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
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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.
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