“My wife with her mentor, Hal Prince.”
The other thing you should do is marry someone you admire. I was Bryonha Marie Parham’s fan before we were friends. Everything about her was intimidating -- her beauty, her talent, the silent h’s in her name. Love, thankfully, conquered all. But when the person you love and admire most in the world is loved and admired by the person you love and admire most in the industry you love and admire most that’s some sort of love-life daily-double, I would say.
I met Hal Prince through my wife. I’d always dreamed of meeting him, more of working with him one day. He was my hero, but for all the photos I have of us at various openings and his legendary annual Christmas party, he never would have known me from a souvenir Phantom mask had it not been for Bryonha.
Hal had cast her in the last production he ever did, the retrospective of his career, Prince Of Broadway (Samuel Friedman Theatre, 2017). He had her perform three numbers from three of his favorite musicals over the span of his legendary career: “Will He Like Me?” from She Loves Me, “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” from Show Boat, and the title song from Cabaret, with which he chose to end Act 1. I’m getting somewhere with this, so bear with me.
Every time I saw Hal after that, or nearly, at some point he would take me aside and tell me the same thing that, until now, I have kept a secret, because, well, it’s a lot when you think about it: “If someone would give me the money, I would do a revival of Cabaret with Bryonha as Sally Bowles. Bryonha is the most talented performer I have ever worked with.” I don’t use the word literally, but this was a man who had worked with… literally… everyone. I never flinched. Me, the proud boyfriend/fiancé, husband… would always just nod and agree.
Love-life daily-double.
Hal Prince’s favorite Sally Bowles, my insanely talented and beautiful wife, Bryonha Marie.