Michael P. Price

Michael P. Price (born August 5, 1938) is the longest serving artistic director of a professional theatre in the United States.[1] As the Executive Director of Goodspeed Musicals since 1968, he has produced more than 235 musicals, including 75 world premiers and transferred 19 productions to Broadway, including the world premieres of Shenandoah,[2] Man of La Mancha[3] and Annie.[2] His productions have won 13 Tony Awards and 33 nominations. He has also accepted two special Tony Awards on Goodspeed's behalf. In 2019, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.[4]

Michael P. Price
Michael P. Price in front of the Goodspeed Opera House
Born
Michael Paul Price

(1938-08-05) August 5, 1938
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationMichigan State University (BA)
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MA)
Yale University (MFA)
OccupationTheatre Producer; Artistic Director
Years active1960–present
Spouse(s)
Jo-Ann Nevas Price
(
m. 1971)
Children2

Early life

Price was born on August 5, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois.[5][2][6] He is the son of William and Sylvia Price, both of whom were Jewish.[5][7] He was raised in a Jewish home in Chicago.[5] He continues to strongly identify as a Jew and is active with a wide range of Jewish organizations.[5] Price's first introduction to the theatre came from visiting family members who worked as actors.[1] As a child, he acted in television commercials, including live commercials.[8] He also learned from his uncle, a theatre manager in Chicago.[1]

Education

Price received a B.A. from Michigan State University.[1][9] He also received an M.A. from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Yale School of Drama.[1][10]

Early career in musical theatre

Early in his career, Price was a stagehand and electrician at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, Connecticut.[1] He also served as Executive Producer of the 3,500-seat Valley Music Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah, the original stage manager for Richard Rodgers' Music Theater of Lincoln Center, and the production stage manager for Andy Williams, Henry Mancini and the Osmonds.[1][11] As a lighting designer, he was responsible for the lighting at President Lyndon B. Johnson's Inaugural Gala, for Josephine Baker on Broadway and for the premiere American tour of the Hungarian National Ballet.[1][12]

Goodspeed Musicals

Price first joined Goodspeed Musicals for the company's first season in 1963, but left after a year.[10][13] In 1968, Price returned to Goodspeed as the theatre's Executive Director—a role he held until 2014—with the goal of saving the then-struggling organization.[10][13]

Over his 45 years as Executive Director at Goodspeed, Price has produced more than 235 musicals, including 75 world premieres, and 19 Broadway productions.[10][13][14] Price grew Goodspeed from a fledgling organization with only three full-time employees, a two-month season and a budget of less than $500,000 in his first season to a "musical-theater empire" with 65 year-round employees, a $12.5 million budget and a season lasting from April to December.[15]

Under Price's leadership, Goodspeed became the only theatre to ever receive two special Tony Awards for outstanding achievement.[14] Price accepted the first special award on Goodspeed's behalf in 1980.[16] He accepted the second—the Regional Theatre Tony Award—in 1995. Goodspeed productions produced by Price have earned 13 Tony Awards and 33 Tony nominations.[1]

A masthead editorial published in The Hartford Courant on January 13, 2014 credited Price's "inspired leadership" of Goodspeed for saving the institution and "making the Goodspeed a major center of musical theater."[17]

Price's Broadway credits include:[3][18]

Government

Price has served as Chairman of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and its successor, the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development's Culture and Tourism Advisory Committee since 1992 under both Democratic and Republican Governors.[13][19]

Awards

In addition to Tony Awards, Price has received:

  • Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts, honoris causa, Connecticut College [1][9]
  • Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts, honoris causa, University of Hartford [1][9]
  • Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters 50 Anniversary Distinguished Alumni Award [9]
  • State of Connecticut Arts Award for Service to the Arts[20]
  • Theater Hall of Fame[21]

Other notable positions

Personal life

Price is married to Jo-Ann Nevas Price. They have two children, Daniel and Rebecca.

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References
  1. BWW News Desk (January 10, 2014). "Goodspeed Musicals' 45-Year Executive Director Michael Price to Retire in 2014". Broadway World. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  2. Baranski, Lynne (November 19, 1979). "Michael Price's Goodspeed Opera Doesn't Just Try Out Broadway Hits--It Creates Them". People Magazine. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  3. Michael P. Price at the Internet Broadway Database
  4. "Michael Price Named To Theater Hall of Fame". ShowRiz. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  5. Mindell, Cindy (February 23, 2011). "Michael Price: Creating Community On-Stage & Beyond". Jewish Ledger. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  6. Rothstein, Mervyn (January 12, 2014). "A Life in the Theatre: Michael P. Price, Executive Director of Goodspeed Musicals". Playbill. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  7. "Sylvia Price Obituary". The Hartford Courant. November 16, 2004. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  8. Ann Nyberg (October 17, 2012). "Goodspeed Musicals' Michael Price". WTNH Channel 8. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  9. "Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters Distinguished Alumni". Michigan State University. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  10. Rizzo, Frank (January 12, 2014). "Exit, Mr. Goodspeed: Floods, Flops and Tonys, Michael Price Saw It All". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  11. Rizzo, Frank (April 7, 2013). "50 Years of Drama, Dance and Dedication at Goodspeed: East Haddam's American Theater, And Its Director Michael Price, Have Evolved With The Times". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  12. Michael P. Price at the Internet Broadway Database
  13. Rizzo, Frank (January 10, 2014). "Michael Price Retiring From Goodspeed Opera House". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  14. Healy, Patrick (January 10, 2014). "Michael Price to Retire From Goodspeed Musicals". The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  15. Collins-Hughes, Laura (December 7, 2014). "Bowing Out? Bet Your Bottom Dollar". The New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  16. "1980 Tony Award Listing". Playbill. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  17. "For Goodspeed Maestro Michael Price, A Standing Ovation". The Hartford Courant. January 13, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  18. "Harvesting Musicals at Goodspeed". The New York Times Magazine. February 28, 1982. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  19. "Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, Culture & Tourism Advisory Committee Members". State of Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  20. "Recipients of the Connecticut Arts Award" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  21. Theater Hall of Fame. Theater Hall of Fame http://www.theaterhalloffame.org/members.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. "History of the League of Historic American Theatres". League of Historic American Theatres. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  23. "About NAMT: History". National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  24. "The American Theatre Wing Board of Trustees". The American Theatre Wing. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  25. "The Tony Awards Management Committee". The Tony Awards. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  26. "The Johnny Mercer Foundation Board of Directors". The Johnny Mercer Foundation. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
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