Bill Russell was born in Deadwood and raised in Spearfish in the Black Hills of South Dakota. His paternal grandparents were Wyoming ranchers and his father was known as "Cowboy" to all. But somehow in that Wild West context, Bill was bitten by a theater bug at an early age.
He attended Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, for two years majoring in theater and spent the summers directing shows at a resort in northern New Jersey. There he met an Oberlin student, Janet Hood, and, inspired by Hair, asked if she'd like to write a rock musical together. They did ... read more
