LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Harold Prince, a Broadway director and producer who pushed the boundaries of musical theater with groundbreaking shows such as “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Cabaret,” “Damn Yankees” and “Sweeney Todd” and won a staggering 21 Tony Awards, has died. Prince was 91.
Prince was known for his fluid, cinematic director’s touch and was unpredictable and uncompromising in his choice of stage material. He often picked challenging, offbeat subjects to musicalize, such as a murderous, knifing-wielding barber who baked his victims in pies or the 19th-century opening of Japan to the West.
By the time he was 26, he had already produced his first musical — “The Pajama Game” — and won his first Tony Award. Over the next half century, Prince won a total of 21 Tony Awards, including eight for directing.
“Directing is fun, I think, and working with actors is terrific,” he previously said. “And I like actors a lot.”
Prince’s publicist Rick Miramontez says Prince died Wednesday after a brief illness in Reykjavik, Iceland.
As word of his death spread, celebrities took to Twitter to celebrate his legacy.
Hal Prince was a giant. Every footprint he left in our world changed its landscape forever.
His first email to me hangs in my office, framed. His friendship meant everything. To all of us.
What a life. What a light. What a tremendous loss.
December 15, 2015 at his home. pic.twitter.com/4GtAPCXzlQ
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 31, 2019
— Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth) July 31, 2019
I am saddened beyond words. There are some people you feel we will never be without. Hal is one of them. I owe so much to him. He knows my love for him. #HalPrince #Broadway pic.twitter.com/G2uhhHPMZ6
— Chita Rivera (@Chita_Rivera) July 31, 2019
The Pantages Theatre in Hollwood honored Prince Wednesday night dimming the neon lights and observing a moment a silence.
Hollywood Pantages Theatre will honor Tony Award-winning director and producer Harold Prince, who passed away at the age of 91 today, by dimming the neon lights and observing a moment of silence at 7:45 p.m. PT tonight. pic.twitter.com/IARGuJuLfn
— Hollywood Pantages (@Pantages) August 1, 2019
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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