The announcement was made by Hair producers and Broadway Impact, which was founded by Tony Award-nominated 2008 Hair revival star Gavin Creel and Book of Mormon Tony nominee Rory O'Mally.
On June 24, the eve of Pride Weekend in New York City, New York became the sixth state in the U.S. to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The legislation, which passed with support from both Republicans and Democrats, will be put into practice July 24 when clerk's offices will begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples.
Same-sex couples from the Broadway community will gather at the St. James Theatre following the July 25 evening performance of Hair to be among the first couples legally wed in New York State.
The cast of Hair will also take part in a special performance and be-in event July 24 at 9 PM at Rockwood Music Hall. The evening will benefit Broadway Impact.
The current Broadway engagement of Hair is a stop on the national tour of the Tony-winning revival, which launched in fall 2010. It re-opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre July 13. Cast members from the original 2008 Broadway revival of the musical also attended the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. in October 2009 to commemorate the anniversary of LGBT activists who first marched on Washington in October 1979 to fight for equal rights.
"Hair has always been more than just a show - its spirit of activism means changing the world, not just entertaining it," Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis said in a statement. "The entire company of this amazing production went to Washington to march for marriage equality, and we are honored to be back on Broadway helping New York show the world what real equality means."
"The theater is the place where we come together to celebrate and affirm who we are," Jujamcyn Theatres president Jordan Roth added in a statement. "It is the place where we stand in front of our community to speak our truth. That is theater. And that is also a wedding. It feels so very right then at this moment of historic magnitude for all of us to host some of the first same-sex weddings in New York State at our theatre. Our home."
