Diane Paulus To Co-Direct Live TV Production Of 'Hair'

Diane Paulus, the artistic director at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, is co-directing a live TV adaptation of the rock musical "Hair" that will air on NBC in the spring.

This is coming off the heels of NBC's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar Live" this past April, which picked up 13 Emmy nominations earlier this month.

Paulus, who will serve as stage director, directed a revival of "Hair" on Broadway in 2009, which picked up a Tony Award for best musical revival and gave her a best directing nomination. (She also directed a run of "Hair" at the Colonial Theatre in Boston in 2011.) She was awarded a Tony four years later for her direction of "Pippin." Alex Rudzinski, who won an Emmy for directing "Grease: Live" in 2016 and was nominated for directing "Jesus Christ Superstar Live" this year, will be the live television director.

In the announcement Tuesday, NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt called Paulus and Rudzinski "the dream team" for a live production of the 50-year-old rock musical.

"I was at the electrifying opening night of Diane Paulus’ Tony-winning revival of ‘Hair’ 10 years ago and was blown away by how relevant and utterly joyous this show became in her hands," Greenblatt wrote in a statement. "She is one of the most successful directors working in the theatre today and we’re thrilled she will be collaborating with Alex Rudzinski, the most daring director working in live musical television.”

Paulus recently completed a world premiere run of "Jagged Little Pill," a musical based on the Alanis Morissette album of the same name, at the A.R.T. In 2014, she was named one of the world's 100 most influential people in Time Magazine.

The musical debuted at the Public Theater in 1967 and then opened on Broadway in 1968. The plot follows a group of politically active hippies in New York City who are part of the anti-Vietnam War movement.

The live broadcast production is set to air on Sunday, May 19, 2019.