Waterbury's Palace Theater Offers Free Lecture

HISTORY, HIPPIES & HAIR

UConn OLLI Program and Palace Theater Team Up for Free “Counterculture” Class

Waterbury – As a prelude and historic introduction to the Palace Theater’s Webster Broadway Series presentation of HAIR, May 2-4, the Palace has partnered with UConn Waterbury’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program to present a free lecture on counterculture during the Vietnam War era on Wednesday, April 23, from 6:30p.m. to 7:30p.m. in the theater’s Poli Club.

Presented by author and historic writer Alan Bisbort, the lecture will be an expansion of Bisbort’s current OLLI history course “Beatniks vs. Hippies? No Contest!” in which he uses recordings, artifacts, literary works and first-hand accounts to bring the 1950’s and 1960’s back to life for his students. Excerpts from the original cast productions of HAIR will be presented during the class, as well as analysis of the revolutionary musical’s themes and historic background.

Bisbort is the author of, and contributor to, several books about postwar American history and counterculture, including Beatniks: A Guide to an American Subculture and Rhino’s Psychedelic Trip. He has written extensively about cultural and historical topics for the New York Times, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Creem, City Paper, The Advocate and the Waterbury Republican-American.

Updated for 2014 by original creator Jim Rado, HAIR is a rebellious and provocative theatrical experience that depicts the birth of the 1960’s cultural movement that changed America forever. The show follows the story of “The Tribe,” a diverse group of free-spirited, politically-active hippies, who live a bohemian life and passionately preach pacifism and free love in a conservative society riddled with intolerance, brutality and the looming draft of the Vietnam War.

Lecture attendees that purchase tickets to the Palace’s Sunday, May 4, matinee performance of HAIR on the night of the class will receive a 30% ticket discount, as well as an invitation to attend a post-show talk back and meet-and-greet with HAIR cast on the afternoon of the show.