Hal Prince

Hal Prince was a hugely influential and prolific director and producer famous for shepherding many iconic musicals to the Broadway stage. His long and distinguished career spanned decades and crisscrossed many different performance genres and styles. He was born Harold Smith Jr. in 1928 to Blanche and Harold Smith Sr. (the last name “Prince” comes from his adoptive stepfather, Milton A. Prince). In 1962 Prince married Judy Chaplin, with whom he had a daughter, Daisy Prince (also a theatre director), and a son, Charles. Hal Prince died in 2019 in Iceland after a brief illness.

Key Dates & Events

• 1955 - Prince wins his first Tony Award for co-producing Best Musical Pajama Game.
• 1957 - Prince first collaborates with Stephen Sondheim on West Side Story.
• 1962 - Prince marries Judy Chaplin.
• 1963 - Prince wins the Tony Award for Best Producer of a Musical for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
• 1964 - Prince produces Fiddler on the Roof. He goes on to win the Tony Award for Best Producer of a Musical the following year.
• 1966 - Prince directs Cabaret and wins the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
• 1970 - Prince directs Company and wins the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
• 1971 - Prince directs Follies and wins the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
• 1973 - Prince directs Candide and wins the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
• 1979 - Prince directs Sweeney Todd and wins the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
• 1979 - Prince directs Evita and wins the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
• 1988 - Prince directs The Phantom of the Opera and wins the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.
• 2006 - Prince wins the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.
• 2017 - The musical revue Prince of Broadway becomes Prince’s last Broadway production.