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, AMTF moved into the renovated Midtown Theater and changed its name in honor of Broadway producer and director Harold Prince. AMTF/Prince Theater produced 92 world premieres and sent 81 productions to theaters in New York and worldwide.

History

The American Music Theater Festival was founded in 1984 by Marjorie Samoff, Eric Salzman, and Ron Kaiserman. Salzman was the artistic director beginning with the first festival in 1984. The budget for the first year was $1.2 million, and six productions were shown. The venues for the first season were Walnut Street Theatre, Trocadero Theatre, Port of History Museum Theater, and Philadelphia College of Art. The venues for the second season in 1985 were the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Walnut Street Theatre, and Mandell Theater at Drexel University. The Prince Music Theater organization went bankrupt in 2010 and the building was subsequently sold at auction to a real estate group, which leased it to a successor organization also named the Prince Music Theater. The 450-seat theater closed in November 2014. On March 5, 2015, the theater was bought by the Philadelphia Film Society, with the venue name changed to Prince Theater.

Notable productions

The Prince Theater productions (primarily as the American Music Theater Festival) have included the world premieres of Revivals have included Love Life, St. Louis Woman, Pal Joey, Lady in the Dark, Adam Guettel's Myths and Hymns, Dreamgirls, Annie Get Your Gun, Hair, and Ain't Misbehavin'.

Reviews

Notable press has included...