travsd

R.I.P. Hal Prince

Broadway Producer Hal Prince has passed away at age 91. A protege of the great George Abbott, Prince produced or co-produced some of the most important Broadway shows of the late 20th century including Damn Yankees (1955), West Side Story (1957), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1964), Cabaret (1966, also director), Company (1970), Follies (1971), etc. In later years he focused on directing, helming such important shows as Sweeney Todd (1979) and the American premieres of Evita (1979), The Phantom of the Opera (1986) and The Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). He also produced and directed a guilty favorite, It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman! I had the honor of meeting him at this event in 2011, and he seemed old then, so I am astounded to learn he was still chugging along 8 years later. Hal Prince was responsible for making a LOT of theatre history.

Published by travsd

Writer and performer Trav S.D. (www.travsd.com) is best known for his books "No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous" (2005) and "Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube" (2013). He has written for the NY Times, the Village Voice, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Reason, the Villager and numerous other publications. Trav has been in the vanguard of New York’s vaudeville and burlesque scenes since 1995 when he launched his company Mountebanks, presenting hundreds of acts ranging from Todd Robbins to Dirty Martini to Tammy Faye Starlite to the Flying Karamazov Brothers. He has directed his own plays, revues and solo pieces at such venues as Joe’s Pub, La Mama, HERE, Dixon Place, Theater for the New City, the Ohio Theatre, the Brick, and 6 separate shows in the NY International Fringe Festival. In 2014 he produced and directed the smash-hit "I’ll Say She Is", the first ever revival of the Marx Brothers hit 1924 Broadway show in the NY International Fringe Festival.