Characters / Hair

This is the character sheet for the musical Hair and its film adaptation. Characterizations are going to be mainly based on the stage version.

NOTE: This page is a work in progress.

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The Tribe

General

A "tribe" of peace-loving, war-hating, draft-dodging, pot-smoking hippies living in New York City.

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• New-Age Retro Hippie: Literally every member of the tribe.

Claude Hooper Bukowski

Claude Hooper Bukowski

Portryaed by: James Rado (Original Broadway production); Gavin Creel (Broadway revival); John Savage (Film)

The Protagonist and leader of the tribe, Claude is a thoughtful young man from Flushing, Queens. His pacifistic ideals are threatened by the arrival of his draft notice, and throughout most of the musical he struggles with the decision of whether or not to burn his draft card.

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• Fake Brit: An In-Universe example. For some unknown reason, Claude puts on a British accent during his introduction and (in the original production) when he's arguing with his mother. He also claims to be from Manchester when he's actually from Flushing.
• Love Triangle: He's in one with Berger and Sheila.

George Berger

George Berger

Portrayed by: Gerome Ragni (Original Broadway production); Will Swenson (Broadway revival); Treat Williams (Film)

A rebellious "psychedelic teddy bear" and Claude's best friend. He tries to encourage Claude to burn his draft card.

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• Apathetic Student: With his implied disregard for dress code, the way he talks back to his principal, and his straight up elation at being expelled, it's clear that Berger doesn't like school too much.
• Loincloth: His signature article of clothing.
• Love Triangle: He's in one with Claude and Sheila.
• Mooning: When Woof tells everyone to "look at the moon", Berger then shows the audience his ass while also telling them to "look at the moon".
• Ungrateful Bastard: Sheila gives Berger a yellow shirt that she got for him while she was in Washington, D.C. Instead of thanking Sheila for it, Berger roughly plays around with it, gets angry when Sheila tells him to stop, calls her a nag, and then rips the shirt in half because "it was fun".
• Vague Age: Berger's age isn't clear, but given that during the course of the musical he gets expelled from high school, it can be assumed that he is, at the youngest, in his late teens. However, given the fact that his girlfriend is in university, it is also possible that he's in his early twenties and has just been held back a few times.

Sheila Franklin

Sheila Franklin

Portrayed by: Lynn Kellogg (Original Broadway production); Caissie Levy (Broadway revival); Beverly D'Angelo (Film)

A second-year student at New York University who leads the tribe in protest marches. She is in a rocky relationship with Berger.

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• Love Triangle: She's in one with Claude and Berger.
• Soapbox Sadie

Neil "Woof" Donovan

Neil "Woof" Donovan

Portrayed by: Steven Curry (Original Broadway production); Bryce Ryness (Broadway revival); Donnie Dacus (Film)

A gentle soul who likes to plant things and loves every member of the tribe.

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• Ambiguously Bi: Woof claims that he isn't gay, however he loves Mick Jagger, saying he's the only man he'd ever sleep with.
• Caring Gardener: He has a garden and claims to love everyone in the tribe.

Hud

Hud

Portrayed by: Lamont Washington (Original Broadway production); Darius Nichols (Broadway revival); Dorsey Wright (Film)

A black man who is the self-proclaimed "President of the United States of Love".

Jeanie

Jeanie

Portrayed by: Sally Eaton (Original Broadway production); Kacie Sheik (Broadway revival)

An eccentric young pregnant woman who is in love with Claude.

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• Rejection Affection: She believes that Claude loves her the way she loves him, even after he harshly dismisses her.
  Claude: Jeanie, be a good fly and buzz off. [walks away]
  [Beat]
  Jeanie: [to audience] He loves me!

Dionne

Dionne

Portrayed by: Melba Moore (Original Broadway production); Sasha Allen (Broadway revival)

A young black woman who is friends with Jeanie.

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• Where da White Women At?: A gender inversion. Dionne is attracted to white boys, as she proclaims during the song "White Boys", which she is the lead singer in.

Crissy

Crissy

Portrayed by: Shelley Plimpton (Original Broadway production); Allison Case (Broadway revival)

A friend of Dionne and Jeanie. She waits by the Waverly movie theater hoping that one day Frank Mills, a member of Hell's Angels who she fell in love with, will come back for her.

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• Ambiguously Bi: Crissy fell in love with a boy named Frank Mills, but towards the end of her song she mentions having a girlfriend named Angela. It's unclear whether she meant "girlfriend" in the romantic or platonic sense.

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Other Characters

Claude's Parents

Claude's mother and father who disapprove of his lifestyle and want him to join the military.

Margaret Mead

A tourist who is curious about why the tribe grows their hair so long. After they explain themselves in the show's title song, she expresses her belief that young people should be able to live their lives however they want, encouraging the tribe's lifestyle and comparing the act of a man growing his hair long to that of a male bird showing his plumage.

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• Only Known by Their Nickname: "Margaret Mead" is the nickname given to her by the tribe after her comparison of a man's hair to a bird's plumage. Her real name is never given.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Margaret is a sweet woman who encourages the tribe to live how they want and sees the beauty in the long hair of a man. After Berger compliments her dress, she tells him that she's not wearing one, opening her coat to reveal that she is actually a man in drag wearing nothing underneath but a pair of boxers. Her husband is, apparently, oblivious to this fact.