Hal Prince, legendary Broadway producer/director, passes at 91

[Dan]

Harold Prince, the legendary Broadway producer/director of some of the biggest musicals since the 1950s, passed away today (July 31) at the age of 91.

The winner of an astonishing 21 Tony Awards, Prince started as a producer with his first show he produced The Pajama Game winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. Among his other credits as producer include Damn Yankees, West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Fiddler on the Roof. He started to transition into directing in the 60s and would bring to life such hits as Cabaret, Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Evita, and The Phantom of the Opera.

[James]

Produced and directed my two favorite musicals. RIP

[EricJ]

Remember when Broadway was something heterosexual people came from all over the country to NYC to see?
Songs from shows were top ten hits, every house had some old cast album of West Side Story or Fiddler on the Roof on their record shelves, and singers would sing standard tunes on Variety shows?
Name a song from an 00's-10's show that since become part of mainstream culture, besides the one from Wicked.

[Ben]

You Can’t Stop The Beat.

[James]

Alternatively, every other show is a jukebox musical.

[Dan]

Below is the fifth episode of the documentary series PBS and BBC did called Broadway: The American Musical. Kind of broken up into parts itself, the episode features a nifty overview of the Prince/Sondheim partnership through West Side Story, Company, and Sweeney Todd.

Part One at 7:30 - Notates how West Side Story would lay the ground work for their partnership


Part Two at 2:30 - Covers the first Prince/Sondheim collaboration as director/composer with Company


Part Three at 0:20 - After touching on Pacific Overtures, arguably their most popular work together Sweeney Todd is covered