University Club Hails:
The Prince and The Lecturer
BY IRENE FRANK
This is a story about John
Kenrick’s story about Harold
Prince, the American
theatrical producer and director
associated with many of the bestknown
Broadway musical productions
of the past half-century.
Who is that man dressed in black
wearing a half gold mask on his
face? He has to be someone special.
And indeed he is! John Kenrick is
an Adjunct Professor of Musical
Theatre History at NYU and the
New School. He doesn’t just lecture;
he assumes the personae of
his subjects.
I kept an eye on him seated to the
side of the room while the movie
clips played on the screen. He
mouthed every word, sang every
song (sometimes not very softly),
choreographed every dance (with
his sneakered feet), conducted
every orchestra (with his pencil),
and his love for musical theatre
poured from his soul. His mimicry
of the stars was funny and perfect.
He could have been a stand-in for
any of the people he spoke about
(both male and female). His feelings
for Broadway are as passionate as
his feelings about today’s politics,
which surprised his audience (a
note to John: Be careful, sir, not to
bully the pulpit!).
Hal Prince was born in 1928.
When his mother took him to see
a production of “Julius Caesar”
as a teenager, his fate was sealed.
His mentor was the great George
Abbott. From Jerome Robbins he
learned he learned that being tough
with the cast can produce effective
results. He introduced “the concept
musical” to Broadway (translation:
“a work of musical theatre whose
book and score are structured
around conveying a theme over the
message rather than emphasizing a
narrative plot.”).
An example is the show is
“Company.” It’s a story without
the usual plot but with vignettes of
couples giving advice to a bachelor
friend about marriage. “Follies” is
another concept musical. It used
flashbacks of aging actors coming
together to rediscover their pasts in
a series of highly charged emotional
scenes. It received eleven Tony
Award nominations. “Cabaret”
was half conventional storytelling
and half nightclub performance.
Watching Joel Grey’s performance
and then Alan Cumming’s interpretation
was eye opening and
exciting.
Hal Prince was responsible
for “Pajama Game” (remember
the song, ‘7 and a half cents?’);
“Damn Yankees” (‘Whatever Lola
Wants Lola Gets’); “West Side
Story (‘Maria’); “A Little Night
Music” (‘Send in the Clowns’);
a revival of “Candide”; “Pacific
Overtures”; ”On the Twentieth
Century”; “Sweeney Todd” (7
Tonys); “Fiddler on the Roof” (now
in revival in Yiddish); “Phantom of
the Of the Opera”(running for 30
years and counting); “Kiss of the
Spider Woman” and revivals of
“Showboat” and “Parade.”
Twenty-one Tony awards sit on
Hal Prince’s mantel, more than any
other individual. He is quoted often
by his admirers as well as by his
detractors:
“I’ll never do a show some people
won’t walk out on.”
“Unconventional is the way
to go.”
“I like what the theatre can provide—
energy and bombast.”
“I enjoy it when it’s large. I don’t
mean in size. I mean in emotions.”
“History happens today.”
“Fill a black box (the stage),
invite imagination and the audience
will fill in the rest.”
”The perfect expression of receiving
a lifetime award is to be working
when they’re handing it out.”
And he worked until the day he
died, July 31, 2019. What a remarkable
life!
About John Kenrick:
John Kenrick was born and
raised in Astoria, NY. His majors
in school were English and theology.
His work in theatrical
production and management
serves him well as he recalls
behind-the-scenes stories that
spice up his lectures, making him
both our favorite lecturer as well
as entertainer. In your spare time,
readers, have fun with his musical
and film website, “Musicals 101”
and his delightful book, “Musical
Theatre: A History,” now available
in paperback.
Hal Prince Lecturer John Kenrick
IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY CLUB NOTICE
Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 11, 7:30pm – Large Card Room
The next meeting of the University Club will be earlier in the month
and on a Wednesday. The date is December 11 in the Large Card Room.
We’re excited to introduce reverend Jaye Brooks of the Unitariani/
Unversalist congregation at Shelter Rock. Since it’s the holiday season,
we asked her to address the similarities underlying the different religions.
32 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ December 2019