Hal Prince

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hal Prince (born January 30, 1928 as Harold Smith Prince) is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century. His shows are known for their political context, new approach to romance, and characters who sing and dance with thematic import.

Contents 1 Life 2 Stage credits 3 Additional Tony Awards 4 Film credits 5 Books

[edit] Life

He was born in New York City, and 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. His 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, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd. After the disappointing Merrily We Roll Along, they did not work together again until Bounce.

Prince was also involved in directing operas. Some of these include Ashmedai, Willie Stark, Madame Butterfly, and a revival of Candide. He currently holds the title as president over the National Institute for Music Theater (formally called The National Opera Institute).

He directed two of Andrew Lloyd Webber's successes: Evita and The Phantom of the Opera.

Prince won his twentieth Tony Award in 1995 for Best Direction of the musical revival Show Boat, making him the record holder for most Tony Awards won. Additionally, he received a Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater at the Tony Awards in June, 2006.

He married Judy Chaplin, daughter of Saul Chaplin. They are parents of director Daisy Prince Chaplin and conductor Charles Prince.

[edit] 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
• Sondheim: A Musical Tribute - 1973 - performer
• The Visit - 1973 - director
• Chemin de Fer - 1973 - artistic director
• Hollywood Arms - 2002 - producer
• 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 - 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

[edit] Additional Tony Awards

• 1972 Tony Award - Special Award
• 2006 Tony Award - Lifetime Achievement

[edit] Film credits

• Something for Everyone - 1970 - director
• A Little Night Music - 1977 - director

[edit] Books

• Contradictions - 1974 - autobiography
• Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre - 1989 (revised 2005) by Foster Hirsch although Prince provides extensive interviews and writes the foreward.
• "Harold Prince: From Pajama Game To Phantom of the Opera And Beyond" - By Carol Ilson
• Hirsch, Foster (1989). Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33314-8.