711435

BA Musical Theatre
Professional Studies 2 AS2

Analysis and evaluation of Harold Price' work

In the following essay I am going to explore the context in which Harold (Hal) Prince developed
as a producer and director and discuss why he had a significant impact on the development of
musical theatre. Through an analysis and evaluation of certain aspects of Company and Prince
of Broadway I will exemplify his practice. Moreover I am going to have a look at the structure and
form of musical theatre when he started his career and how it has developed since then.

Harold Prince and his collaborators managed to keep up with the cultural challenges of our
society which seemed to lose interest in musical theatre in the 60s and since then he has
contributed to the established forms in which it exists today.

Harold Prince was born in 1928 and bred in a city famous for its musical theatre history and
presence: New York City. He has had a great impact on its development over the last 60 years
and he is still contributing to it. His collaborators include big names such as George Abbott,
Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bob Fosse and Jason Robert Brown. Prince was
involved as a director and/or producer in 34 productions on Broadway including The Pajama
Game, West Side Story, Cabaret, Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Evita, The Phantom of the
Opera and Parade. His latest show Prince of Broadway recently closed in Japan on the 10th
December 2015 and is currently in consideration for a tour.

Broadways theatres were Princes playground. His parents took him to the theatre every
Saturday and by the age of twelve he was going by himself. Prince tells 'The Japan Times': I
didnt like musicals as a young boy, and I only saw heavy, serious theatre (cited in Tanaka). He
credits On the Town (1945) with sparking his interest in the possibilities of music and dance in
American theatre. Prince states that he saw the show nine times thinking "I'm looking at

something new that draws me - elements of which draw me to the musical theatre when I've not
been drawn there before." (cited in Academy of Achievement)
This illustrates how his childhood ideas impacted his career, and how he always held on to his
beliefs that theatre should not be merely a superficial form of entertainment, but also have a
deeper meaning, a truthful content and a socially critical element to it.

Prince started his theatrical career in 1948 working for George Abbot first as an office boy and
soon after as assistant stage manager and occasional casting director.
In 1950 Prince was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Germany, where he would later
draw on the atmosphere of the cold war for his production of Cabaret. When his army duty was
up in 1952 he immediately went back to work for Abbott as assistant stage manager.
In 1954, by the age of 26, he co-produced The Pajama Game with Robert Griffith. Prince
believed shows such as this one reflected the social issues within society. The collaborators
presented further hits together, including West Side Story (1957), which dealt with racism and a
forbidden love amidst clashing cultures. By the mid-fifties strait theatre seemed to be losing its
serious voice, and [their] shows took up the challenge (Prince, cited in Hirsch, p.5). This quote
illustrates Prince's dedication to making musicals more meaningful than they previously had
been, which is reflected West Side Story.
In 1962 Prince directed his first show A Family Affair. Most of the shows which he directed from
then on, he also produced. None of them made a great profit and before Cabaret opened in
1966, Prince even considered quitting if the show did not work out. However, it was very
successful and Prince was now established as an important director.

Some of his most important work as a director arose in collaboration with composer-lyricist
Stephen Sondheim. In 'Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre' Sondheim comments:

[] What I envy is his energy, that continual forward motion, unflagging even [] in the face of
humiliation and dismay. He never whines, he works. [] A good director has a responsibility that
his collaborators do not: he is in charge. He has to bring about the best possible realisation of his
own vision while making sure that others bring out theirs. He has to conceal discouragement, or
defuse it. Hal conceals through humor and defuses through enthusiasm.

(cited in Hirsch, p. XIII)

This quotation illustrates Sondheims high opinion of Harold Prince and demonstrates his
working attitude. He is appreciated for his ambition, compassion, and accuracy.

In order to comprehend why the two collaborators felt the need to alter the existing form of
musical theatre I am going to take a closer look at the time period within which they started
creating work together.

In the 1960s social changes could be seen. The 'Sexual Revolution' led by hippies created a
more open-minded society regarding sexual matters. By the mid-1960s people were electrified
by hard-rock music and musicals as they were known started to become 'old fashioned'. By the
1970s, the Times Square theatre district was marked by strip clubs, adult bookshops, illegal
drugs and prostitution. Broadway seemed to be on the verge of extinction, however, as John
Kenrick wrote: The Broadway musical wasn't dead; it was just preparing for war (p. 317).

When Harold Prince and Stephan Sondheim decided to start a creative partnership they had a
common vision: the conventional musicals did not attract the theatre-going people anymore and
the two collaborators wanted to try a new approach, focusing on musicals built around a central
issue, event, or theme instead of the plot. These musicals were later defined as 'concept
musicals; however it is worth mentioning that Prince does not like his shows being labelled as
such. This is due to the fact that he believed that within his musicals, though the structure was
different, the songs and choreographies were equally integrated into plot as those in a 'book
musical'.

After Rodgers and Hammerstein pioneered the 'book musical' in the early 1940s, the 'concept
musical' became the biggest innovation in musical theatre. Book musicals integrate music and
dance with a relatively complicated storyline, which was already an important development in
musical theatre history. The intention of 'concept musicals' was to go beyond traditional

narrative, break the limitations of time, place, and action in order to simultaneously explore
diverse individuals and relationships. [...] These shows offered a new vision at a time when the
Broadway musical desperately needed one (Kenrick, p. 326).

Sondheim and Prince's first collaboration Company is said to be the first commercial 'concept
musical'. It opened at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway in 1979 and ran for 705 performances.
Company is based on seven one-act plays written by George Furth. Prince and Sondheim
decided to create the character Robert, a bachelor in Manhattan whose only close relationships
were with five married couples. Through Robert's eyes - who was outside all the relationships
and struggled with the idea of marriage himself - the different stories could be observed. The
musical does not focus on a storyline but explores themes: marriage and commitment,
loneliness and friendship. Rather than following a traditional plot structure, as a 'book musical'
would, Company jumps back and forth in time. Roberts 35th birthday party, which is a key event
within the story, is reintroduced four times throughout the show. The couples relationships,
which are explored in Company, are examined and displayed in positive and negative situations,
which leaves the audience to questioning what they have seen. Is Company for or against
marriage? (cited in Hirsch, p.78) Sondheim and Prince are still frequently questioned.
Sondheim explains: No show is about only one thing. On Company we all had our different
ideas but we agreed on tone and way we were writing it (cited in Hirsch, p.87-88) Thus the
intention of Company was not to directly influence the audiences point of view but to encourage
them to draw their own conclusions and open further discussions. Prince aims to engage with
people in a deeper way and make them think. (cited in Tanaka)
Even though the critics had different opinions about Company and not all have been very
positive they all agreed, that the show was different.

While working with Sondheim, Prince found another collaborator with whom he would create
theatrical history: Andrew Lloyd Webber. With Evita (1978 Westend, 1979 Broadway) the 'mega
musical' was born. Its characteristics are sung through, with a melodramatic plot, using little if
any dialogue and as the name indicates: the songs and emotions are big, dramatic and flaunted.
Substance took a backseat to spectacle, lush melody, and soap opera-style sentiment.

(Kenrick, p. 341)

Meanwhile Harold took a risk by producing the controversial musical Sweeney Todd (1979) in
collaboration with Sondheim.
Both shows were expensive productions; both won seven Tony awards and made theatrical
history. However Sweeney Todd lost money, while Evita made scads of money. Prince was
working during a time of volatile economy. Broadway production costs rose so high that even
long runs could not guarantee a profit.
With Phantom of the Opera (1988) Prince re-joined Webber and directed the longest running
Broadway show with 11742 performances (as of April 17, 2016), which is still running. Critics
ascribe Prince with giving the melodramatic Phantom an intelligent and romantic edge, which
gave the production more depth.

Prince introduced another talented composer-lyricist to Broadway: Jason Robert Brown with
whom he would collaborate on Parade (1998) and his latest project: Prince of Broadway (2015),
which is a largely autobiographical musical. With his remarkable 88 years Prince is still in
business and just finished this production in Japan. It is the first musical centring on a producer
or directors career which demonstrates his importance in musical theatre.
Prince on Broadway is advertised as a celebration of:

[] one of the most influential and successful careers in the American theatre of the past 60
years [which] will look at the circumstances and fortune, both good and bad, that led to Hal Prince
creating some of the most enduring and beloved theatre of all time. (BWW News Desk)

For the show he used material from the 34 musicals that he directed and/or produced on
Broadway and recreated them. During the rehearsal process he explains: I plan to re-think each
segment and direct it as I would today, possibly having learned more about what I'm doing in the
subsequent years. (cited in BWW News Desk)
Prince asked Jason Robert Brown to orchestrate the show, compose connective music and
create a new number for the finale. Being known for innovating concept musicals he breaks the
borders of time; the show follows a non-linear structure.

Prince talks about his opinion on Jason Robert Brown: You don't spend 60 years of your life
loving an art form without being concerned about where it's headed, and [] this is a year
where things are very encouraging. (cited in Gioia) He expresses his fears of the future, but
how knowing that there are other great writers and composers in the world keeps him optimistic.
I chose to use Prince of Broadway to exemplify Prince's practice because it conveniently
parallels the subject of my essay: how American musicals changed and developed over the last
60 years with Prince as a director-producer. Prince of Broadway demonstrates how popular
music 60 years ago was the music played on Broadway. He claims 'Send in the Clowns' from A
Little Night Music (1973) to be the last hugely popular musical song. Prince describes how
Broadway changed:

So now, because popular music isn't Broadway music, you were encouraged to find different
subjects to deal with [and] more serious material because you didn't have to accommodate
happy-go-lucky songs, and that's how Broadway changed so significantly. (cited in Gioia)

Prince of Broadway opens with "All a young person in this world needs is one person they
respect saying, 'You can do this. DO IT.' This is a reference to an autobiographical event in his
life from the beginning of his career, when George Abbott first recognised his talent. Prince
states that He is the first person who ever said to me, 'You really can direct, and you are a
director. Be a director.' (cited in Academy of Achievement)

With his 21 Tony Awards, Prince holds the record for most Tonys, which is another indicator of
his great importance in the history of musical theatre. In addition to this he has received a
National Medal of the Arts from President Clinton for a career in which "he changed the nature
of the American musical." (cited in Her Majestys Theatre)

To conclude, Harold Prince and his collaborators managed to keep up with the cultural
challenges of our society and furthered the form of musical theatre. Prince created well received
productions while making sure he could identify with his work, and staying true to his beliefs
about the importance of a deeper meaning, a truthful content and a socially critical element in

his shows. Carol Illson puts it as follows: One of the most controversial and creative forces on
the Broadway scene is Hal Prince, the producer-director known for being daring, innovative,
successful. (cited in Ilson, p.1) Stephen Sondheim goes even further when praising him: If
immortality is what he wants, he's got it. (cited in Hirsch, p. XIV)

Reference List

Books

1.

Citron, S. (1997) The Musical from the inside out. first Elephant Paperbacks edition,

Chicago: Ivan R.

2.

Hirsch, F. (1989) Harold Prince and the American Musical theatre. second edition (2005),

Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press

3.

Ilson, C. (2000) Harold Prince: A Directors Journey. First Limelight Edition, New York:

Proscenium Publishers

4.

Kenrick, J. (2010) Musical Theatre: A History. Paperback edition, New York and London:

Continuum

Libretto

5.

book: DeeGeorge Furth; music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim (1996), Company: A

Musical Comedy. Seventh Printing, New York: Theatre Communications Group

Online articles:

6.

Michael Gioia (2015) Hal Prince On Prince of Broadway, Pop Music, the Future of

Theatre and Getting "Lucky" [online]

Available

at

(http://www.playbill.com/article/hal-prince-on-prince-of-broadway-pop-music-the-

future-of-theatre-and-getting-lucky-com-367142)
[Accessed: 5th March, 2016 ]

7.

Nobuko Tanaka (2015) Theater legend Harold Prince brings Prince of Broadway to

Japan for a world premiere [online]

Available at: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/10/15/stage/theater-legend-harold-princebrings-prince-broadway-japan-world-premiere/#.ViIuw1XXenP
[Accessed: 10th April, 2016]

Websites:

8.

Academy of Achievement (2007) Interview: Harold Prince Broadway Producer and

Director [online]
Available at: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/printmember/pri0int-1
[Accessed: 5th March, 2016]
9.

BWW News Desk (2015) First Prince of Broadway Songs Revealed, Plus Rehearsal

Snapshots [online]
Available

at:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/First-PRINCE-OF-BROADWAY-Songs-

Revealed-Plus-Rehearsal-Snapshots-20150906
[Accessed: 14th Februrary, 2016]

10.

Her Majestys Theatre (2016) Harold Prince The Creative Team [online]

Available at: http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/people/creative/harold-prince

[Accessed: 10th April, 2016]

YouTube Videos

11.

Broadwaycom (2015) Hal Prince Reflects on Hits, Flops, Luck & Bringing Prince of

Broadway to the Stage [online video]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ukGFilLA1Q

[Accessed 20th February, 2016]

12.

Onlineinquirer (2012) Hal Prince Interview [online video]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJXOWoB3ljo

[Accessed: 4th March, 2016]

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