Hal Prince
Encyclopedia
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. He has garnered twenty-one Tony Awards, more than any other individual, including eight for directing, eight for producing the year's Best Musical, two as Best Producer of a 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.
to Milton A. Prince, a stockbroker, and Blanche Stern. He entered the University of Pennsylvania
at sixteen, where he followed a liberal arts curriculum and graduated at the age of nineteen. He later served two years in the US Army in Germany.
. 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). Following Merrily We Roll Along
(1981), which was not successful, they parted ways until Bounce
(2003).
Prince 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
, Éva 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 Lloyd 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, Prince had his first artistic failure with Stephen Sondheim
in 1981 with Merrily We Roll Along
. Determined to bounce back, he started working on a new musical A Doll's Life
with lyricists Betty Comden
and Adolph Green
that would continue the story of Nora Helmer past what Henrik Ibsen
had written in A Doll's House
. It was also badly received. Other commercially unsuccessful musicals includes Roza and Grind
. 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 7½ Cents into The Pajama Game
.
Harold Prince 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
. In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts
.
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. In 2008 Prince was the keynote speaker at Elon University
's Convocation for Honors celebration.
Prince co-directed, with Susan Stroman
, the new musical Paradise Found. The musical features the music of Johann Strauss II
as adapted by Jonathan Tunick
with lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. The book has been written by Richard Nelson
, based on Joseph Roth
’s novel The Tale of the 1002nd Night. The musical premiered at the Menier Chocolate Factory
in London on May 19, 2010 and starred Mandy Patinkin
.
on 26 October 1962. They are parents of Daisy Prince, a director, and Charles Prince, a conductor. Alexander Chaplin
, the actor best known for his role as James Hobert on the sitcom Spin City
is his son-in-law.
Nominations
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical productions of the past half-century. He has garnered twenty-one Tony Awards, more than any other individual, including eight for directing, eight for producing the year's Best Musical, two as Best Producer of a 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.
Early years
Prince was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Milton A. Prince, a stockbroker, and Blanche Stern. He entered the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
at sixteen, where he followed a liberal arts curriculum and graduated at the age of nineteen. He later served two years in the US Army in Germany.
Career
Prince began work in the theatre as an assistant stage manager to theatrical producer and director George AbbottGeorge Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
. Along with Abbott, he co-produced The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
, which won the 1955 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
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
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
in 1966. 1970 marked the start of his greatest collaboration, with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
. 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
Company (musical)
Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
(1970), Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
(1971), A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
(1973), Pacific Overtures
Pacific Overtures
Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...
(1976), and Sweeney Todd (1979). Following Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along (musical)
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart....
(1981), which was not successful, they parted ways until Bounce
Bounce (musical)
Road Show is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman...
(2003).
Prince has directed operas including Ashmedai, Willie Stark, Madame Butterfly, and a revival of Candide
Candide (operetta)
Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
. In 1983 Prince staged Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
for the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
(conductor: Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
; with José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
, Éva Marton
Éva Marton
Éva Marton is a Hungarian dramatic soprano, particularly known for her operatic portrayals of Puccini's Turandot and Tosca, and Wagnerian roles.- Vocal training and early years :...
). He directed two of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's successes, Evita and The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
. He was offered the job of directing Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
by Lloyd 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, Prince had his first artistic failure with Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
in 1981 with Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along (musical)
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart....
. Determined to bounce back, he started working on a new musical A Doll's Life
A Doll's Life
A Doll's Life is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Larry Grossman. It is among the most notorious flops in Broadway theatre history.The musical is set at a rehearsal of Ibsen's A Doll's House in 1982....
with lyricists Betty Comden
Betty Comden
Betty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
and Adolph Green
Adolph Green
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
that would continue the story of Nora Helmer past what Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
had written in A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
. It was also badly received. Other commercially unsuccessful musicals includes Roza and Grind
Grind (musical)
Grind is a musical with a book by Fay Kanin, music by Larry Grossman, and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. Grind is a portrait of a largely African-American burlesque house in Chicago in the Thirties.The reviews were mixed at best...
. 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
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
's character in Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
's film All That Jazz
All That Jazz
All That Jazz is a 1979 American musical film directed by Bob Fosse. The screenplay by Robert Alan Aurthur and Fosse is a semi-autobiographical fantasy based on aspects of Fosse's life and career as dancer, choreographer and director. The film was inspired by Bob Fosse's manic effort to edit his...
. He was also the basis of a character in Richard Bissell
Richard Bissell
Richard Bissell may refer to:*Richard M. Bissell Jr. , CIA Director for Plans*Richard Pike Bissell , author/playwright...
's novel Say, Darling, which chronicled Bissell's own experience turning his novel 7½ Cents into The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
.
Harold Prince currently serves as president of the National Institute for Musical Theater. On May 20, 2007, he gave the commencement address at Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
.
In 2006, Prince was awarded a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. The Harold Prince Theatre at the Annenberg Center
Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
The Annenberg School for Communication is the communications school at the University of Pennsylvania. The school was established in 1958 by Wharton School's alum Walter Annenberg as "The Annenberg School of Communications." The name was changed to its current title in the late 1980's.Walter...
of the University of Pennsylvania is named in his honor. In 2008 Prince was the keynote speaker at Elon University
Elon University
Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
's Convocation for Honors celebration.
Prince co-directed, with Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:...
, the new musical Paradise Found. The musical features the music of Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
as adapted by Jonathan Tunick
Jonathan Tunick
Jonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of twelve people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. He has also worked with all of the other eleven people. His principal instrument is the clarinet...
with lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. The book has been written by Richard Nelson
Richard Nelson (playwright)
Richard Nelson is an American playwright and librettist. He wrote the books for the musicals James Joyce's The Dead and the Broadway version of Chess.-Personal life:Nelson was born in Chicago, Illinois....
, based on Joseph Roth
Joseph Roth
Joseph Roth, born Moses Joseph Roth , was an Austrian journalist and novelist, best known for his family saga Radetzky March about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and for his novel of Jewish life, Job as well as the seminal essay 'Juden auf Wanderschaft' translated in...
’s novel The Tale of the 1002nd Night. The musical premiered at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
in London on May 19, 2010 and starred Mandy Patinkin
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
.
Personal life
Prince married Judy Chaplin, daughter of Saul ChaplinSaul Chaplin
Saul Chaplin was an American composer and musical director.He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York.He had worked on stage, screen and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley...
on 26 October 1962. They are parents of Daisy Prince, a director, and Charles Prince, a conductor. Alexander Chaplin
Alexander Chaplin
Alexander Chaplin is an American actor. Chaplin's most prominent role was that of speechwriter James Hobert on the sitcom Spin City...
, the actor best known for his role as James Hobert on the sitcom Spin City
Spin City
Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
is his son-in-law.
Stage productions
- Tickets, Please!Tickets, Please!Tickets, Please! was a 1950 Broadway revue, composed by Harold Hastings. It is also notable as the first theatre credit of Larry Kert....
(1950) - assistant stage manager - Call Me MadamCall Me MadamCall Me Madam is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.A satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries, it centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed...
(1950) - assistant stage manager - Wonderful TownWonderful TownWonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
(1953) - stage manager - The Pajama GameThe Pajama GameThe Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
(1954) - co-producer - Damn YankeesDamn YankeesDamn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
(1955) - co-producer - New Girl in TownNew Girl in TownNew Girl in Town is a musical with a book by George Abbott and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill based on Eugene O'Neill's 1921 gloomy play Anna Christie, about a prostitute who tries to live down her past. New Girl, unlike O'Neill's play, focuses on the jealousy of the character Marthy and on...
(1957) - co-producer - West Side StoryWest Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
(1957) - co-producer - Fiorello!Fiorello!Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...
(1959) - co-producer - West Side StoryWest Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
(1960) - co-producer - TenderloinTenderloin (musical)Tenderloin is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Jerome Weidman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock, their follow-up to the highly successful Pulitzer Prize-winning Fiorello! a year earlier. The musical is based on a 1959 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams...
(1960) - co-producer - A Call on Kuprin (1961) - producer
- Take Her, She's MineTake Her, She's MineTake Her, She's Mine is a 1963 comedy film starring James Stewart and Sandra Dee. The film was written by Henry Ephron, Phoebe Ephron, and Nunnally Johnson, with Dee's character based on the then 22-year-old Nora Ephron, and directed by Henry Koster...
(1961) - producer - A Family Affair (1962) - director
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
(1962) - producer - She Loves MeShe Loves MeShe Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the...
(1963) - producer, director - Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
(1964) - producer - Baker StreetBaker Street (musical)Baker Street is a musical with a book by Jerome Coopersmith and music and lyrics by Marian Grudeff and Raymond Jessel.Loosely based on the Sherlock Holmes story A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle, it is set in and around London in 1897, the year in which England celebrated the Diamond...
(1964) - director - Flora, The Red Menace (1965) - producer
- It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's SupermanIt's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's SupermanIt's A Bird... It's A Plane... It's Superman is a musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, with a book by David Newman and Robert Benton. It is based on the comic book character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics.-Synopsis:The plot...
(1966) - producer, director - CabaretCabaret (musical)Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
(1966) - producer, director - Zorba (1968) - producer, director
- CompanyCompany (musical)Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
(1970) - producer, director - FolliesFolliesFollies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
(1971) - producer, director - The Great God BrownThe Great God BrownThe Great God Brown is a 1926 play by Eugene O'Neill. It is noted for its use of masks.-Plot:Dion Anthony and his friend William A. "Billy" Brown are sons of business partners. Both love Margaret, but she falls in love with Dion when he is presented behind a cruel and cynical mask, even though he...
(1972) - artistic director - Don JuanDom JuanDom Juan or The Feast with the Statue is a French play by Molière, based on the legend of Don Juan. Molière's characters Dom Juan and Sganarelle are the French counterparts to the Spanish Don Juan and Catalinón, characters who would later become familiar to opera goers as Don Giovanni and Leporello...
(1972) - artistic director - A Little Night MusicA Little Night MusicA Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
(1973) - director, producer - Sondheim: A Musical Tribute (1973) - performer
- The VisitThe VisitThe Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
(1973) - director - Chemin de Fer (1973) - artistic director
- HolidayHoliday (play)Holiday is a 1928 play by Philip Barry. It was adapted for film twice. First in 1930, directed by Edward H. Griffith with Ann Harding, Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames and Hedda Hopper...
(1973- artistic director
- CandideCandide (operetta)Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
(1974) - producer, director - Love for Love (1974) - director
- The Member of the Wedding (1975) - artistic director
- The Rules of the GameThe Rules of the GameThe Rules of the Game is a 1939 French film directed by Jean Renoir about upper-class French society just before the start of World War II...
(1974) - artistic director - Pacific OverturesPacific OverturesPacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...
(1976) - producer, director - Side by Side by SondheimSide By Side By SondheimSide by Side by Sondheim is a musical revue featuring the songs of Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song "Side by Side by Side" from Company.-History:...
(1977) - producer - Some of My Best Friends (1977) - director
- On the Twentieth CenturyOn the Twentieth CenturyOn the Twentieth Century is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Part operetta, part farce, part screwball comedy, the story involves the behind-the-scenes relationship of a temperamental actress and a director.-Background:Comden and Green based...
(1978) - director - Sweeney Todd (1979) - director
- Evita (1979) - director
- Merrily We Roll AlongMerrily We Roll Along (musical)Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart....
(1981) - director - Willie StarkWillie Stark (opera)Willie Stark is an opera in three acts and nine scenes by Carlisle Floyd to his own libretto, after the novel All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, which in turn was inspired by the life of the Louisiana governor Huey Long...
(1981) - director - A Doll's LifeA Doll's LifeA Doll's Life is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Larry Grossman. It is among the most notorious flops in Broadway theatre history.The musical is set at a rehearsal of Ibsen's A Doll's House in 1982....
(1982) - producer, director - Play Memory (1984) - director
- GrindGrind (musical)Grind is a musical with a book by Fay Kanin, music by Larry Grossman, and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. Grind is a portrait of a largely African-American burlesque house in Chicago in the Thirties.The reviews were mixed at best...
(1985) - producer - The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
(1986) - director - Roza (musical) (1987) - director
- CabaretCabaret (musical)Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
(1987) - director - Grandchild Of Kings (1991) - adaptation (from the stories of Sean O'CaseySeán O'CaseySeán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...
) director - Kiss of the Spider WomanKiss of the Spider Woman (musical)Kiss of the Spider Woman is a musical with music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with the book by Terrence McNally. It is based on the Manuel Puig novel El Beso de la Mujer Araña...
(1993) - director - Show BoatShow BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
(1994) - director - The Petrified Prince (1994) - director
- Whistle Down the WindWhistle Down the Wind (musical)Whistle Down the Wind is a musical based on the 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Jim Steinman, known for his work with Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler.-Stage Premiere:...
(1996) - CandideCandide (operetta)Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
(1997) - director - ParadeParade (musical)Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical was first produced on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on December 17, 1998. The production was directed by Harold Prince and closed 28 February 1999 after only 39 previews and 84 regular...
(1998) - director, co-conceiver - 3hree (2000) - supervisor, director (The Flight of the Lawnchair Man)
- Hollywood ArmsHollywood ArmsHollywood Arms is a play by Carrie Hamilton and Carol Burnett.Adapted from Burnett's memoir One More Time, the dramedy is set in Hollywood, California in 1941 and 1951, and centers on the heartbreak and laughter shared by three generations of women living on welfare in a dingy apartment house...
(2002) - producer, director - BounceBounce (musical)Road Show is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman...
(2003) - director - LovemusikLoveMusikLoveMusik is a musical written by Alfred Uhry, using a selection of music by Kurt Weill. The story explores the romance and lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, based on Speak Low : The Letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, edited and translated by Lys Symonette & Kim H. Kowalke. Harold Prince...
(2007) - director
Filmography
- Something for EveryoneSomething for Everyone (1970 film)Something for Everyone is a black comedy starring Angela Lansbury, Michael York, Anthony Higgins, and Jane Carr. The film was based on the novel The Cook by Harry Kressing, with the screenplay written by Hugh Wheeler...
(1970) - director - A Little Night Music (film) (1977) - director
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical - The Pajama Game (producer)
- 1956 Tony Award for Best Musical - Damn Yankees (producer)
- 1960 Tony Award for Best Musical - Fiorello! (producer)
- 1963 Tony Award for Best Musical -
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (producer) - 1963 Tony Award for Best Producer of a Musical -
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical - Fiddler on the Roof (producer)
- 1965 Tony Award for Best Producer of a Musical - Fiddler on the Roof
- 1967 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Cabaret
- 1967 Tony Award for Best Musical - Cabaret (producer)
- 1970 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director - Company
- 1971 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director - Follies
- 1971 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Company
- 1971 Tony Award for Best Musical - Company (producer)
- 1972 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Follies
- 1972 Tony Award Special Award - Fiddler on the Roof
- 1973 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director - A Little Night Music
- 1973 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director - The Great God Brown
- 1973 Tony Award for Best Musical - A Little Night Music (producer)
- 1974 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director - Candide
- 1974 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director - The Visit
- 1974 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Candide
- 1974 Tony Award Special Award - Candide
- 1979 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Sweeney Todd
- 1979 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Sweeney Todd
- 1980 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Evita
- 1980 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Evita
- 1988 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical -
The Phantom of the Opera - 1988 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - The Phantom of the Opera
- 1995 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Show Boat
- 1995 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Show Boat
- 2006 Tony Award Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement
Nominations
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Musical - New Girl in Town (producer)
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Musical - West Side Story (producer)
- 1964 Tony Award for Best Direction (Musical) - She Loves Me
- 1964 Tony Award for Best Musical - She Loves Me (producer)
- 1964 Tony Award for Best Producer (Musical) - She Loves Me
- 1969 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Zorba
- 1969 Tony Award for Best Musical - Zorba (producer)
- 1972 Tony Award for Best Musical - Follies (producer)
- 1973 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - A Little Night Music
- 1976 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Pacific Overtures
- 1976 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical/Book - Pacific Overtures (producer)
- 1976 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Pacific Overtures
- 1976 Tony Award for Best Musical - Pacific Overtures (producer)
- 1977 Drama Desk Award Unique Theatrical Experience - Side by Side by Sondheim
- 1977 Tony Award for Best Musical - Side by Side by Sondheim (producer)
- 1978 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - On the Twentieth Century
- 1985 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Grind
- 1985 Tony Award for Best Musical - Grind (producer)
- 1988 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Cabaret
- 1993 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Kiss of the Spider Woman
- 1999 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Parade
- 1999 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Parade
- 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Lovemusik
External links
- Harold Prince Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.orgAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
, May 2008 - Harold Prince papers, 1954-1999. Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library.
- Harold Prince scores, 1955-1983. Music Division, New York Public Library.
- Interview with Hal Prince by Bruce Duffie, November 11, 1982