''Viet Rock'' is a

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept ...

Megan Terry Megan Terry (born July 22, 1932) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and theatre artist. She has produced over fifty works for theater, radio, and television, and is best known for her avant-garde theatrical work from the 1960s. As a found ...

that served as inspiration to the musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. A violent denunciation of the American involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, the play was described by its author as a "folk war movie" comprising scenes of disillusionment and protest to the American military presence in Southeast Asia. ''Viet Rock'' is widely considered to be the first rock musical written and performed in the United States, as well as the first protest play about Vietnam. Its premiere also marks the first major theatre production in the United States in which actors left the stage to interact directly with the audience. The play was initially developed in 1965 and 1966 during collaborative workshops at New York City's

The Open Theater The Open Theater was an experimental theatre group active from 1963 to 1973. Foundation The Open Theater was founded in New York City by a group of former students of acting teacher Nola Chilton, together with director Joseph Chaikin (formerly of ...

under the leadership of

Joseph Chaikin Joseph Chaikin (September 16, 1935 – June 22, 2003) was an American theatre director, actor, playwright, and pedagogue. Early life and education The youngest of five children, Chaikin was born to a poor Jewish family living in the Borough Pa ...

and Peter Feldman. The company performed improvisations based on accounts of the Vietnam War, and Terry wrote and directed a full-length show based on these improvisations. The music was composed by

Marianne de Pury Marianne de Pury (born 3 April 1935) is a Swiss theatre artist and composer born in St. Gallen, Switzerland. She is best known as the musical composer of two 1966 anti-war plays, Jean-Claude van Itallie, Jean-Claude van Itallie's social satire ''A ...

, who developed the songs during the workshops. It opened at

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

on May 18, 1966. The play then had a two-week run at the

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented student ...

before its off-Broadway premiere at the Martinique Theatre on November 10, 1966. It closed at the Martinique on December 31 after 62 performances. One of the leading cast members was

Gerome Ragni Gerome Ragni (born Jerome Bernard Ragni; September 11, 1935 – July 10, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter, best known as one of the stars and co-writers of the 1967 musical '' Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical''. On Jun ...

, who would go on to create the musical ''

'' with fellow actor

James Rado James Alexander Radomski (January 23, 1932 – June 21, 2022), known professionally as James Rado, was an American actor, playwright, director, and composer, best known as the co-author, along with Gerome Ragni, of the 1967 musical ''Hair''. He ...

. In developing ''Hair'', Ragni borrowed the anti-war theme, as well as the experimental technique of improvisational exercises, from the production of ''Viet Rock''.

Publication

''Viet Rock'' is published by

Broadway Play Publishing Inc. Broadway Play Publishing Inc (BPPI) was established in New York City in 1982 to publish and license the stage performance rights of contemporary American plays. The Broadway Play Publishing Inc catalog consists of over 1,000 plays and nearly 400 ...

in the collection ''Plays By Megan Terry''.

References

External links

* 1966 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Original musicals Rock musicals {{1960s-play-stub

Publication

See also

References

External links