Date of Death: July 31, 2019 (91)
Birth Place: New York, NY, USA
Hal Prince was a theater producer and director who has made a significant contribution to Broadway musicals in America. In a career spanning more than fifty years, Prince has received ten Drama Desk Awards as Outstanding Director and 21 Tony Awards for Best Direction, Best Producer, Best Musical, and Lifetime Achievement. In addition, Prince was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1994 and the recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 2000.
Prince received his education at University of Pennsylvania, where he enrolled in a liberal arts program and was actively involved in the student theater group, Penn Players. After graduating in 1948, he returned to New York and began working as an assistant stage manager to producer and director George Abbott. This experience led to co-production opportunities with Robert E. Griffith and Frederick Brisson, resulting in the first two musicals that won Tonys for Prince - The Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees (1955).
After several co-productions, including the classic West Side Story in 1957, Prince began to produce his own musicals. Fiddler on the Roof (1964) enjoyed enormous success with a record-breaking run of over three thousand performances between 1964 and 1972.
Prince was also a celebrated director with hits including Cabaret (1966), Sweeney Todd (1979), Evita (1979), and The Phantom of the Opera (1988).
Besides his achievements as a producer and director, Prince is also known for bringing innovation to the theatrical arts. In collaboration with Stephen Sondheim, he was a pioneer in the development of the "concept musical," taking its departure from an idea or theme rather than from a traditional story. Their first project of this kind, Company (1970), was a solid success and paved the way for other innovative musicals.
Prince's contribution to the arts extends beyond the musical theater: he made a number of movie adaptations (Damn Yankees 1958, A Little Night Music 1977), and directed for television (Candide 1986). In addition, he served as a trustee for the New York Public Library and on the National Council of the Arts of the National Education Association.
Prince's final Broadway work was fittingly Prince of Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, co-directed with Susan Stroman, which was a revue of his most prolific work, and featured cast members playing a version of Prince. The production included fully staged hits from such celebrated musicals as West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Evita, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, The Phantom of the Opera and more, in an unforgettable tribute to an unmatched Broadway career.
From: Photo Coverage: Hal Prince Gets a Royal Welcome Back at PRINCE OF BROADWAY Rehearsals!
From: Photo Coverage: Hal Prince Gets a Royal Welcome Back at PRINCE OF BROADWAY Rehearsals!
From: FREEZE FRAME: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Celebrates 25th Anniversary Curtain Call!
From: FREEZE FRAME: Mayor Proclaims January 26th THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Day!
Review: NATIONAL TOUR OF 'COMPANY' at Providence Performing Arts Center: The innovative, gender-swapped version makes its Providence debut
Irish Repertory Theatre has announced its 2024 Gala concert, Let's Put On A Show! 35 Years of Irish Rep Musicals, which will take place at The Town Hall (123 W 43rd St, New York, NY 10036) on Monday June 3, 2024, at 7PM.
Asolo Repertory Theatre announced the cast of Twelve Angry Men. Learn more here!
Jason Alexander and more will be starring in Fiddler on the Roof at La Mirada Theatre. Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.
54 Below will present West End’s Leading Lady Emma Kingston in My Love Letter to NY on Sunday, June 9 2024.
This time, the reader question was: With The Great Gatsby musicals happening now, are there other examples of musicals about the same subject?
Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is April 11, 2024 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of MUSICAL THEATRE FACTORY at The Factory Function. Learn more about the event and see how to purchase tickets.
This time, the reader question was: How often is a musical revived on Broadway directed by its original director?
Sondheim is everywhere. Since the start of 2024, I have seen two on Broadway (Merrily We Roll Along; Sweeney Todd), one Off-Broadway (Here We Are, the play he was working on when he passed away in 2021) one just last week in Albuquerque (Into the Woods) and last night in Santa Fe, A Little Night Music.
This time, the reader question was: Is Michael Greif setting a record by directing three shows this season?
Center Stage Records will re-release four classic Jessica Molaskey albums – Pentimento, A Good Day, Make Believe, and Sitting in Limbo. Learn more about these albums and see how to listen!
Birdland has announced that singer/actress Linda Purl, joined with internationally, acclaimed DIVA Jazz Orchestra, returns to its historic stage on Monday April 1 at 7pm.
The 2023 Broadway Cast Recording of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is available now as a 3-LP set pressed on Revenge Red vinyl.
From March 15 to 17, First Maria Ensemble and Knickerbocker Players will present a 'Shakespeare in the Raw' production of 'Henry V' at Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, 10 West 64th Street.
The American Shakespeare Center has announced the departure of Artistic Director Brandon Carter, after his nearly four years of service.
In classic ANW style, Rodriguez-Elliott has simplified everything, returning to the text and highlighting elements of the (mercifully and artfully) truncated libretto. Without a drop of stage blood, she has crafted lasting images of violence that grip us and carry the narrative.
New York Classical Theatre will present William Shakespeare’s Henry IV as the main production of the company’s 25th anniversary season. See where the show will be performed and learn more details about the production.
Terrifically terrifying and timely!
Luke Yankee’s Marilyn, Mom & Me world premieres February 16, 2024, at the International City Theatre. Written by Luke, he also directs the cast of Laura Gardner, Alisha Soper, Jacquelin Lorraine Schofield, Brian Rohan and Noah Wagner.
Hal Prince has appeared on Broadway in 1 shows.
Hal Prince has not appeared in the West End
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