Hal Prince death: ‘King of the Broadway Musical’, dies aged 91

The groundbreaking producer and director had been credited with revolutionalising the Broadway musical

(Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Eugene O'Neill Theater)

The revered Broadway director and producer Hal Prince has died at the age of 91.

Widely recognised for pushed the boundaries of musical theatre with such groundbreaking shows as The Phantom of the Opera, Cabaret, Company and Sweeney Todd, he won a staggering 21 Tony Awards, has died. Prince was 91.

Prince’s publicist Rick Miramontez says Prince died Wednesday after a brief illness in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Prince was known for his fluid, cinematic director’s touch and was unpredictable and uncompromising in his choice of stage material. He often picked challenging, offbeat subjects to musicalize, such as a murderous, knifing-wielding barber who baked his victims in pies or the 19th-century opening of Japan to the West.

“He is missed and loved by his family – Judy, his wife of 56 years; his daughter, Daisy; his son, Charles; and his grandchildren, Phoebe, Lucy, and Felix,” wrote Prince’s representative in a statement. “As per his wishes, there will be no funeral but there will be a celebration of his life this fall with the people he loved most, the members of the theatrical community that he was a part of for seven decades.”

Additional reporting by Associated Press