The Hal Prince Appreciation Thread

[Scorp]

...well, if we're going to have a thread for Maria Björnson, why not for the man with the big vision that helped make Phantom such a hit?

I think a lot of people forget about his epic contribution to the show these days. The show wouldn't be what it is without him. Not even the score! It was Hal Prince, for instance, that insisted ALW write a decent number for the managers' office scene in Act 1. ALW was going to use 'Papers' (the song used in the Sydmonton workshop), but Hal thought it was substandard and said to ALW that he could do better than that. So ALW went away and came back with a far superior piece of work, 'Prima Donna'.

Great interview on Hal's career here: http://www.ny1.com/6-bronx-news-content/features/114870/-i-one-on-1---i--harold-prince-celebrates-extended-run

[LadyCDaae]

The more I see of the musical, the more I appreciate how much of it is works due to Prince. His staging really fleshes out characters and ideas that the libretto unfortunately skimps on. Simply listening to the score, for example, one doesn't get much of an impression of Firmin and Andre having distinct personalities, yet the staging gives them their own quirks and nuances and draws comedy from the way they play off each other and the other characters. (This is even more obvious when you sit through the movie, where the managers are once more reduced to indistinct ciphers.) Without him, I don't think PotO would have run quite as long as it has.

~LCD

[Raphael]

Definitely a Hal Prince Appreciator in me

R.

[IamErik771]

Count me in! I agree that people often forget (or simply haven't heard) how big a contribution Hal Prince made to the POTO we all know and love. I admire the man not just for the directorial genius he displayed with POTO and the other shows he has worked on, but also for the humble attitude that comes through in his interviews and public speaking events.

[SenorSwanky]

Yeah, you just have to watch the movie or non-replica productions to appreciate how much of an impact Hal and Maria had on the success of the original production. Hell, even those productions usually borrow extensively from Hal and Maria. You can't help it. It's impossible to imagine ALW's Phantom without their visions.

[operafantomet]

Yeah, you just have to watch the movie or non-replica productions to appreciate how much of an impact Hal and Maria had on the success of the original production.

I second that. The original POTO has something later version (non-replica, movie, sequel) has not been able to recreate and/or copy. I "blame" the original team.

I read in a LND article* that Hal Prince is rumored to be involved when LND is to hit Broadway. I doubt he would want anything to do with it (having previously said there's only one possible ending to POTO, and that's the one you see, and also not being involved from the start, which I think is crucial) - but I find it interesting that he is seen as the guy who can save the sinking ship. His impact on the original is clearly known to several.


* http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/webber_show_off_to_rough_start_in_ppIUFX4Nca3lULbFTAkZNN

[SenorSwanky]

Very interesting article, but I hope Hal steers clear.

[Becky]

Ditto, hopefully he knows better than to get his fingerprints on this train wreck.

I got a big kick out of reading about Andrew's tendency towards diva moments before show openings.

[Madame Giry]

Count me in as someone who appreciates Hal Prince's effect on the original Phantom show. Unlike ALW, Hal seems to really understand the story and the characters. Andy may have given the show music, but Hal gave the show a soul.

~Madame~

[operafantomet]

Count me in as someone who appreciates Hal Prince's effect on the original Phantom show. Unlike ALW, Hal seems to really understand the story and the characters. Andy may have given the show music, but Hal gave the show a soul.

~Madame~

This also seems to have been ALW's problem in his last couple of musicals. Whereas he provides lovely music, it needs to have a counterpart in the book and the characters. I think ALW and Hal Prince had a good synergy when they worked together (ditto for ALW and Tim Rice), and I'm sad he hasn't found the same kind of synergy in newer projects.

[Scorp]

Yeah, you just have to watch the movie or non-replica productions to appreciate how much of an impact Hal and Maria had on the success of the original production.

That's a good point. I did wonder why none of those have thrilled me and the answer must be the absence of Hal (and Maria).

That said, I do think the score holds up on its own...I listened to the OLC before I saw the show so I wasn't dependent on the direction or the scenery to form my initial liking of it. I didn't go away 'humming the scenery'. But of course that score isn't ALW all by himself, it's ALW with polite suggestions by Hal on how to improve it. Methinks the scores ALW has written for his subsequent shows have been simply readily accepted by the directors with no such suggestions. Maybe they're too afraid or in awe. Well, I doubt Trevor Nunn was in awe, but it's obvious Jack O'Brien is.

Phantom is an interesting show insofar as it is so tied to its original production. How will that impact on the way it is staged in the future and in revivals? Presuming it isn't completely unviable economically to stage such lavish productions in 2050, would a revival of Phantom replicate Hal and Maria's vision (in the same way that the revival of A Chorus Line on Broadway didn't change anything, or the way in which London's current Oliver revival replicates the 1994 production, for instance)? Are those images in our heads so indelible that audiences wouldn't be able to accept a completely different production on Broadway and in the West End? Les Mis seems to have got away with breaking free of the original production given the current tour (though not without upsetting some of its diehard fans, of course), but that show seems less dependent on its staging than Phantom does...

[SenorSwanky]

The score definitely holds up on its own, but it's hard for me to imagine staging improving on the Hal/Maria vision. I think a lot of the basic blocking and many of the visual elements will always remain, even when productions try to do their own thing.

[Raphael]

Stephen Sondheim to present Hal Prince with Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's Monte Cristo Award

R.

[Paula74]

Very nice Wall Street Journal article on him...and I have to say that I'm getting pretty interested in Paradise Found now.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303720604575170300468243206.html

[Scorp]

Two books I recently got that have great insights into Hal Prince and his work on Phantom:

http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Prince-American-Musical-Theatre/dp/1557836175/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273406394&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Directors-New-Musical-Drama-Performance/dp/0230601294/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273406435&sr=1-1

My flatmate is seeing Hal tomorrow in a meeting for theatre producers in London. I'm jealous.

[MajesticPhantom]

Hal Prince is quite literally one of my theatrical idols. I am studying to be an actor, but I hope to one day direct, and his work on PHANTOM (which was the first show I ever saw) has inspired me to think of theatre in a conceptual way. This thinking keeps me more apt because Prince's work here and in other pieces that have been recorded for posterity (Candide, Sweeney Todd, special recordings of Cabaret, Evita et al) helps me understand that before you can convince your audience of the individual occurrences onstage, you need to convince your audience that it is a living, breathing world within which ALL the elements of the production live. There are too many shows where it is clear the director had not enough vision to bring the designs, the acting, the choreographer, and the musical director into the same realm. Such malpractice creates inconsistency, and the audience is left feeling rather disjointed.

Prince understands the importance of a world on stage in all his productions. He allows concept to inform as he deepens everybody's work.

[LadyCDaae]

And a very happy 85th birthday to the Prince of Broadway--a true theatrical legend.

~LCD

[operafantomet]

And a very happy 85th birthday to the Prince of Broadway--a true theatrical legend.

~LCD

I second and triple (eeeeh?) that! Happy birthday, maestro.

[NightRachel]

Yes, a very Happy 85th Birthday to Hal Prince! All the best!

[IamErik771]

Happy Birthday, Hal! Here's to many more!

[Sponsored content]