All of the film’s songs return (with the exception of ‘Playing with the Big Boys’, which has been folded into ‘The Plagues’), and they’re still as powerful as ever. On that note, we should also take a look at the music, as Stephen Schwartz has returned on both music and lyrics. The other roles are mainly supporting, although Allado deserves mention for some of the astonishing notes she hits in the new song ‘Dance to the Day’. Both Brady and Tamne shine as brothers forced into battle against each other, with Brady really selling the pathos as he must do increasingly worse things to save his people. This production boasts one of the largest casts I’ve ever seen in a West End show (around 50, looking at the programme), but The Prince of Egypt is at its heart the story of two brothers. I defy you not to feel goose bumps when we finally reach ‘When You Believe’ This is a packed story, with chariot races, the Ten Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea among its plot beats, and how this is all communicated to the audience is masterful. It’s hard to explain how impressive it all looks and how well it works, and kudos must go to Sean Cheesman (choreography) and Kevin Depinet (set design) for how seamless this all is. They transform into everything, from temples to rivers and the Burning Bush, normally using only a few mud blocks as the extra set dressing. I want to start by praising the creative aspects of The Prince of Egypt, because this is a production that would falter without a phenomenal ensemble cast. Circumstances soon reveal the truth of Moses’ heritage to him and, with the knowledge that he is the son of Hebrew slaves, he begins a journey that will align him with the Midian woman Tzipporah (Christine Allado) and set him on a quest to deliver his people to freedom. He is found by the Egyptian royal family, and grows up alongside Pharaoh-to-be Ramses (Liam Tamne). The Prince of Egypt tells the story of Moses (Luke Brady), who is placed into a basket by his mother Yocheved (Mercedesz Csampai) in the hopes of saving him from a life of slavery. I went along, wondering whether the musical could live up to a film I had loved for years and watched when I was just a little kid – fortunately, for the most part, it is a phenomenal success. Now, more than 20 years later, a new stage adaptation has just begun a run at the Dominion Theatre in London. Retelling the Book of Exodus, the film was a smash hit, and took home an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
We may best know DreamWorks nowadays for the Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon franchises, but one of its best films was also one of the company’s first – the 1998 animation The Prince of Egypt.