Prince, Hal (Harold Smith Prince), 1928–2019, American theatrical producer and director, b. New York City. After working as an assistant stage manager to George Abbott, Prince became at 26 the coproducer of The Pajama Game, a major Broadway musical of 1954. He followed this with many more successful productions, including Damn Yankees (1955), West Side Story (1957), Fiorello! (1961), Fiddler on the Roof (1964), and Cabaret, which was also his first success as a director (1966). Among the shows that he both produced and directed in collaboration with Stephen Sondheim are Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Pacific Overtures (1976), and Sweeney Todd (1979). He also directed Evita (1969), Phantom of the Opera (1986), and Parade (1998), as well as operas. During his long career he won an unmatched 21 Tony Awards.
See his memoir, Sense of Occasion (2017); autobiography, Contradictions (1974); studies by Carol Ilson (1989 and 2000), S. French (1993), and F. Hirsch (rev. ed. 2000).
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