Sense of Occasion

Starred review from October 15, 2017

Producer, director, and playwright Prince has worked in show business since he was 19. Now 89, and with a career spanning seven decades, he has won 21 Tony Awards, including eight for directing and ten for producing. His first hit was The Pajama Game. He's had his flops along the way, but it's hard to fault the number and quality of his successes: West Side Story, A Funny Thing..., Company, Follies, Phantom of the Opera. In 1974, after many years working on Broadway, he published Contradictions, a part memoir, part reflection on the state of theater and an expression of love for his difficult mistress, the theater. He's updated that book here, adding comments on the already published chapters and appended sections covering from 1974 to today. It's the type of book that could easily become hackneyed, a self-serving march through past triumphs. That it isn't is a tribute to this passionate, intelligent man who has had years of unparalleled access to the greats and near-greats of Broadway and wishes to share what he's learned. VERDICT Perceptive, fresh, and engagingly modest, this book will prove irresistible to theater lovers everywhere.--David Keymer, Cleveland

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