Hal Prince's 1980s shows...

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 12:24am

I'm always facinated by this time for Prince. In the 70s he could basically do now rong--even with 20th Century nt running as long as it should have/could have no one faulted Prince (ditto experimental shows like Pacific Overtures) Then with the 80s--starting with Merrily, it appeared nothing he did quite "worked" commercially--or artistically except for of course the great exception that is Phantom of the Opera.

Excluding that show what do peopel think of his 80s shows? Specifically Grind, Doll's Life and Roza--they all seem like such odd choices, with often fairly unknown collaborators (I've never been able to hear Roza but I've heard the music often sounded euro-disco inspired...) and often just *wrong* choices--like who really wanted to know about what happened AFTER the end of Doll's House, specifically a mainstream Broadway audience?

I know he did have some success with various opera stagings at this time too but know little of them...

E

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 12:34am

A lot of careers take winding turns.
Remember he started out as a very smart producer and then as he recognised sone major writing talenI he became a Director.
He worked with great people at that time like Kander and Ebb and then became great friends with a guy named Sondheim.
After what i sense was a falling out with Steve he went on to other lesser shows.
But he is and always will be a talented Director, and if he finds another PARADE. we shall see.
I am looking forward to seeing LOVEMUSIK.

Updated On: 4/28/07 at 12:34 AM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 12:53am

Of course Parade wasn't a huge success--and even the critics weren't completely sold on his directing (in the past most of the shows he had done they at least liked his directing) although I think he made a minor comeback in the 90s (commercial wise) with Show Boat, Spider woman even with still having some non successes (Whistle Down the Wind, Candide, etc etc)

It just seems liek it was SUCH a winding route. Lloyd Webber wanted him to do Cats and Aspects of Love (the later of which he coulda done well with I think but of course Hal Prince woulda been wasted on Cats--not being his kinda show thematically AND being essentially an all dance show) and he refused but he did ROza? (I admit I'd love to see any clip from Roza or even hear the score--it seems so... odd)

E

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 1:39am

I love Roza. Georgia Brown gave a tour de force performance. Amazing.

I wish someday they would make a recording with the great Mary Testa in the title role.

Marcia Lewis - who was in the show and also understudied BRown - recorded a shortened version of Roza's Act II song HOUSE IN ALGIERS. It is on her NOWADAYS CD.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 2:27am

A lot has to do with timing and the early 80s were not exactly boom years on Broadway. Half the theatres were empty, many shows were expensive flops and tourists were flocking to see drek like CATS. It didn't fully recover until the 90s. It was not a climate conducive to experimental dark musicals.

Even though some the ideas sound interesting the results were disappointing. Hal seemed to like working with Larry Grossman, a composer whose "talent" always escaped me except he has never had a hit and I find all of his scores terribly uninteresting. There are moments here and there but on the whole they are dull.

The revival of CABARET was too recycled, and ROZA was just too weird.

There was no major falling out between Prince and Sondheim. Their friendship has endured, but they decided to take a break because after MERRILY they felt their collaboration had run out of steam. Sondheim teamed with LaPine for 3 shows and (I Think) in many ways it helped him grow.

Prince proved with his staging of KISS and SHOW BOAT that he was still a master at creating stage pictures.

Remember too that scar Hammerstein had an endless series of flops between the original SHOW BOAT and OKLAHOMA: 16 years later.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 5:34am

Didn't Hammerstein have hits with New Moon and Music in the Air between those shows?

Regardless that wasn't my point so much--not he's lost his touch or anything (Show Boat thrilled me when I was 14 and Spider Woman is one of th ebest things I've seen on stage period). It just seems like in the 80s he made some pretty odd and even random choices for collaborators and projects--but I created this thread more cuz I knew so little about these shows and they--especially Roza interested me so I wanted to hear opinions

(it's interesting re Grossman, although I have a soft spot for his Snoopy score--the last score I know he worked on was Pocahontas II of all things--, though Prince seemed to like working with him so much)

That's a good point, about that period not being too good for dark or challenging musicals suceeding on Broadway, the kind Hal liked to do (even if I have some odd sort of fondness for Cats and would never blame the darkness of Broadway in that era on it).

I've seen a very very good image of Cabaret, the revival, and of course what's most exciting about it is to see a virtual remounting of the 1987 production--which still, while nowhere as cutting edge as the current revivals-- is *thrilling* and I think the slight changes are improvements on the 1967 original. but it did seem to come at an odd point in his career.

E
Updated On: 4/28/07 at 05:34 AM

[D2]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 6:49am

I didn't see A DOLL'S LIFE, but I did see the CABARET revival, GRIND and ROZA. CABARET was listless and had a "been there, done that" feel to it - it never quite came to life. GRIND was an ambitious, unfocused show with promise that never quite found its way. ROZA was just a mess with an incredible performance from Georgia Brown - she held the whole thing together with her mesmerizing energy and presence. There was one moment during ROZA that I will never forget - some kind of wierd seance or voodoo thing was going on and at the end of the number, Brown entered and said something like "What the hell is going on here?" Someone in the audience shouted back "That's what I'd like to know!" It brought down the house, but that remark summarized the whole show for me.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 7:05am

Thanks for that! You're right about Cabaret--while I like the slight changes in text (mor eopen sexuality and Don't Go, the new song which makes alot of sense to me and I wish was used more) it does come off more as a "why bother" production though it's thrilling to see the original direction/sets and especially Ron Field's crazy choreography--the Telephone dance should be a classic.

Was Roza recorded? Man the more I hear about it the more I wanna see/hear bits.

E

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 11:19pm

Technically? No. Just that one song was recorded. Technically.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 11:45pm

Bear in mind too that the 70s were a period of experimentation in almost all forms of performance, not just theatre, while the 80s were more reactionary and "safe".