Public Announces Final HAIR Extension Until 9/14

 The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus) announced a final one-week extension today for HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical which has been playing to sold out houses at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park since July 22.  Directed by Diane Paulus with book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot, this critically acclaimed revival of the classic 1967 musical has had two previous extensions but now must close on Sunday, September 14.

"HAIR has touched a nerve and captured the spirit of the times," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "Nothing is more exciting than being in the Delacorte right now and seeing this 40-year-old musical reach audiences as if it was written yesterday. We are thrilled to announce our third and final extension."

HAIR was the show that, in 1967, officially opened The Public Theater's long-time home on Lafayette Street.  HAIR has the distinction of being the first off-Broadway musical to transfer to Broadway.  It moved to Broadway on April 29, 1968 and ran for 1,873 performances.

The cast for HAIR features Ato Blankson-Wood (Tribe), Steel Burkhardt (Tribe), Jackie Burns (Black Boys Trio/Tribe), Allison Case (Crissy), Lauren Elder (Tribe), Allison Guinn (Tribe), Christopher J. Hanke (Claude), Anthony Hollock (Tribe), Kaitlin Kiyan (Tribe), Andrew Kober (Father/Margaret Mead),  Megan Lawrence (Mother), Nicole Lewis (White Boys Trio / Tribe), Caren Lyn Manuel (Sheila), Patina Renea Miller (Dionne), John Moauro (Tribe), Darius Nichols (Hud), Brandon Pearson (Tribe), Megan Reinking (Black Boys Trio / Tribe), Paris Remillard (Tribe), Bryce Ryness (Woof), Saycon Sengbloh (White Boys Trio / Tribe), Maya Sharpe (Tribe), Kacie Sheik (Jeanie), Theo Stockman (Tribe), Will Swenson (Berger), and Tommar Wilson (Tribe).

HAIR features scenic design by Scott Pask, costume design by Michael McDonald, lighting design by Michael Chybowski, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, and choreography by Karole Armitage.

Free tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are only distributed at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park or via a new virtual line opportunity at www.publictheater.org.  The Public Theater is not distributing tickets downtown at 425 Lafayette Street due to ongoing construction on the exterior of the building.

To increase accessibility to Park shows, The Public Theater has launched a virtual line initiative this summer.  While the majority of the tickets are still given out at the line in Central Park, a limited number of tickets are available each show day online.  The virtual line allows people who are registered at The Public Theater website to log-on the day of a show (starting at midnight) to submit a request for up to two tickets.  At 1 PM, they  log-on to the theater website again to see if they have received tickets for that evening's performance.  The tickets are held at the box office and a valid photo ID is required.  The selection process is completely random and is not determined by what time of day a person submits a request for tickets.

Summer Supporter tickets for HAIR are available for a tax-deductible donation of $165. These reserved seats are only available for a limited time to ensure that the highest number of free seats will be available to distribute to the general public on the day of the show.  Summer Supporter tickets help to underwrite production expenses.  Supporter tickets are available at the Public Theater Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street; online at publictheater.org; or by calling (212) 967-7555.

DIANE PAULUS (Director) is the creator and director of The Donkey Show, which ran for six years off-Broadway and toured internationally. Her theater credits include Turandot: Rumble for the Ring (Bay Street Theatre); The Golden Mickeys (Disney Creative Entertainment); Best of Both Worlds (Music-Theatre Group and The Women's Project); The Karaoke Show (Jordan Roth Productions); the Obie Award-winning Pulitzer Prize finalist Running Man; Swimming With Watermelons (Project 400); Brutal Imagination; the Obie-winning Eli's Comin. Opera credits include Le Nozze Di Figaro, Turn of the Screw, Cosi Fan Tutte, Il Ritorno D'ulisse In Patria, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, and Orfeo (all Chicago Opera Theater; Orfeo was also presented at BAM). Recipient: Peter Ivers Visiting Artist Fellowship (Harvard); Directing Fellowship (the Drama League).

Performances of HAIR are Tuesday through Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are FREE and available on the day of the performance (two per person) at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at 1:00 p.m. or via a new virtual line opportunity at www.publictheater.org beginning at 12 AM the day of the show you want to attend.  The closest entrances to the Delacorte are at 81st Street and Central Park West or 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

For additional information about Shakespeare in the Park, call (212) 539-8750 or visit

The Public Theater website at www.publictheater.org

THE PUBLIC THEATER (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 as the Shakespeare Workshop and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, productions of Shakespeare, and other classics at its headquarters on Lafayette Street and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.  The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day on stage and through its extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 40 Tony Awards, 145 Obies, 39 Drama Desk Awards, 24 Lucille Lortel Awards and 4 Pulitzer Prizes.

BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY

Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America is in its fourth year of achieving an unprecedented 10-year goal to donate $1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods.  Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will give more than $225 million in 2008, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions.  Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities.  Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 650,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide.  For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.

Photo by Michal Daniel

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