Frank Hartenstein, a revered stage manager whose indelible impact was inescapable over the last 50 years, died February 21 of pneumonia. News of his passing was confirmed by his wife, Melanie Vaughan.
Mr. Hartenstein was the stage manager for a wide range of landmark original Broadway productions, including A Chorus Line, Platinum, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Starlight Express, Into the Woods, and Minnelli on Minnelli, as well as acclaimed revivals of Othello in 1982, The King and I in 1990, 42nd Street in 2001, and La Boh猫me in 2002.
In all, he worked on 29 Broadway productions, shepherding a wide range of work from Michael Bennett, Joseph Papp, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gerald Gutierrez, Sid Caesar, Bernadette Peters, Matthew Broderick, Donna Murphy, Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Marian Seldes, Irene Worth, and many, many more.
Mr. Hartenstein enjoyed a long-term association with director Des McAnuff beginning with Big River in 1985, with the pair continuing to work hand in hand on The Who鈥檚 Tommy, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Dracula the Musical, The Farnsworth Invention, Guys and Dolls, and the 2012 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, which was Mr. Hartenstein's final Broadway credit.
Away from New York, Mr. Hartenstein worked often at the La Jolla Playhouse, and in London. On New Year鈥檚 Eve 1999 as the new millenium dawned, Mr. Hartenstein called the cues in Times Square, dropping the famous ball at midnight. He was on the Council of Actors鈥� Equity Association for 10 years, during which time he was a Tony Award voter, and over the years served as a guest instructor in stage management at Rutgers University, the Yale School of Drama, and the University of California at San Diego. Both in the classroom and out, formally and informally, Mr. Hartenstein instructed, counseled, and inspired several generations of aspiring stage managers.
He is survived by his sister Barbara, three nephews, and his wife Melanie, whom he married in 1985 after meeting during the first national tour of Sweeney Todd. A memorial service will be organized later this year. The family asks that memorial contributions to honor Mr. Hartenstein be made to the or .
