Dreamworks Animation’s classic 1998 animated feature gets the stage treatment in a new theatrical imagining – an epic spectacular with music and lyrics from the creative mind of Stephen Schwartz.
Arriving on the hallowed boards of London’s 90-year-old Dominion Theatre in the heart of the West End is The Prince Of Egypt, previously incarnated as a 1990s animated movie from a then-new studio owned by Steven Spielberg, Jaffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. The movie was essentially an adaptation – of the Book Of Exodus, the second book of the Bible. It was Dreamworks’ first traditionally animated feature costing a reported $70 million, bringing home a little shy of $220 million from the global box-office and fairly decent reviews from critics. The stage version carries the same branding as the movie and comes to the West End from DreamWorks Theatricals (a division of Universal Theatrical Group), and of course, features many of the popular award-winning songs from the film.
The story centers on two brothers being raised the same in ancient Egypt. The is Ramses (Liam Tamne), and also Moses (Luke Brady) – one an eir to the Pharoah throne, the other with a secret past who is willing to risk everything to be reunited with and to free his people.
The first thing that strikes you upon entering the auditorium is the sheer scale of the production. A vast stage evident at the front, a horizontal pivoted wooden floor shadowed by an equally impressive vertical presence; an imposing screen towering above us, flanked by trailing tails, dozens of them absorbing images projected onto each one. Each inch of the stage is used in the opening scene along, a very impressive start by the Egyptian overseers and most of the main cast to the very familiar tune, ‘Deliver Us’.
The company is excellent, particularly the two male leads in Tamne and Brady, as well as Tanisha Spring’s Nefertari and also Christine Allado’s Tzipporah. All have wonderful stage presence, their vocals strong as they confidentially take on Schwartz’s lyrics. Adam Pearce is also particularly good, and indeed menacing as Hotep, while there’s also a striking performance from Joe Dixon as Seti.
The stage design is also impressive, though the production lacks that rousing, stand-out moment that sticks in your memory after. The familiar tones of the stand-out song, the Oscar-winning ‘When You Believe’ is teased way before Christine Allado and Alexia Khadime (as Miriam) unleash it magnificently on the audience at the tail end of the second half. Said song is also heavily advertised all over the promotional materials, and its versions by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, and Leon Jackson’s X-Factor-winning version is guaranteed to bring in punters not familiar with the film in which it was originally featured.
Despite being a musical where you truly feel its 2 and a half hour running time (including the interval), one does walk away having witnessed something hugely enjoyable. The songs are memorable – there are ten additional tracks from Schwartz in this new production – and the book is solid if a little dark in places – completely unsuitable for younger viewers.
I thankfully hadn’t read some of the other, more sniffy reviews until after, most of which I don’t agree with. True, in places it does come across a little cheesy, some of the source material pretermitted, but as pure light musical entertainment, there’s much to enjoy. Just leave the little ones at home.
The Prince Of Egypt is playing at London’s Dominion Theatre until 31st October 2020.
