Spill all the wine/spaghetti sauce/blood/ketchup you want!

Harold Prince may be best known for directing and producing Broadway musicals, but his real métier, it turns out, is real estate. According to city records, the 21-time Tony winner has bought or sold no less than seven different properties in Manhattan north of 59th Street over the past decade. (For the most part, not a West Side Story—only three units were on the West Side, and two of those were in 222 Central Park South.)

And his latest attempt is far from modest: just yesterday he and wife Judy relisted their townhouse at 48 East 74th Street for $21 million. If they can get anywhere near the ask, it'll be a windfall for the couple, as they bought the home in 2009 for $12.5 million. (Although it was the previous owner, who bought the house in 2002 for just $3.6 million, who made off the best.)

This isn't the first time Mr. and Mrs. Prince (herself of a theater pedigree—her father, Saul Chaplin, was a composer and musical director) have tried to sell the forty-foot Upper East Side townhouse. Back in November they listed the property with Fox Residential Group for $22 million, but they're clearly hoping that Paula Del Nunzio at Brown Harris Stevens and a small price cut will do the trick. (This would not be the first time a perfectly lovely residence has suffered from the Princes' theatrical decorating decisions.)

The townhouse's neo-Georgian façade may not be as elaborate as its neighbors, but it has enough interior features to make up for it. With a four-story atrium and elevator to, the house includes a roomy 7,375 square feet—and that's just above ground. The basement, which includes a gym and staff suite, holds another 2,000 square feet. (Future buyers: if you're looking for staff, you know where to find us!)

Whether or not they get their $21 million ask, the couple will likely not go hungry—less than two years ago they sold their duplex co-op at 834 Fifth Avenue for nearly $25 million.

Mr. Prince with Alec Baldwin and Angela Lansbury. (Patrick McMullen)

The townhouse at 48 East 74th Street certainly puts on quite a show with a bold blend of eras and prints (we counted floral, paisley, plaid, cheetah and polka dot to name just a few). Would Broadway producer and director extraordinaire Harold Prince have it any other way? With the exception of the Great White way, of course.

At $22 million, this is a house that even the most ambitious chorus girls and company members won't bother auditioning for. Heck, not even stars of the stage could afford the price tag on this Georgian manse. Such a spread best suits Broadway royalty like Mr. Prince (a 21-time Tony Award winner) and his wife Judith. And they only paid $12.5 million for the place when they bought back in 2009, according to city records. 

The double height living room.

Still, the property appears to have gone through a big costume change since the Princes moved in, shifting from a sleek modern space behind an old-fashioned facade to something a little more eclectic. Overstuffed sofas, tasseled lamps and carpet that looks magnificently foot-muffling just from the photos (we suppose Mr. Prince has heard more than enough dancing feet in his lifetime) fill the 20-foot wide, six-story house. Not that everyone is a fan of the new look.

"Personally, I thought it was great the way it was before," one broker told The Observer. 

At least it's anything but the same old song and dance in the five bedroom, five full-bath, three-half bath and one staff bath listing, held by Barbara Fox of Fox Residential. There's a "stunning skylight atrium which runs from the ground floor to the roof and floods the house with sun"—a clever solution to the darkness challenge faced by many townhouses, although not so Georgian—and  a double-height living room with huge windows. We’re not surprised that a man who spends so much time in darkened stage sets would crave some natural light.

Why he’s decamping after just three years is beyond us. Surely there’s enough space here from him and all 21 Tony Awards?

kvelsey@observer.com