Born: January 30, 1928
A distinguished director and producer -- the supreme Broadway showman -- whose career has lasted for many decades. "Hal" Prince served his theatrical apprenticeship in the late '40s and early '50s with the esteemed author, director, and producer George Abbott. In 1954, he presented his first musical, "The Pajama Game," in collaboration with Robert E. Griffith and Frederick Brisson. His association with Griffith continued until the latter's death in 1961, mostly with hits such as "Damn Yankees," "New Girl in Town," "West Side Story," and "Fiorello!" (1959). "Tenderloin" (1960) was a disappointment, as was Prince's first assignment as a director, "A Family Affair" (1962). From then on, he has been the producer or co-producer and/or director for a whole range of (mostly) successful musicals such as "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1962), "She Loves Me" (1963), "Fiddler on the Roof" (1964), "Baker Street" (1965), "Flora, the Red Menace" (1965), "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman" (1966), "Cabaret" (1966), "Zorba" (1968), "Company" (1970), "Follies" (1971), "A Little Night Music" (1973), "Candide" (1974), "Pacific Overtures" (1976), "On the Twentieth Century" (1978), "Evita" (1978), "Sweeney Todd" (1979), "Merrily We Roll Along" (1981), "A Doll's Life" (1982), "Grind" (1985), "The Phantom of the Opera" (1986), "Roza" (1987), and "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1992).
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Prince has received more Tony Awards than anyone else.
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The list does not include restaging and directing the original productions in several different countries, nor his work with American opera companies such as the New York Opera, the Houston Opera, and the Chicago Lyric Opera. For his innovative concepts, the ability to find the exact visual framework for the musical-narrative content, and his role, notably with Stephen Sondheim, in the drastic reshaping of the modern theater musical, Prince has received more Tony Awards than anyone else, including one for his superb staging of the Broadway revival of "Show Boat" (1995). This was followed by a disappointingly brief run for Prince's revival of the 1974 version of "Candide" (1997) and "Parade" (1998).
FURTHER READING:
CONTRADICTIONS, Harold Prince
HAROLD PRINCE AND THE AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE, Foster Hirsch.
FROM PAJAMA GAME TO THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AND BEYOND, Carol Ilson.
Source: Biographical information provided by MUZE. Excerpted from the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR MUSIC, edited by Colin Larkin. © 2004 MUZE UK Ltd.
photo credits: Photofest
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