Belgrade, Serbia

From Newsweek, 1969:

“Kosa,” the Communist world’s first staging of “hair,” is the favorite of the musical’s authors and sometime actor, Gerome Ragni and James Rado, globetrotting from one production to the next. They found the Belgrade show “so beautiful, so spontaneous that we had to go right on the stage to share their enthusiasm.” Said Medusa-haired Ragni , “There exist no middle-class prejudices here.” Earlier in Munich, where according to producer Werner Schmid “most people don’t even know what hippies are,” Rado and Ragni were turned down by an up-tight hotel. Eventually they got a room in a hotel called-appropriately-the Vitalis.

Another notable production was in the former Yugoslavia (Belgrade), the first Hair to be produced in a communist country.[47] Directed by local female producer-director Mira Trailović[48] and attended by president Tito, the Belgrade production was a favorite of authors Rado and Ragni, with Ragni declaring “there’s no middle class prejudices here”. Local references added to the script included barbs aimed at Mao Zedong as well as Albania, Yugoslavia’s traditional rival.[41]

“Kosa” was re-vamped once again in 2010, but did not manage to cause any controversy, apart from the fact that it wasn’t very socially engaged locally, but instead chose to address the question of anti-globalization movement while at the same time being sponsored by Philip Morris tobacco corporation.

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