Harold Prince
Harold "Hal" Smith Prince (born January 30, 1928 in New York City , New York - † July 31, 2019 in Reykjavík , Iceland ) was an American theater director and producer . He was the most honored man in Broadway history with 21 Tony Awards .
Life
Harold Prince began his Broadway career as an assistant to the legendary Broadway star George Abbott . In 1962 he began to produce and stage his own shows, but initially without much success. He was about to end his career when he made his breakthrough in 1966 with Joe Masteroffs , John Kanders and Fred Ebbs Musical Cabaret . The production won eight Tony Awards and had 1,165 performances by 1969.
The new successful team Prince, Kander and Ebb tried to achieve another success in 1968 with the musical Zorba based on Alexis Sorbas by Nikos Kazantzakis . However, Cabaret's success has been hard to beat. Yet this production also received four Tony Awards, and Harold Prince was definitely a guarantee of success on Broadway.
As early as 1960, Prince worked as a co-producer with Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story . In 1970 Prince Sondheim produced and staged the new piece Company . The production was even to receive twelve Tony Awards, and Sondheim became Harold Prince's primary partner until the early 1980s.
Prince has also directed three films, first with Something for Everyone in 1970 , followed by A Midsummer Night's Smile in 1977, and most recently in 1982 with a recording of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street .
In 1983 he staged Puccini's Turandot at the Vienna State Opera under the direction of Lorin Maazel .
In addition to working with Sondheim, Prince directed and produced the Broadway hits Evita and The Phantom of the Opera by the successful English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber .
Harold Prince was married to Judy Chaplin, daughter of Saul Chaplin , a legendary Broadway director. Her daughter Daisy was a director and son Charles is a conductor. Prince died on July 31, 2019 after a brief illness at the age of 91 in the Icelandic city of Reykjavík .
Filmography
- 1970: Something for Everyone
- 1977: Smiles of a Summer Night (A Little Night Music)
- 1982: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Web links
- Harold Prince in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hal Prince dead: Towering Broadway director's work included Phantom of the Opera, Cabaret. Los Angeles Times , July 31, 2019, accessed the same day. (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Prince, Harold |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Prince, Harold Smith (full name); Prince, Hal; Prince, Harold S. (other names) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American director and Broadway producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 30, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City , New York, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 31, 2019 |
| Place of death | Reykjavík , Iceland |