Prince Music Theater
The Prince Theater is a non-profit theatrical producing organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and specializing in music theatre, including opera, music drama, musical comedy and experimental forms. Founded in 1984 as the American Music Theater Festival by Marjorie Samoff, Eric Salzman and Ron Kaiserman, for the first 15 years AMTF performed in various venues throughout Philadelphia. In March 1999,[1] AMTF moved into the renovated Midtown Theater and changed its name in honor of Broadway producer and director Harold Prince.[2] AMTF/Prince Theater has produced 92 world premieres and has sent 81 productions to theaters in New York and worldwide.
| Former names | Karlton Theater, Midtown Theater, Prince Music Theater |
|---|---|
| Address | 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19102, United States |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 39.950878°N 75.164675°W |
| Type | theatre, performing arts center, Opera house, Concert Hall, movie theater |
| Genre(s) | Musical theatre, opera, Film, theatre, Dance, world music |
| Capacity | Mainstage: 450 Black Box: 80 |
| Opened | Theatre opened in 1921 American Music Theater Festival founded in 1984. Prince Theater opened in 1999 |
| Website | |
| filmadelphia | |
Works
The Prince Theater productions (primarily as the American Music Theater Festival) have included the world premieres of
- Julie Taymor, Elliot Goldenthal and Sidney Goldfarb's The Transposed Heads
- Anthony Davis' X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X
- Duke Ellington's Queenie Pie
- Emily Mann, Ntozake Shange, and Baikida Carroll's Betsy Brown
- Bob Telson and Lee Breuer's Gospel at Colonus
- David Henry Hwang, Philip Glass and Jerome Sirlin's 1000 Airplanes on the Roof
- Frida, composed by Robert Xavier Rodriguez, libretto by Hillary Blecher and Migdalia Cruz
- Black Water by John Duffy and Joyce Carol Oates, based on her 1992 novel
- Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins
- Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox (concert version) - a staged version appeared later at the Spoleto Festival
- Harry Partch's Revelation in the Courthouse Park, staged by Jiri Zizka with choreography by George Faison[3]
- Harold Prince's 3hree, a trilogy of one-acts with music by John Bucchino, Robert Lindsey Nassif and Laurence O'Keefe
- Chasing Nicolette by Peter Kellogg and David Friedman
- Albert Innaurato's Gemini, The Musical, with music by Charlie Gilbert
- The Green Violin
Revivals have included Strike Up the Band, Love Life, St. Louis Woman, Pal Joey, Lady in the Dark, Adam Guettel's Myths & Hymns, Dreamgirls, Annie Get Your Gun, Hair and Ain't Misbehavin'.
Reviews
Notable press has included...
- "The foremost presenter of new and adventurous music theater works in the country." TIME Magazine[4]
- "Philadelphia's Premiere Factory." The Washington Post[5]
- "Floyd Collins... has large ambitions, and lives up to them." The New York Times[6]
- "Long Live The Prince!" The Philadelphia Inquirer[1]
- "Hey, They Do Write 'Em Like They Used To... Everything old can seem new again... That is the delightful lesson of 3hree...presented in a snappily renovated former movie house, the Prince Theater." The New York Times[7]
- "Spotlighting emerging musical theater artists, 3hree demonstrates that even the most talented among us need a place to begin, to wrestle with a complex, collaborative art form in manageable pieces. The show... lifts off and soars... inspiring great hope for the future of the American musical." Variety[8]
- "Enterprising and ambitious productions" Philadelphia City Paper[9]
- "Once in a great while, it happens in the theater that someone extends an arm into the heavens and, to our amazement, snatches down a lightning bolt. It happened last week with Revelation in the Courthouse Park, the orgy musical that capped the American Music Theater Festival's fourth annual season. With an astonishing concentration of theatrical forces, the production, which hit with earthquake force... renewed the festival's franchise on a certain kind of excitement in this town." The Philadelphia Inquirer[10]
References
- Keating, Doug (March 16, 1999). "Princely Debut: The city's latest theatrical venue". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- "Prince at Prince: Director to Stage New Musical at Philly Theatre That Bears His Name". Playbill. April 28, 2000.
- Collins, William B. (12 October 1987) "'Revelation' Is A Fitting Cap To Music-theater Festival." The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Walsh, Michael (October 26, 1987). "Music: Elvis Meets the Bacchae In Philadelphia, two new musicals - or are they really operas?". TIME Magazine. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008.
- McLellan, Joseph (April 22, 1990). "Philadelphia's Premiere-Factory; Seven Seasons of the Music Theater Festival". The Washington Post.
- Pareles, Jon (October 12, 1987). "Review/Theater - FLOYD COLLINS; Dreamers and Exploiters in a Slice of Americana". The New York Times.
- Weber, Bruce (November 16, 2000). "Review/Theater - 3HREE: Hey, They Do Write 'Em Like They Used To ..." The New York Times.
- Zinman, Toby (November 13, 2000). "Review of 3hree". Variety.
- Fox, David Anthony (April 12, 2001). "Flow - Exquisite details and a strutting diva, too: An unexpected blend at the Prince. Review of The Silver River". Philadelphia City Paper.
- Collins, William (October 12, 1987). "Review/Theater - 'Revelation' Is A Fitting Cap To Music-theater Festival". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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