Is Michael Greif today’s Hal Prince?

[binau]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 8:16am

Is Michael Greif today’s Hal Prince? I can’t help but notice he has a track record of great, innovative, sometimes iconic shows - of which he apparently had a heavy hand in shaping a few (especially next to normal and Dear Evan Hansen). And he has churned out some of the most iconic performances of our time.
 
He seems to have an incredible eye for talent and can bring the best out in people.

 
Iconic contemporary sounding shows (including 2 Pulitzer Prize winners).

* RENT (with stellar performances from practically all leads)

* next to normal (with a stellar performance from Alice Ripley who in a recent video credited Michael Greif, and Marin Mazzie)

* Dear Evan Hansen (with a stellar performance from Ben Platt)

Scott Frankel/Michael Korie collaborations

* Grey Gardens (with a stellar performance from Christine Ebersole)

* Far From Heaven (with a stellar performance from Kelli O’Hara)

* War Paint (with stellar performances from Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone)

Plus some solid work from Idina in If/Then.

Of course it helps that he has access to some of the world’s best musical performers and creatives but I can’t help but notice there is something special in most things he works on - kind of like the Hal Prince shows.

Updated On: 8/26/21 at 08:16 AM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 8:38am

I’d probably say Casey Nicholaw who had the added advantage of choreographing.

[TNick926]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 9:15am

I'd say there really is no Hal Prince today.  That may be a mountain top no one else will ever achieve. No one else will ever have 21 Tony Awards!

But I agree Michael Grief (and Casey Nicholaw mentioned below) are among the brightest lights currently putting wonderful shows and performances on our stages.  Long may they reign!

Updated On: 8/26/21 at 09:15 AM

[rg7759]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 9:24am

If Pete buttgig is Herbert Hoover

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 10:05am

Greif does intimate character studies, and is not a "flashy" director like Prince. Along with Joe Mantello, he is more comparable to Mike Nichols.

Rachel Chavkin comes to mind as possibly the next "Hal Prince type" because of her commitment to interesting new work. Her contributions are what made Hadestown and Comet work; those shows would not have been the artistic successes that they were without her work in shaping the productions. That feels very Hal to me. I would throw George C. Wolfe in there, too (though Wolfe also has some Elia Kazan qualities for how well he directs/shapes plays). Bartlett Sher has some Prince qualities, but he is more known for reinventing revivals, and Prince rarely did that.

Casey Nicholaw and Jerry Mitchell are more Tommy Tune than Hal Prince: someone who can create slick productions that mask some of the flaws in the actual material.

 

(And for whoever said nobody will have 21 Tonys again –– Roger Berlind exceeded that before his death, and Scott Rudin was about to pass Prince. Prince won 8 competative Tonys for Directing, which is nothing to slouch at, but the Tony categories were different then so some years he won multiple Tonys for producing the same show -- Best Musical and Best Producer. And nowadays there are dozens of co-producers who can win Tonys for no creative involvement.)

Updated On: 8/26/21 at 10:05 AM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 10:27am

As someone else said, I think the next Hal Prince is a tall order. I also don't think it's an opportunity that exists so much anymore. I also agree that Rachel Chakvin is more along that trajectory. I think of a Prince as someone who follows the  creative process throughout and gestates it more closely until fruition or bust. I think nowadays directors get attached to projects that are pretty well funded and have top tier talent attached. Tryouts and changes don't even seem to happen much anymore. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 10:33am

Sorry, but no.

3 big contributions to the canon (plus some "solid work" do not a Hal Prince make. The sheer quantity of culturally significant shows that Hal Prince produced and/or directed FAR outstrips any director working today, and probably most producers too. 

As far as Michael Greif is concerned, he doesn't come close by almost any metric. Surely Tommy Kail, Joe Mantello, and Rachel Chavkin are right up there with Greif. And I wouldn't compare any of them to Hal Prince either. And none of them are producers. 

Chavkin may not have the extensive history as those other directors, but I agree she is helping to change the game as far as developing shows with her innovative direction woven into the conception of the show. Between Comet, Hadestown, and Moby Dick (and to a lesser extent, Small Mouth Sounds) she's starting to demonstrate a significant pattern that does partially mirror the way Hal Prince made contributions to his projects. But she -- or any director working today -- has a long ways to go to emerge as a modern Hal Prince. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 10:51am

I'd say no because I don't think any of his productions (maybe the original RENT) are the "Definitive" versions of the show. I feel like we've seen great productions of Next to Normal elsewhere. And I wouldn't say his staging of Dear Evan Hansen is anything to write home about. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 11:07am

Michael Greif is hands down the best director working now as far as developing new musicals.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 11:09am

The question betrays a lack of significant understanding of what Prince did, on both a micro and macro level.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 11:16am

Hal Prince was a visionary and was truly in a league of his own.
I will also agree with the above statement that the only person (at least that I can think of right now) working today to come close to him when staging a show, is Rachel Chavkin. She’s one of the only directors that it doesn’t matter what the project is, if I see her name, I know for sure I’m going to see something nobody else could do.

Updated On: 8/26/21 at 11:16 AM

[binau]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 12:58pm

Anyone know if Moby Dick is the kind of show that could make it to Broadway one day?

[jv92]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 1:11pm

HogansHero said: "The question betrays a lack of significant understanding of what Prince did, on both a micro and macro level."

That sums it up. There can and will never be another Hal Prince. He was unique, and it’s impossible to have that kind of career anymore. 

HOWEVER, even though I don’t really like the material she chooses to direct, in terms of mis en scene and surprising visual touches that are epic without being bombastic, Chavkin has some Hal in her work. 

I think Bart Sher is my favorite director working in NY, and his work brings that “sense of occasion” to the theatre, but again, he’s not Hal Prince.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 1:12pm

binau said: "Anyone know if Moby Dick is the kind of show that could make it to Broadway one day?"

 

That's a bit of a complicated question for a number of reasons, but I'm inclined to say no. 

The show is certainly epic enough in scale to play well in a Broadway house. And we obviously know that Rachel Chavkin is fully capable of adapting the staging to suit a proscenium (in Boston it used a thrust staging). 

But as a commercial venture? It's very hard to say. The show is very strange. Definitely stranger than Comet, and we all know how that went down. And speaking of, the word is that the Comet debacle really soured Dave Malloy on commercial theatre.

But also, you never know. Especially in these "unprecedented times." it's so hard to predict what investors/producers will take a risk on, and what they won't. Lots of shows have been transferred to Broadway that I NEVER would've guessed. I'd like to think that Broadway is more welcoming of weirder stuff than it used to be, but there's still so much risk. 

[binau]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 1:30pm

HogansHero said: "The question betrays a lack of significant understanding of what Prince did, on both a micro and macro level."

You need not take it so literally. It's only for discussion purposes - in particular, given Hal's work with Sondheim and Kander and Ebb on a portfolio of shows that I think are the best ever made (far stronger than any of the shows I mentioned in the OP), there is no literal comparison for me.

Updated On: 8/26/21 at 01:30 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 1:55pm

binau said: "HogansHero said: "The question betrays a lack of significant understanding of what Prince did, on both a micro and macro level."

You need not take it so literally. It's only for discussion purposes - in particular, given Hal'swork with Sondheim and Kander and Ebb on a portfolio of shows that I think are the best ever made (far stronger than any of the shows I mentioned in the OP),there is no literal comparison for me."

I am much happier knowing you were not being literal. I think it is not just his results (as to which there are or may be apt comparisons) but the scope of his process (which seem like something that indeed may never be replicated).

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 8:02pm

God no.  He came out of the gate running with a brilliant production of Machinal at the Public...and then did only better-than-middling work on every musical he did afterwards. Some great musicals, but not great because of him. It wasn't until his wonderful staging of "Dear Evan Hansen" that I think he lived up to the promise of Machinal.

If one was lucky enough to see David Cromer's "Next to Normal" at Writer's Theatre in Chicago, it spelled out in comparison how uninspired Grief's direction of that show was.

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 9:03pm

Owen22 said: "If one was lucky enough to see David Cromer's "Next to Normal" at Writer's Theatre in Chicago, it spelled out in comparison how uninspired Grief's direction of that show was."

I couldn’t disagree more. I’m a long time fan of Cromer and have defended many of his less-appreciated works (like his House of Blue Leaves) but I thought his production of Next to Normal was a huge disappointment, and it only proved to me how effective and ingenious Greif’s staging was.

Greif, of course, has had his own misfires like any other director, Hal Prince included.

[Timon3]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 9:38pm

If there was a Broadway Museum you could devout a whole wing to Harold Prince’s awards. He was a one of a kind.

I would love a crystal ball, just to see how Marianne Elliott’s career will eventually pan out.

Updated On: 8/26/21 at 09:38 PM

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 10:05pm

Be curious to know why Greif’s staging of DEH did It for you! To me it felt like a show designed for an off Broadway house and not a big Broadway musical - which it is exactly that. The sets move on from wing to wing and the band is in a loft which makes sense for its off Broadway house but doesn’t make much sense given its current home. And the staging just felt lacking to me. So be curious to hear your views.

And I’d agree Elliot is kinda amazing. My jaw was on the floor with Angels. And I LOVE Company and would see it again but it’s a little messy. “Being Alive” has zero direction and the “Alice in Wonderland” concept didn’t quite read. But hey who knows. Maybe she’s ironed all that out

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 10:07pm

Michael Greif is not today's Hal Prince... he's today's Michael Greif. 

No contemporary director should be compared to Prince just yet. 

[NameGreg]

Posted: 8/26/21 at 11:09pm

Michael Greif is excellent at what he does, but nobody can compare to Hal Prince.

[ShowBro]

Posted: 8/27/21 at 7:16am

Casey Nicholaw could neva!!

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 8/27/21 at 10:26am

Comparing anyone working today to Hal Prince is just setting them up for failure. Maybe there simply won't be a "today's Hal Prince" or even a "tomorrow's Hal Prince".

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/27/21 at 1:32pm

SouthernCakes said: "Be curious to know why Greif’s staging of DEH did It for you! To me it felt like a show designed for an off Broadway house and not a big Broadway musical - which it is exactly that. The sets move on from wing to wing and the band is in a loft which makes sense for its off Broadway house but doesn’t make much sense given its current home. And the staging just felt lacking to me. So be curious to hear your views.

Besides his brilliant use of social media projections (which could have been too much but was completely on point) the show just moved.  And in Act Two, where I would argue all three writers just basically gave up (they were way more interested in the Act One plot machinations, the dialogue and especially the songs) he kept the show on a it's forward momentum. If not for him, Act Two would have melted into complete melodrama in its last thirty minutes, but somehow he was able to make the second half almost as vital as the first (and somehow control it's predictable plot denouement) and turn that show into the hit it is.  Not that we always saw his hand, sometimes he just sat back and let the power of the actor and/or song simply do the work. The contrast between the busy and the quiet moments--that's how you direct a show!

 

Updated On: 8/27/21 at 01:32 PM