to seeing our production. Those previous productions chose to use abstract, non site-specific sets as, I believe, is suggested by the script. The production script only says “About 10 minutes prior to curtain time, CLAUDE comes on stage, looks around, and then sits down in the center. At the same time, the TRIBE appears from the wings, in the tower, on the scaffoldings, and in the Audience.â€
Curiously, the paperback script is much more specific as to the set design. It states:
“THE SET: The bare stage, totally exposed, no wing masking and, if possible, the entire proscenium arch stripped of any curtain, thus exposing the fly area, the grid, etc. The brick walls, the radiator pipes, the stage ropes, the light pipes, all lights, are visible, as well as the three flag drops—perhaps some costumes might be hung on light-pipes and flown.
“The floor is raked slightly and should be made to simulate dirt.â€
“There are two permanent set pieces on the raked stage. They are:
1. Totem Pole—stage right center—a large, authentic, beautiful American Indian totem pole.
2. A Crucifix-Tree—stage left center—a metal, modern sculpture Crucifix, with a rather abstract Jesus on it. The Crucifix also resembles a tree: the main cross branch, other smaller branches. Jesus is electrified with little twinkling lights in his eyes and on his body. At times, of course, the tree is climbed.â€
“The stage hands, the stage managers, etc., will be visible in the wings (though the wings are not brightly lit).â€
“In short, all of the elements of this production are contained within the stage area from the onset and are manipulated in full view of the audience as the play progresses.â€
“Exterior scenes make use of the dirt floor. For the interior scenes, oriental scenes will be rolled out by The Tribe themselves. In fact, The Tribe will do most of the set changes, as simple as they are.â€
I am not suggesting that the paperback script should bed used as the definitive source for the answers to all questions that the production script leaves unanswered, but I think that the paperback version can be a valuable insight into the feelings of the authors.
Our Shoshonee production charted new territory by not only building a set to give the feel of Central Park, which even included a mural on the rear wall that was painted from a photographic view of Central Park. If this was not clear enough to the audience, it was sometimes announced at the start of the show that the action takes place in New York’s Central Park.
I am very interested in any information that indicates that the play is set in Central Park rather than the East Village. Why would the authors call out the East Village as the play’s location in their paperback script, and place the production play in Central Park?
I am looking forward to hearing more on the history of HAiR, and thanks again to RJ and MB for keeping me on track,
Blessed be with peace, love, freedom, and happiness!
Posted on 01-Feb-08 at 2:00 am | PermalinkJohn
Hi all,
Far be it from me to contradict our beloved Silver Indian, but I have always been under the impression from my research that the play takes place in Thompkins Square Park which is in the East Village, and was the main hang-out for the New York hippie scene, along with Washington Square Park in the west Village, much as Golden Gate Park was for the hippies in Haight Ashbury. The film version of Hair was set in Central Park.
Posted on 09-Feb-08 at 5:20 pm | PermalinkNina
Thank you RJ for posting the following link to The Villager’s article on the changes being made to Washington Square: http://www.thevillager.com/villager_141/squaresfountain.html The article appears (IMHO) to expose New York’s claim that they were “just moving the fountain†to improve the park’s esthetics as a lie. The new fountain is described as utilizing large, computer-controlled pumps to create “nine high-powered water jets,†one shooting a water plume 45 feet up into the air. This radical change from the peaceful fountain that was demolished indicates that New York is intent on creating an automated showpiece for display to tourists to replace the community- and family-friendly gathering place for relaxation and impromptu entertainment.
Thank you also for correcting my erroneous statement that when Chrissy sings about meeting Frank Mills in front of the “Waverly†that she was referring to the Washington Square Hotel (aka Waverly Hotel) rather than the old Waverly theater (now reborn as the Independent Film Center theater). Michael Butler, in an intra-tribal communication, also caught this gaffe. Thanks, Michael. It does make much more sense that they would have met in front of the avant-garde theater than the hotel. Since both are in Greenwich Village, my original point that the reference was to a location within the Village still stands.
Michael Butler also advised me of another error in my post. I made the error of lumping the West Village and the East Village areas into Greenwich Village. While the West Village is, in fact, considered a part of Greenwich Village, the East Village is not. The legal border between Greenwich Village (a.k.a.: “The Villageâ€) and the East Village is Broadway. Even though both La Mama ETC and the Public Theatre are located just a few blocks from Washington Square, the theaters lie on the east side of Broadway, and thus are in the East Village rather than Greenwich Village. I should have said “the Greenwich Village area.â€
I was quite surprised when Michael Butler informed me, in his intra-tribal communication, that “most of the action in HAIR was in Central Park†I was well aware that Michael Weller placed his story for the “Hair†movie in Central Park so that he could use the horse trails to bring together the stunt-riding cowboy Claude with the ritzy horse-riding Sheila, but I had always believed that James Rado and Gerome Ragni sited their play in Greenwich and East Villages. My assumption was based on the fact that virtually all of the references in the play are located in that area, and that HAiR was written and first performed there. Furthermore, although the production script does not call out a specific location, the published (paperback) script says:
“TIME: The Present.
PLACE: New York City, mostly the East Village.â€
The actual location of the action is rather unimportant in all previous productions of HAiR that I have seen as all of those productions chose to follow the production script’s instructions that “the setting indicates the fluid-abstract world of the 1960’s as seen by, for, and about the ‘Flower Children’ of the period.†The published “paperback†script is much more specific as to the set design: it calls out a theater stage stripped of all curtains and other masking items so that all equipment, production personnel, light grids, etc. are visible to the audience. Even the bare walls and radiators in the space are supposed to be visible! Though I have never seen a HAiR production that went quite so far, all HAiRs that I had seen prior to our Shoshonee production were performed on abstract, non-location-specific sets.
In contrast, our production was mounted on a set designed to look like Central Park. The rear wall of the set featured a large mural of a well-known vista in Central Park, and the set construction featured a brickwork bridge and a street light reminiscent of the park lights featured in the Michael Weller/Milos Foreman movie “Hairâ€. Some pre-show announcements finished with a statement something like “we now take you to Central Park.â€
I would love to hear the history of when, and why, the play’s location was changed. Was the original, Joseph Papp, production placed in Central Park or the East Village area? Why did the authors locate the action in the paperback script in the East Village, and then place the live stage performances in Central Park?
I am looking forward to hearing more on the history of HAiR, and thanks again to RJ and MB for keeping me on track,
Blessed be with peace, love, freedom, and happiness!
Posted on 10-Feb-08 at 5:32 am | PermalinkJohn
OOOOPS!
As the old TV ad said: “This is your mind on drugs.â€
Well, this is my mind on severe lack of sleep! You have probably noticed that my Replies #4 & #6 on this thread are almost alike. I apologize. What happened is that, while editing my reply post, I apparently managed to accidentally send a preliminary draft (Reply #4). Not realizing that the early draft had been sent out, I continued to edit the post and then resent it (Reply #6). The content is essentially the same, but the latter post is really what I wanted to say.
Sorry for the inconvenience, and I resolve to try to get more sleep rather than work on posts in the middle of the night.
Blessed be with peace, love, freedom, and happiness!
Posted on 11-Feb-08 at 11:42 pm | PermalinkJohn
Hey John!
sorry about the delay in getting back .. to answer your question .. Sheila says “I live in the East Village with these two magnificent beasts” – to me that seems pretty clear that they live togehter in an apartment, although the cool thing about Hair is that it keeps you guessing
As for the Jeannie quote .. i took her to be talking about all of the tribe generally and hence including the Claude/Sheila/Berger arrangement, that being the one most specifically described in the plot.
One of the cool things about the show is that even if you go by the original script, each cast gets to improvise on it to an extent (Open Theater style) so if you see it different times, you might get a different take
anyways .. my 2 cents
Posted on 12-Feb-08 at 7:54 am | Permalinkxoxo
m
I just read this and I am really, really sad. I’ve been to NYC 3 times and been to Washington Square Park twice. The first time was in the summer and sitting by the fountain and people-watching was probably my very favorite thing in NYC (well maybe seeing Spring Awakening this past summer is close). Then I went back in the winter and it was still wonderful. It really was one of my favorite places in the world. It’s just really horrible news.
Posted on 28-Feb-08 at 6:06 pm | Permalink