THE SEMINAL AWARD WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL HAIR

The first thing I want to emphasize about HAIR is the fact that my partner, Bill Owens, gets all the credit for securing the rights to produce a company of HAIR in Seattle.  The show had already proven itself and was a big hit in New York, London and San Francisco. Bill and I were highly motivated to mount one more production of the show in Seattle in 1970.  In addition to the fact that our company, Northwest Releasing , had an excellent national reputation, we had one other strong factor working in our favor. We were able to secure an ideal venue, the 1,460 seat Moore Theater for an extended run in Seattle.  When getting everything in alignment for the production of a Broadway show the ability to secure an optimum venue is of paramount importance, and difficult to come by. The Moore was a “legit” house with a full fly gallery and a just right capacity. It was ideal for Hair, and we had the clout to clear and staff the Theater for an extended run.  

The Seattle production of HAIR was one of my favorite and most compelling projects.  Bill Owens was instrumental in persuading Michael Butler to go forward with the Seattle production under our NRC banner, but once the contracts were signed it became my project.  

HAIR was very controversial because the show featured complete frontal nudity in the last scene.  Some conservative organizations were dead set against it. This created a field day for the media and as local impresario I was embroiled in all of that; doing media interviews on a regular basis.

NRC provided the Bon Marche box office, stage hands, ushers and local musicians – my friend Doug De Meerleer, who worked on my band for nearly a dozen years, played on the house band.  The song and dance numbers, costuming and lighting; all creative, was overseen by the original New York management team. The stage production manager, musical director, set and costume designers all flew out from New York to over-see the Seattle show.  The Seattle company was the fourth production to be mounted following the successful runs in New York, London and San Francisco.

The Seattle production of HAIR opened to great reviews and ran for seventeen weeks;  eight shows a week including two matinees on weekends. Except for the times when Bill Owens, Judy Cites and Dan Shadle subbed for me I was at the theater for every show. One night we had a bomb scare that necessitated my going on stage to gently request that over 1,200 people calmly exit the theater (what a mob could be seen stalling traffic and hanging out near Second and Virginia). After the Seattle production closed the show continued to tour as the “Venus Company” and I played it in additional markets, including Buffalo, New York (and other cities I can’t remember); and also Anchorage, Alaska, which became a difficult and controversial booking.  The show was almost cancelled by The Women’s League (or some such organization …look it up). I had a heck-of-a-time working my way through all of the problems that surfaced in connection with Anchorage booking. I wasn’t sure that I would get back to Seattle with my skin, much less the money. My wife, Kate, flew to Seattle with a large sum of money hidden in her luggage to make sure we got out of there with our skins. My friend and longtime band-mate, Doug DeMeerleer, toured with The Venus Company for more than six months and ultimately become the music contractor. We never would have mounted the show in Seattle if it weren’t for my partner, Bill Owens.  He doggedly pursued the producer, Michael Butler, until the contract was inked.