Hal Prince

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Hal Prince (born January 30, 1928) is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century. He has earned more Tony Awards (21) than any other individual, including eight for directing, eight for producing, two as producer of the year's Best Musical, and three special awards. His shows are known for their political context, new approach to romance, and characters who sing and dance with thematic import.

Born Harold Smith Prince in New York City, he began work in the theatre as an assistant stage manager to legendary theatrical producer and director George Abbott. Along with Abbott, he co-produced The Pajama Game, which won the 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical. He went on to direct his own productions in 1962 beginning with A Family Affair and hit a series of unsuccessful productions. He almost gave up the musical theater right before he hit success with Cabaret in 1966. 1970 marked the start of his greatest collaboration to composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. They had previously worked on West Side Story and had now finally decided to embark on their own project. Their pairing led to a long string of collaborations, including Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Pacific Overtures (1976), and Sweeney Todd (1979). After the disappointing Merrily We Roll Along (1981), they did not work together again until Bounce (2003), which proved to be another failure.

Prince also has directed operas, including Ashmedai, Willie Stark, Madame Butterfly, and a revival of Candide.

He directed two of Andrew Lloyd Webber's successes, Evita and The Phantom of the Opera. He was offered to direct Cats by Webber but turned it down.

Despite creating a number of hugely popular musicals in the late 1970s and 1980s such as The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, and Evita, Harold Prince also left behind a bad legacy in this period. His first major artistic failure with Stephen Sondheim was in 1981 with Merrily We Roll Along. Determined to bounce back, Prince started working on a new musical with lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green that would be continue the story of Nora Helmer past what Henrik Ibsen had written in A Doll's House. It was as badly received critically as Merrily, mainly because critics blamed him for either picking a bad idea for a musical or repeating himself. Other unpopular musicals of this time include Roza and Grind which both suffered creative and financial difficulties. Prince himself stopped producing and directing concurrently during this period because the process of financing a show had become so difficult.

Prince was the inspiration for John Lithgow's character in Bob Fosse's film All That Jazz.

Prince is married to Judy Chaplin, daughter of Saul Chaplin. They are parents of director Daisy Prince Chaplin and conductor Charles Prince. He currently serves as president of the National Institute for Musical Theater.

Hal Prince is known as the great modern Producer-Director of the American Broadway Musical. Critics have recognized Prince's work as further developing the “concept musical,” in which the narrative of a show is not necessarily the primary authorial emphasis and instead the production centers on an idea or metaphor that is explored through scenes and songs that do not unfold in a traditional sequential narrative style.

[edit] Stage credits

[edit] Film credits

[edit] References

  • Contradictions, his 1974 autobiography
  • Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre by Foster Hirsch, published 1989, revised 2005, with Prince providing extensive interviews and the foreword.
  • Harold Prince: From Pajama Game To Phantom of the Opera And Beyond by Carol Ilson, published by Cambridge University Press, 1989

Ilsen, Carol. "Harold Prince: A Director's Journey". New York: Limelight Editions 2000

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