“Prince of Broadway,†a musical retrospective of the career of the legendary producer and director Harold Prince that had been aiming to open on Broadway in the fall, has been indefinitely postponed, the producers announced on Friday.
Despite the show’s pedigree - the 85-year-old Mr. Prince and his fellow Tony Award winner Susan Stroman were to direct, and the Tony winners Linda Lavin and LaChanze were to star - “Prince of Broadway†has had a troubled history. It was supposed to open in Toronto and New York last year until its lead producer abandoned the musical after being unable to raise money for it. A replacement set of producers was announced in May 2012, as was the new target date of fall 2013 for Broadway - but there was also negative buzz among some theater insiders after a closed-door backers’ presentation of the show last year.
A spokesman for the producers said on Friday: “‘The Prince of Broadway’ will not be presented on Broadway this fall. It has proved impossible to coordinate the schedules of everyone involved in the show. It is not clear at this time when the production will move forward.†The spokesman did not immediately have word about whether the latest producers - Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and Tom Viertel - were still attached to the musical.
Over his 60-year career Mr. Prince directed and produced acclaimed musicals like “Cabaret,†“Company,†“Follies,†and “A Little Night Music,†and also directed “Sweeney Todd,†“Evita,†and “The Phantom of the Opera.†The show’s indefinite postponement - which is often theater-speak for cancellation - was first reported by Playbill.
