| By Sam Bradley Cox
PRINCE OF EGYPT
How does this truly epic tale translate to the stage?
Photography: DreamWorks The Prince Of Egypt
Theatre blogger and all-round musical theatre enthusiast, @thecheapseats_, shares his thoughts on this much anticipated brand-new musical, directed by Scott Schwartz and featuring music from the award-winning composers of ‘Wicked’ and ‘Godspell’.
When I first heard that the DreamWorks movie, ‘The Prince of Egypt’, was being adapted into a musical, I was most definitely sceptical. I had seen the film as a child and learnt the stories of Moses at school, so I was curious to see how they would transfer this epic story live on stage. Let’s not forget the fact the original film is also an animated motion picture, which is surprising when you know the challenging themes, events and storyline this film tackles.
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For those who aren’t aware, ‘The Prince Of Egypt’ is an adaptation of the biblical story of Moses, written in the Book of Exodus. Oh yes, the man who parted the red sea, received a message from God sent through a burning bush, and journeyed through an Egyptian sandstorm to free the Hebrew people. Definitely not the easiest content to transfer to the stage! However, this brand-new theatre adaptation has laid fresh eyes on this truly classic narrative and film. Through the power of music, movement and unique set design, a new version of this well-known tale has been created at London’s Dominion Theatre.
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The Prince of Egypt tells the story of the two young princes of Ancient Egypt; Ramses, the first-born prince who’s destined to be the next pharaoh, and his brother Moses, a Hebrew born child given up by his mother as a baby to escape a genocide. Moses was adopted into the royal Egyptian family after the queen finds him cast aside the river Nile. Over the course of the show, both princes struggle with their ultimate destinies. For Ramses - his path to lead and protect his country, whilst for Moses - his orders from God to free his true people from slavery. These destinies threaten to tear a brotherhood apart and lead both on a path to change the course of history forever.
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Let me start by saying this show most definitely has its strengths and weaknesses. The sheer scale of this show was an element I was very much anticipating and is definitely needed when filling the humungous 2100-seater Dominion Theatre. Upon entering the theatre, the set design initially blew me away – successfully transforming the theatre into an Egyptian sandscape that extended into the auditorium through beautiful tasselled backdrops. However, as the production was underway it was disappointing to find that the majority of the production was confined to a small area of the stage; a platform where the actors would walk upon and stay for the majority of the action. The set design was also limited to mostly just large Egyptian blocks that were arranged and modified by the ensemble to create different props, such as temples and thrones. Apart from this, the majority of the physical storytelling was left to the ensemble and projections in the show.
Video: DreamWorks The Prince Of Egypt
The projections were definitely one of the stronger elements and make use of the whole theatre, including the large backdrop of the stage, as well as the tasselled drapes that extend into the audience. These are used at multiple moments to transport audiences through different areas of Egypt, as well as during significant moments of the story such as the parting of the Red Sea. These moments were well and truly spectacular and a visual feast to the eyes. However, the scenes that come between these memorable moments struggle to match their level of excellence.
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The clearest problem to me was the script, which struggled to balance humour and drama, and ultimately failed at keeping the audience engaged. It’s most definitely a difficult story to tackle. Some moments felt dragged out whilst others seemed rushed, and therefore the pacing of this show may have been what threw me off.
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Aside from this, there are many aspects of the production that still made me feel invested and entertained throughout the show. Most notably, the incredible ensemble had the tricky task of being the heart of the storytelling of this piece. Due to the stripped-back set design, most of the physical action and storytelling on the stage was left to them. They tell the story through movement and take some of the tricky elements of the plot, such as the sandstorms, chariot races and bush fire’s and translate this to the audience through interpretive dance, and circus-like tricks and lifts. These scenes are also helped by the previously mentioned projections.
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This method of storytelling was hard to follow unless you were very familiar with the story of the show, such as, the cast interpreting the bush fire, which was slightly unclear without prior knowledge to this plot point. I’d imagine for a newbie to the show they would struggle at times to catch every little detail, which in an epic tale like this, can be crucial.
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The choreography at times was whacky, for sure. For example, the whole cast rolling along the stage to signify sand was a tad too far for me. However, for the most part, the movement in this show was brilliant and unique. The talent of this ensemble is immense and the level of energy these performers radiated was incredible.
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Another way that the production really shone, was through its orchestrations and vocal performances. The music in the show is written by Stephan Schwartz, who also wrote the music for Wicked, so I was of course expecting big things. The show still features the classic music from the film, however new music has also been added for the stage. Be prepared for goose-bumps galore because the show sounded absolutely beautiful. The newer material written by Schwartz does struggle to match the brilliance of the music from the original film. However, there are enough spectacular numbers that left me singing the songs on the train ride home.
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Photography: Darren Bell
The cast of the show does a superb job of singing this score. The full ensemble numbers are definitely the most special, hitting the audience like a powerful wall of sound. So if you haven’t guessed already, the vocals and orchestrations really wowed me and are enough of a reason to the see this show on their own. The principle cast also have beautiful voices, most significantly the female leads, Christine Allado and Alexia Khadime, whose rendition of ‘When You Believe’ was simply perfection.
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And now for a ‘The Cheap Seat’ tip. For this show, there a few ways of getting some affordable tickets. I used the app TodayTix, which is my go-to platform to snap up my tickets. They often run sales on specific productions for a limited time, in which you can access cheaper tickets. They also run rush schemes for shows, of which Prince of Egypt is one of. For this, a limited amount of tickets are released on the app at 10am on the day of the performance. These are priced at £25 and usually have an amazing view. Go and download this app ASAP to get yourself a whole lot of West-End tickets, even when you’re on a budget.
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As a whole, ‘The Prince of Egypt’ is definitely a much-anticipated spectacle of a show that lives up to its hype in some ways more than others. One of such, is that the show struggles to fill the humungous Dominion Theatre; an issue that in some instances was successfully overcome by the music and spectacular projections. However ultimately, this show definitely leaves the audience wanting more. Get yourself down to the Dominion Theatre to make up your mind and get ready to travel back to Ancient Egypt.