Hal Prince is a hack

[Johnnycantdecide]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:21am

....Phantom of the Opera

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:23am

Phantom is the obvious one, but also weren't the original runs of Pajama Game, West Side Story, Fiorello, Damn Yankees, Forum, Fiddler, and Cabaret all fairly big commercial successes. I think you're confusing Hal Prince with Stephen Sondheim, very few of whose shows (and several of which Hal Prince produced) recouped.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:25am

Evita
A Little Night Music
Company
Cabaret
Sweeney Todd

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:25am

Phyllis, did the original Company turn a profit? That was the one I wasn't sure of.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:27am

I thought it did, but now I'm not 100% sure.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:29am

Also, the OP is trolling.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:30am

I see the OP has edited his question, so who knows what he wanted - but I think he is wondering if the upcoming Prince of Broadway is going to sell tickets?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:31am

I felt like I heard a stat somewhere that Night Music was the first Sondheim show (music and lyrics) to make a profit during its original run.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:33am

Seriously, why are people dignifying this with a response? He is obviously trolling, and we are taking the bait. Don't respond to this thread anymore and just let it die.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:34am

Really Dumb question.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:39am

Yep, that's exactly what this board is like.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:41am

I don't care if s/he was trolling - I'm kinda curious myself now.
Of the shows mentioned, I don't think the masses flocked just for his name. Maybe the more recent Love/Musik or Paradise Found are examples of his name drawing audiences.

Okay, I'm done caring now.

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:41am

I don't think it's a dumb question. Thinking of similar tribute shows; Jerome Robbins' Broadway was a flop, Fosse was a hit.

I'd think they will try to capitalize on images from the musicals he directed, but I doubt it will be an easy sell.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:43am

Well, the original question was "Was Hal Prince ever a commercial success," which was a dumb question.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:46am

What is a mixed commercial success?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:47am

Edit, never mind, a misunderstading, I'm tired.

Updated On: 11/2/12 at 01:47 AM

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:49am

Phantom's early days probably owed quite a bit to his name, considering the landscape of Broadway at that time. No long run rides on the director's name, though. You have to appeal to too many people who have no idea who or what a director is.

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:49am

Bah, this thread officially sucks.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:49am

"Mixed" means some shows have done well. Others have not.

Right. But your original dumb question was "Was Hal Prince ever a commercial success?" not "Was everything Hal Prince ever touched successful?"

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:50am

Thanks Phyll.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:54am

I don't know what an open question is. Is that the same thing as a yes or no question because what you asked was a yes or no question.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:56am

Is that your final answer?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 1:59am

Thanks for that, I learned something. But you still didn't ask an open question according to that definition. Was he ever a commercial success has a definite, provable answer. You can keep moving the goal posts around all you want, but your original dumb question wasn't open at all. Commercial success isn't opinion.


Updated On: 11/2/12 at 01:59 AM

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 2:03am

If we're dealing in semantics, nobody has answered the question...

was Hal Prince a commercial success?

Not his shows, but him.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 2:05am

I've never seen any of his commercials, but they were successful, according to many.