Harold Prince, who topped his significant achievements as a producer in the 1950s and 1960s to become one of the most prominent stage directors of the 20th century, died July 31. He was 91.
The director and producer garnered a total of 21 Tony Awards for his work—the most of any individual in multiple categories. He is currently represented by Broadway’s longest-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera; the musical opened at New York City’s Majestic Theatre in 1988—a decade after Mr. Prince and Andrew Lloyd Webber presented another title, Evita. His credits marked collaborations with myriad additional composers, from John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman) to Jason Robert Brown (Parade) to Leonard Bernstein (Candide, West Side Story), and, most notably, Stephen Sondheim.
His string of Sondheim premieres in the 1970s—Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd—were considered gamechangers in both form and presentation, defining an evolving landscape of modern American musical theatre.
In honor of the Broadway trailblazer, Playbill looks back at the creation of some of Prince’s biggest hits.
Flip through photos of Prince in rehearsal below:
