Broadway legend Harold Prince died July 31 at the age of 91. He was known as the guiding hand behind more than a dozen hits: “West Side Story,” “Cabaret,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Evita” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” plus a slew of Sondheim shows, including “Follies,” “Company,” “Sweeney Todd,” “A Little Night Music,” “Pacific Overtures” and “Side by Side by Sondheim.”
Prince began his career when it was still common for plays and musicals to undergo “out-of-town tryouts” before opening in New York. For Prince and his mentor, producer/director George Abbott, their tryout theater was frequently the Shubert in New Haven.
Many of the shows Harold Prince was involved with had their world premieres in Connecticut. Among the projects that had their pre-Broadway tryouts at the Shubert in New Haven were the very earliest shows in Prince’s long career. His first Broadway credits were as the assistant stage manager for the musicals “Tickets, Please” and “Call Me Madam,” which both tried out at the Shubert in 1950. He was the stage manager for “Wonderful Town” at the Shubert pre-Broadway in 1953.
“Harold Prince’s impact on American Theatre is immeasurable. He forever changed the way musicals were done. “The Shubert Theatre is honored to have an association with this talented and ground-breaking director and producer of a number of shows which premiered on the legendary Shubert stage,” John Fisher, executive director of the Shubert Theatre, said.
His first show as a producer, “The Pajama Game,” also premiered at the Shubert in 1953, followed by producing credits for “Damn Yankees” in 1955, “New Girl in Town” in 1957, “Fiorello!” in 1959, “Tenderloin” in 1960, “Take Her She’s Mine” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” in 1962, “She Loves Me” (which Prince directed as well as produced) in 1963, “Flora the Red Menace” (starring Liza Minnelli) in 1965 and “Zorba” (directed and produced by Prince) in 1968.
The bewildered reaction to “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” when it played the Shubert caused Stephen Sondheim to write a new opening song that left no doubt that the musical, based on ancient Roman plays, was a knockabout comedy. That new song, “Comedy Tonight!,” is credited with saving the show.
Yale’s Beinecke Library now maintains a collection of librettos, screenplays and recordings from several of Prince’s projects.
Some of Harold Prince’s hits continue to be among the most produced musicals in Connecticut (and many other states). Connecticut Repertory Theatre staged “Cabaret” in July and the Ivoryton Playhouse is doing that same groundbreaking musical Aug. 7 through Sept. 1. “West Side Story” has been seen at numerous theaters in the state in the past few years.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated. An earlier version incorrectly reported that Harold Prince graduated from the Yale School of Drama.
