Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre

Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre by Hirsch, Foster. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781557836175.

(Applause Books). Here is a complete look at the outstanding career of Harold Prince, the most honored and influential producer/director in the history of postwar American musical theatre. Prince was a producer of The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story ; producer and director of Cabaret ; and was involved in a series of landmark collaborations with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, including Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd . He directed Andrew Lloyd Webbers Evita and The Phantom of the Opera . His work has helped significantly to alter the musical, with convention-challenging subject matter, music, staging and design. Its no wonder hes won more Tony Awards than anyone else: 20 and counting. Foster Hirsch has updated the 1989 edition of this book to include Princes more recent work on Kiss of the Spider Woman, Parade and the award-winning revival of Show Boat . He most notably gives an account of the creation and fortunes of Bounce , the 2003 musical that reunited Prince and Sondheim for the first time in 20 years. Prince gave Hirsch privileged, behind-the-scenes info during Bounces pre-production process that makes for riveting reading. Princes career is followed through both the victories and the disappointments. The book is illustrated with numerous rare photos of Princes work, making it a must for any theatre fan! "Hirschs book is marvelous, containing some of the best analysis of major musicals Ive ever come across." Ken Mandelbaum, Theater Week