Melbourne: More than two decades have passed since our city last felt the electric, defiant pulse of Hair, the American tribal love-rock musical that defined a generation. On 25 October 2025, the Athenaeum Theatre will light up again for a limited season of this Grammy and Tony Award-winning show, reintroducing its message of peace, freedom and rebellion to both those who remember and those yet to discover it.
Hair was born of the counterculture. Created by lyricists and performers James Rado and Gerome Ragni with composer Galt MacDermot, the show exploded onto the New York stage in 1967 before transferring to Broadway in 1968, where it ran for an astonishing 1,750 performances.
It was branded “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical” for good reason. Its radical mix of rock music and theatre, anti-war politics, sexual liberation, and psychedelic spirit created something never seen before on Broadway. Songs like Aquarius, Good Morning Starshine, Easy to Be Hard, Hair and Let the Sunshine In became global hits, breaking free of the stage and storming radio charts around the world.
Hair captured the Vietnam War era with unflinching honesty. It tackled draft resistance, racism, sexual identity, pacifism and civil disobedience, while celebrating community, free love and youthful rebellion. The story of Claude, Berger and their hippie “tribe” is less a traditional plot and more a series of sketches, songs and confrontations that mirror the chaos and joy of the times.
Even now, its questions remain: how do we resist injustice? How do we confront war and violence? How do we define freedom? Nearly sixty years on, its themes still spark recognition.
When Hair first arrived in Australia in the early 1970s, it shocked, inspired and launched careers. Future icons like Marcia Hines, Reg Livermore, John Waters, Lyndsay Field and Sylvie Paladino cut their teeth in its colourful, rebellious productions.
In 2025, the same urgency that fuelled the original remains. Director Glenn Elston says the show still speaks with force, “I’ve always had a very personal connection to Hair, it’s the soundtrack of my youth during a time really close to my heart. Revisiting it now, I’m reminded how fearless this show was back then and how much it still matters today. I’m genuinely excited to bring it back for those who know it and love it and to introduce it to a whole new generation.”
Melbourne Season Details
Venue: Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Melbourne
Dates: 25 October – 22 November 2025
Prices: From $59 – $139
Performance times: Wed 1pm & 7pm, Thu–Sat 7.30pm, Sun 1pm & 6.30pm (no shows Mon or Tue)
Tickets: www.hairthemusical.com.au
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