HAROLD PRINCE
Name: Hal Prince
Born: 30 January 1928
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 attended the University of
Pennsylvania at age 16, studying a liberal arts curriculum, and graduated at age
19. 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, with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. They had
previously worked on West Side Story and at this point decided to embark on
their own project. Their association spawned a long string of productions,
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. In 1983 Prince staged Turandot for the
Vienna State Opera (conductor: Lorin Maazel; with José Carreras, Eva Marton).
He directed two of Andrew Lloyd Webber's successes, Evita and The Phantom of the
Opera. He was offered the job of directing 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
had failures 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 A Doll's Life 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 (musical) 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. He was also the basis of a character in Richard Bissell's novel Say,
Darling, which chronicled Bissell's own experience turning his novel 7 1/2 Cents
into The Pajama Game. Say, Darling also became a musical, with Prince parodied
onstage by actor Robert Morse.
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. On May 20, 2007, he
gave the commencement address at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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.
In 2006, Prince was awarded a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the
Theatre. The Harold Prince Theatre at the Annenberg Center of the University of
Pennsylvania is named in his honor.
Name: Hal Prince
Born: 30 January 1928
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 attended the University of
Pennsylvania at age 16, studying a liberal arts curriculum, and graduated at age
19. 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, with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. They had
previously worked on West Side Story and at this point decided to embark on
their own project. Their association spawned a long string of productions,
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. In 1983 Prince staged Turandot for the
Vienna State Opera (conductor: Lorin Maazel; with José Carreras, Eva Marton).
He directed two of Andrew Lloyd Webber's successes, Evita and The Phantom of the
Opera. He was offered the job of directing 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
had failures 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 A Doll's Life 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 (musical) 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. He was also the basis of a character in Richard Bissell's novel Say,
Darling, which chronicled Bissell's own experience turning his novel 7 1/2 Cents
into The Pajama Game. Say, Darling also became a musical, with Prince parodied
onstage by actor Robert Morse.
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. On May 20, 2007, he
gave the commencement address at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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.
In 2006, Prince was awarded a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the
Theatre. The Harold Prince Theatre at the Annenberg Center of the University of
Pennsylvania is named in his honor.