Hal Prince to Receive Lifetime Achievement Tony Award

Legendary producer/director Harold Prince--who currently has twenty Tony Awards (including two Special Tony Awards) on his mantle--will add a Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

Two of the hits with which Prince was directly involved in their original productions--The Pajama Game (as producer) and Sweeney Todd (as director)--are up for Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical. The Pajama Game was his first effort as a producer and his first hit, as well.

Prince, who started out as a stage manager, was for years a successful producer. He made his directorial debut with A Family Affair. Prince, who is also known for his groundbreaking collaboration with Stephen Sondheim, both produced and directed Cabaret, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Merrily We Roll Along and more. On the Twentieth Century, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, the revival of Show Boat, and Parade were among the many other shows he directed.

Prince, who is the winner of more Tony Awards than anyone in history, has earned eight Tonys for directing Cabaret, Company, Follies (with Michael Bennett), Candide, Sweeney Todd, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, and Show Boat, eight for producing Best Musicals (The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Fiorello!, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Fiddler on the Roof, Company, and A Little Night Music), and two for the (now defunct) Best Producer of a Musical Tony (Fiddler, ...Forum). His Special Tony Awards marked the respective occasions of Fiddler on the Roof's becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history and for his producing Candide.

Prince's upcoming project include LoveMusik, a musical about composer Kurt Weill and wife Lotte Lenya with a book by Alfred Uhry, and Paradise Lost, featuring a book by Richard Nelson, lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh and music by Johann Strauss II and Jonathan Tunick.

Marking 60 years of excellence on Broadway, The Tony Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on CBS, Sunday, June 11th, 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT time delay).

For more information, visit www.tonyawards.com.