You’ve grown up with this story, and now you
can watch the filmed live stage production!
theatre. Based on the classic DreamWorks Animation film the classic story has been brought to life by Stephen Schwartz’s “miraculous music” (Time Out), including Academy Award®-winning song ‘When You Believe’ and Sean Cheesman’s “astonishing choreography” (The Guardian). This epic, critically acclaimed production tells an inspiring tale of resilience and hope. Journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as two young men, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past. One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever.
I was a kid when The Prince Of Egypt first came out. I remember the excitement that there was finally a large production animated film that Christian families could get behind. I even had a movie poster of the film hanging on my bedroom wall well into my teens – I think I still might have that poster rolled up somewhere... Fast forward, good grief, I just realized it's been 25 years, and here is The Prince Of Egypt come to life in a whole new way as a musical.
I'll just admit here and now that I was blown away by the entire production. The sheer imagination of the show was beyond impressive. The music, the choreography, the costumes, all of it. I was completely caught up in the story in a way that I honestly never expected to be. My mind, which can sometimes be a little to literal, was captured by a doll (baby Moses) was passed from dancer to dancer as they emulated the flowing River Nile as a grief stricken 'mother' sang a lullaby. The imagery of that – and other things from sandstorm to burning bush – was so easy to understand and yet both profound and moving.
Other things that I really enjoyed about this show include the amazing costumes that are absolutely not period or geographically correct but conjure the essence of the characters themselves and are simply stunning. And another was the way the actor who portrayed the adult Moses seemed like he was actually enjoying the funny lines and snide comments of his character almost as much as the audience was.
While the production has taken some definite poetic license from the Biblical account, The Prince Of Egypt Musical it is still a great show for Christian families to watch together and there are some great discussion moments on top of the wonder and drama of the show itself.
Whether you have kids or not, this is still a must see for anyone who, like me, remembers the animated film from their childhood, or just likes to see a show that encourages your faith instead of tearing it down. I enjoyed The Prince Of Egypt Musical quite a bit and it is easily something that I could watch over again...
Tell Tale Book Reviews gives The Prince Of Egypt Musical a 5 Bark rating.