Prince of Broadway, a revue that features words and music from the six decades of shows that have earned Harold Prince 21 Tony Awards, is hoping to open on Broadway in fall 2017.
The news was originally reported in The New York Post. Manhattan Theatre Club artistic director Lynne Meadow told Playbill.com September 30, “It is my intention to open our 2017-2018 season on Broadway with the Broadway premiere of Prince of Broadway. We‘re still working out the details, so there is no formal announcement yet. We‘ll have an announcement as soon as we have everything set in the way it needs to be set.”
The Post reported that the show will open at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre under an agreement with Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller. “If it’s a hit," the paper says, “he’ll move it to another theater for an open-ended run.”
Prince of Broadway has a book by two-time Tony Award nominee David Thompson, co-direction and choreography by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, musical supervision and arrangements by three-time Tony-winner Jason Robert Brown and direction by Prince.
The show has taken an unusual route to Broadway. It was originally announced for Broadway in 2012 but didn't get a full-scale production until late 2015 when it opened in Tokyo, Japan, with a cast that included Broadway luminaries Emily Skinner, Tony Yazbeck, Josh Grisetti, Shuler Hensley, Ramin Karimloo and Nancy Opel. No word on whether any of those names will appear in the Broadway production, which features highlights from shows produced and/or directed by Prince, including West Side Story, Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game, Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me, Fiorello!, Cabaret, Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Evita and The Phantom of the Opera.
Hal Prince On Prince of Broadway, Pop Music, the Future of Theatre and Getting “Lucky”
Prince commented in 2015, "The idea for Prince of Broadway was brought me to me some years ago and, a tad reluctantly, I agreed to consider the notion of a compendium show featuring material from the 34 musicals I directed and/or produced on Broadway. Subsequently, I asked Susan Stroman to choreograph and co-direct with me because so much of the material will require inspired movement. I have come to the conclusion that I don’t want to reproduce verbatim what I staged in the original productions. Instead, I plan to re-think each segment and direct it as I would today, possibly having learned more about what I’m doing in the subsequent years. Finally, I’ve asked Jason Robert Brown, a choice composer with whom I’ve worked before (Parade) to orchestrate the show, write connective musical material, and create a brand-new number for the finale. After all, my career is just a blip on the theatre screen and there will be a rich future."
The Japanese production had set design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, costume design by six-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Sonoyo Nishikawa and sound design by Koichi Yamamoto. Wig design is by Paul Huntley. Musical director is Fred Lassen. Casting was by Tara Rubin.
