A Prince of a Fella

The Artist Formerly Known as Harold S. Prince has been a driving force on Broadway for more than fifty years, producing the original runs of such classics as The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, West Side Story, and Fiddler on the Roof, and directing such modern classics as Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Parade. His résumé defines Broadway history, and while many of the artists whose work he has brought to the stage have enjoyed revues and retrospectives of their careers, precious few directors or producers ever see their significant contributions so honored. It was only too proper, then, that the New York Festival of Song celebrate Mr. Prince's distinguished career in a lovely star-studded concert at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.

With only a single piano and no microphones or sets, the evening was a pure celebration of the best music of musical theatre, much of which Mr. Prince was directly or indirectly responsible for bringing to the stage. NYFOS' artistic director Steven Blier served as both pianist and emcee, discussing each show and Mr. Prince's involvement with same. His jovial and impassioned descriptions of the shows, while not always completely accurate, kept the affectionate mood of the celebration up and bright. The evening began with Lisa Vroman, Judy Kaye, Scott Dispensa, and Jason Forbach singing the ironically romantic "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" from Follies. Ms. Kaye, who won a Tony in the Prince-helmed The Phantom of the Opera, sang the quasi-operatic "Never" from On The Twentieth Century, also directed by Mr. Prince. Ms. Vroman, who appeared in The Phantom of the Opera, and Brent Barrett performed the balcony scene from West Side Story, the revival of which featured Mr. Barrett and the original of which was produced by Mr. Prince.

Mr. Barrett remained on stage to sing the smouldering and intense title song from Kiss of the Spider Woman. Ms. Vroman returned to sing the sweet and anxious "Will He Like Me" from She Loves Me with beautiful emotion, and Mr. Barrett and his Candide co-star Jason Danieley performed The Pajama Game's biggest hit, "Hey There," with Mr. Danieley giving plenty of wry life to an inanimate object as the "Dictaphone" in the song.

Mr. Danieley then sang the best-known cut number from Stephen Sondheim's Company, "Marry Me a Little" with great passion. (We can only hope that he will play Bobby soon. With a voice like his, it would be a sin if he didn't.) Judy Kaye joined him to sing "Too Many Mornings" from Follies, and Vroman and Patti Goble sang a very cute if somewhat awkward "You've Got Possibilities" from Charles Strause's It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, originally produced and directed by Mr. Prince. Young Scott Dispensa sang a sweetly eager and anxious "Shiksa Goddess" from Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, which was directed by Daisy Prince in 2002. (Mr. Prince also directed Mr. Brown's Parade at Lincoln Center four years previously.)

Cabaret star Mary Cleere Haran used the only microphone of the evening to sing the sweet and plaintive "Until The Real Thing Comes Along" by Sol Chaplin, a notable Hollywood composer of the 1930's and Mr. Prince's father-in-law. She then sang Kurt Weill's ode to love "That's Him," from One Touch of Venus, which had precious little to do with Mr. Prince except as an example of Broadway's admiration.

To end the evening, the entire cast gathered to sing the complex, intricate, and musically thrilling "A Weekend in the Country"from A Little Night Music, with NYFOS' member Alex Mansoori stepping in to sing Henrik's verse. The song was a perfect finale for the evening, simultaneously complex both emotionally and musically, dizzyingly beautiful, exciting and challenging both for the singers and the audience. In other words, rather like a Hal Prince musical.