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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 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.
★ ''Something for Everyone'' - 1970 - director
★ ''A Little Night Music'' - 1977 - director
★ ''Contradictions: Notes on twenty-six years in the theatre'' (Hardcover), Prince, Harold, published by Dodd, Mead ISBN-10: 0396070191, his 1974 autobiography
★ ''Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre'', Hirsch, Foster 1989, revised 2005, with Prince providing extensive interviews and the foreword.
★ ''Harold Prince: From Pajama Game To Phantom of the Opera And Beyond'' Ilson, Carol, 1989, published by Cambridge University Press ISBN-10: 0835719618
★ ''Harold Prince: A Director's Journey'', Ilson, Carol, 2000, New York: Limelight Editions ISBN-10: 0879102969
★ Internet Broadway Database listing
★ Prince papers at New York Public Library
| Contents |
| Biography |
| Stage credits |
| Film credits |
| References |
| External links |
Biography
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.
Stage credits
★ ''Tickets, Please!'' - 1950 - assistant stage manager ★ ''Call Me Madam'' - 1950 - assistant stage manager ★ ''Wonderful Town'' - 1953 - stage manager ★ ''The Pajama Game'' - 1954 - co-producer - 1955 Tony Award - Best Musical ★ ''Damn Yankees'' - 1955 - co-producer - 1956 Tony Award - Best Musical ★ ''New Girl in Town'' - 1957 - co-producer ★ ''West Side Story'' - 1957 - co-producer ★ ''Fiorello!'' - 1959 - co-producer - 1960 Tony Award - Best Musical - Pulitzer Prize in Drama ★ ''West Side Story'' - 1960 - co-producer ★ ''Tenderloin'' - 1960 - co-producer ★ ''A Call on Kuprin'' - 1961 - producer ★ ''Take Her, She's Mine'' - 1961 - producer ★ ''A Family Affair'' - 1962 - director ★ ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' - 1962 - producer - 1963 Tony Award - Best Musical, 1963 Tony Award - Best Producer of a Musical ★ ''She Loves Me'' - 1963 - producer, director ★ ''Fiddler on the Roof'' - 1964 - producer - 1965 Tony Award - Best Musical, 1965 Tony Award - Best Producer of a Musical ★ ''Poor Bitos'' - 1964 - producer ★ ''Baker Street'' - 1964 - director ★ ''Flora, The Red Menace'' - 1965 - producer ★ ''It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman'' - 1966 - producer, director ★ ''Cabaret'' - 1966 - producer, director - 1967 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical, 1967 Tony Award - Best Musical ★ ''Zorba'' - 1968 - producer, director ★ ''Company'' - 1970 - producer, director - 1971 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical, 1971 Tony Award - Best Musical ★ ''Follies'' - 1971 - producer, director - 1972 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical ★ ''The Great God Brown'' - 1972 - artistic director ★ ''Don Juan'' - 1972 - artistic director ★ ''A Little Night Music'' - 1973 - director, producer - 1973 Tony Award - Best Musical ★ '' - 1973 - performer ★ ''The Visit'' - 1973 - director | ★ ''Chemin de Fer'' - 1973 - artistic director ★ ''Holiday'' - 1973- artistic director ★ ''Candide'' - 1974 - producer, director - 1974 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical, 1974 Tony Award - Special Award ★ ''Love for Love'' - 1974 - director ★ ''The Member of the Wedding'' - 1975 - artistic director ★ ''The Rules of the Game'' - 1974 - artistic director ★ ''Pacific Overtures'' - 1976 - producer, director ★ ''Side by Side by Sondheim'' - 1977 - producer ★ ''Some of My Best Friends'' - 1977 - director ★ ''On the Twentieth Century'' - 1978 - director ★ ''Sweeney Todd'' - 1979 - director - 1979 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical ★ ''Evita'' - 1979 - director - 1980 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical ★ ''Merrily We Roll Along'' - 1981 - director ★ ''Willie Stark'' - 1981 - director ★ ''A Doll's Life'' - 1982 - producer, director ★ ''Play Memory'' - 1984 - director ★ ''Grind'' - 1985 - producer ★ ''Roza (musical)'' - 1987 - director ★ ''Cabaret'' - 1987 - director ★ ''The Phantom of the Opera'' - 1988 - director - 1988 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical ★ ''Grandchild Of Kings'' - 1991 - adaptation (from the stories of Sean O'Casey) and direction ★ ''Kiss of the Spider Woman'' - 1993 - director ★ ''Show Boat'' - 1994 - director - 1994 Tony Award - Best Direction of a Musical ★ ''The Petrified Prince'' - 1994 - director ★ ''Candide'' - 1997 - director ★ ''Parade'' - 1998 - director, co-conceiver ★ ''3hree'' - 2000 - superviser, director (''The Flight of the Lawnchair Man'') ★ ''Hollywood Arms'' - 2002 - producer, director ★ ''Bounce'' - 2003 - director ★ ''Lovemusik'' - 2007 - director |
Film credits
★ ''Something for Everyone'' - 1970 - director
★ ''A Little Night Music'' - 1977 - director
References
★ ''Contradictions: Notes on twenty-six years in the theatre'' (Hardcover), Prince, Harold, published by Dodd, Mead ISBN-10: 0396070191, his 1974 autobiography
★ ''Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre'', Hirsch, Foster 1989, revised 2005, with Prince providing extensive interviews and the foreword.
★ ''Harold Prince: From Pajama Game To Phantom of the Opera And Beyond'' Ilson, Carol, 1989, published by Cambridge University Press ISBN-10: 0835719618
★ ''Harold Prince: A Director's Journey'', Ilson, Carol, 2000, New York: Limelight Editions ISBN-10: 0879102969
External links
★ Internet Broadway Database listing
★ Prince papers at New York Public Library
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