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Photo of Harold Prince by Van Williams. Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

No one did more to define the American musical today than Harold “Hal” Prince. His resume included some of the most important titles of the past century: West Side StoryFiddler on the RoofCabaretCompanySweeney Todd, and Phantom of the OperaIn the Company of Harold Prince will explore Prince’s reinvention of musical theatre from the script- and score-based model created by Rodgers and Hammerstein and George Abbott to a more visual, almost cinematic art form in which the director is auteur. Prince acknowledged that fruitful collaboration is the foundation of theatrical genius, and this exhibition will illuminate the team of designers, stage managers, press agents, composers, and writers Prince assembled to create so many history-making shows.

In addition to displaying original costumes, set models, and archival video, this exhibition borrows from the aesthetic of immersive theatre and invites visitors to pick up, examine, and interact with reproductions of documents and objects from the Library’s unparalleled collections. Facsimiles of the paperwork for Pajama Game and Damn Yankees will be scattered over a recreation of Prince’s desk. Digital replicas of stage manager Ruth Mitchell’s scripts will be linked to thousands of never-before-seen photographs from the Library’s collections. An open cabaret stage will allow visitors to perform pieces from his shows or record their own stories about their experience with Prince’s theatrical work.

Scenes from the Exhibition

Explore the career of Broadway legend Hal Prince through costumes, set models, and videos from the shows he produced.

Black columns printed with the titles of Harold Prince directed musical productions in red printed on their side are shown in the main exhibition space. Posters and manuscript materials along with several kiosks and display cases line the room.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center

Exhibition Space, In the Company of Harold Prince (2019)
Figure wears an ornate gold mask of a lions face and an embroidered dress shirt and coat; mannequins in background wear fancy dress including headdress with several large feathers standing up.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center

Costume design on display, In the Company of Harold Prince (2019)
In an office on a large wooden desk sits a typewriter, rotary phone, desk blotter, accountant lamp, and other office supplies from the 1950s; The two office windows have projected scenes of the NYC Skyline featuring the Empire State Building.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center

Set design on the display, In the Company of Harold Prince (2019)
Walls of a room are hung with silver tinsel, a piano with sheet music sits in the corner. On the wall above the piano a large mirror is hung at an angle to reflect the space behind the piano which holds a large cabinet.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center

Set design on the display, In the Company of Harold Prince (2019)

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