Last night the lights dimmed on Broadway. This morning, we should all be planning our next creative project. The legendary theatre director and producer, Hal Prince, famously went to work the next day after the opening of every show, flop or a hit, and began working on his next big idea.
I'll admit that news of Hal Prince's passing hit me harder than I would have expected. I never had the privilege of meeting the man. I can't say that I thought all that much about him on a daily basis. The fact that he was responsible for many of the Broadway musicals I grew up with, listened to, performed in and directed was not uppermost on my mind. But this morning, as I sat down to write this post, I couldn't stop thinking about how Hal Prince impacted my creative life. Fiddler on the Roof, Company, Follies, West Side Story, Evita, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Phantom of the Opera - just a few of the astonishing musicals he helped create in the twentieth century - are the reason I love the theatre so much. Company and Follies were part of the sound track of my college theatre days. They imprinted on my creative brain. Each starkly different in style, they were something entirely different from anything I'd ever seen before.
There is no describing the importance that Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story have played in my life. I've directed and performed in each of them twice. Both of these masterpieces rate among my favorite shows of all time.
I'm old enough to have seen Patty Lapone as Evita and I can still remember the utter thrill I felt as she belted out "Don't Cry for me Argentina." But the staging is what struck me the most about the show. It was the first musical I'd ever seen that incorporated film projection. When the movie reel wound to a stop in the opening scene and the chorus of mourners began to process, I was mesmerized.
Phantom of the Opera ushered in the era of the visual and technical spectacle. For just one moment, remember the first time you experienced the chandelier falling. Hal Prince was a master of theatrical storytelling.
I am deeply grateful to have come of age in the twentieth century at a time when musical theatre entered the modern age.
The legacy of Hal Prince has permeated my life in surprising ways. But what I think I appreciate most about this artistic genius, is that he loved the craft so much that he never gave up. He just kept working. To me that is the epitome of the creative personality. Purpose-driven work is life-giving, energizing, passionate and essential. I simply cannot imagine my life without the musicals Hal Prince produced. Period.
From everything I've read about Hal Prince, and I think I've devoured virtually everything written since news of his passing broke, he trusted his instincts and had confidence in his vision. There is a lesson in that. Fearless, bold, larger than life, this legendary theatrical giant may have left this earth, but we will carry on inspired by and grateful for what he left us.
Now get back to work.
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