Hal Prince and Sondheim

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 12/30/04 at 4:49am

I was just wondering if Hal Prince and Sondheim's moving away from working with each other just sort of happened or if it was something where they decided they needed to go separate ways. I noticed they said they went separate ways in Bway:The American Musical, but it didn't elaborate. I am not really interested if there was a spat (which doesn't sound likely) or anything as much as I am interested in how the splitting off happened and how it relates to Broadway today.

Posted: 12/30/04 at 6:41am

It was connected to Merrily We Roll Along being such a flop (and IMHo the cruel way the press treated that flop--revelling in it). Sondheim got depressedand briefly wanted to get out of theatre--SUNDAY happened in a different way--being workshoped at Playwrights Horizon so without much of the pressure he always felt and wasa nice change. Meanwhile Hal Prince moved on to doing several operas to big success--and then a series of flop Broadway shows (Doll's life, Grind, Roza) until Phantom.

E

[pab]

Posted: 12/31/04 at 2:23pm

Sondheim stated in an interview (http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/newseason/sondheim/#) that he and Prince are working on something now (or then since the interview was a couple years ago). He also said that they talked all the time during the 16 years that they were not working together.