Hal Prince: The Las Vegas Spectacular!

Welcome to a special interview edition of The Strip. The first-ever
Phantom Fan Week is coming to Las Vegas in mid-September, so Steve
decided it was time to check back in with legendary Broadway
producer and director Hal Prince. That event marks the first time
Prince has returned to Vegas since the 2006 opening of “Phantom:
The Las Vegas Spectacular,” the shortened, high-tech version of the
opera-house squatter tale that is the most successful musical of
all time. At that time, Steve irked Prince by saying the “Phantom”
story is “a bit of a downer,” a debate the two comically revisit in
this hour. They also address Prince’s recent stroke, his close
encounter with the Cirque du Soleil gang, the coming Phantom sequel
and Patti LuPone’s recent on-stage outbursts. Prince, who at 81 has
won a record 21 Tony awards, was instrumental in the creation of
Phantom, Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Fiddler on the Roof, A Little
Night Music, Evita, Sweeney Todd, Cabaret and countless other
classics. He plans to open his long-awaited next musical, Paradise
Found with Mandy Patinkin, next year and, as you hear, he expects
the Las Vegas version of Phantom to run “indefinitely.”


We’ll be back with a regular episode next week, but as always you
can email us at TheStripPodcast@aol.com, read Steve’s redesigned
blog VegasHappensHere.Com and leave us voicemail at 206-424-4737.