Ever since I saw The Prince of Egypt for the first time ever nearly 2 years ago, I have been completely obsessed with it ever since. I have the film on Blu-Ray and digital and have the soundtrack and have seen it at least a few dozen times. But when I heard it was converted into a musical, I immediately checked to see if it was available to watch. Once I saw that it was, I rented it right away. While it's not as entertaining nor "enjoyable" as the original film, it's still worth watching. The songs added in are really decent and full of emotion, as if they were actually from the film, which wasn't surprising considering they were all written by Stephen Schwartz who also did the film as well. The costumes are absolutely stunning and beautiful. The dance moves are mind-blowing and leave you wondering "how did they do that so flawlessly?" while still keeping your eyes glued to the screen. The visual effects/lighting/etc are also breathtaking. Makes me wish I had known about this film earlier so I could've seen this play in person, but oh, well. If you love the film, you need to see this!!
11 Reviews
When you believe
enthusiasmfitness31 March 2024
What an absolute beautiful show, it's very well done. Very well thought out, I really don't understand all the bad reviews people writing about the bad costumes and giving the show a bad review, don't get it, because it was so beautiful quite touching when the start to
Sing when you believe, the person that played the Queen of Egypt was born to play that part
Very talented cast and production I just don't understand why people are given this bad reviews o really enjoyed it and seeing it live was amazing the sound and setting was very effective Bart large cast of 38 and very well done would love to see this on tour.
A Degression From the Original
d545420 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The original film was one of the best animated movies ever made by a western studio, so I was excited to watch this recording of the long-time-coming stage adaptation. There is certainly a great deal of fan service achieved by upholding the same style, structure, and goosebump inducing music that made the 90s picture so amazing. As far as its modern innovations, however, this adaptation can frankly be skipped. Dozens of songs were added, and none of them landed like the original soundtrack. Also accompanying the new (and old) music were extremely on-the-nose dance numbers, mind you, performed by amazing dancers, but they were still an ill fit. This story didn't need dance at all, let alone a heavy incorporation of it. It seemed like the producers tried too hard to "show-tune" up a classic that was never meant to embrace that style to begin with.
The script didn't help matters, with the addition of transitional scenes that were unneeded and expository, plus a refusal to cut other scenes that probably should have been. Action packed chariot races, hieroglyphs coming to life, among other sequences are fun ideas to explore in animation, but trying to imply them onstage only makes the final product much more campy. One couldn't exactly cut elements like the burning bush, parted sea, or the plagues when telling a story about Moses, but those are also reasons why the story is so hard to bring into a theatrical space. Mixing a Bible tale with stage effects gives a sensation of a novelty show from Branson, Missouri rather than anything from the West End.
I did not much like the cast as a whole. The vocals were overall impressive, with perhaps the exception of Christine Allado as Tzipporah, who seemed intent on passing as a pop star. I particularly enjoyed the leading man, Luke Brady, who brought to the table a stunning voice along with very competent acting. Unfortunately, I think that's where it ends. This is the price that is paid when deciding to film a musical, as the acting style seldomly works in closeups. The most notable "weak links" are Tanisha Spring as Nefertari, one of those aforementioned unneeded additions. Her stereotypical snobby demeanor was eye-roll inducing whenever she took the stage, necessary for the character, but not for the show. There was also the problem of Adam Pearce as the High Priest. His performance was over-the-top, yet serious, extra infuriating considering he replaced the original's comedic relief. Why is that? Well, the show needed him to be the token bass, part of a larger musical cliché, an obsession with deep voiced villains to contrast the overabundance of tenors in the cast. This poor choice additionally altered one of the better songs of the original. They should have added more baritones to the ensemble, but not at the expense of "Playing with the Big Boys."
This character is also a large part of objectively the worst element of the show, the ending. Ramses had a confusing babyface turn at the conclusion, hugging Moses and letting him escape. This allowed the High Priest to very briefly become the main antagonist, mind controlling the Egyptian army before all of them were swept away by the Red Sea. It's one of the worst creative liberties I have ever seen. The Prince of Egypt is not Star Wars!
There were ways this show could have been great, as was evidenced by my excitement to initially see it. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, they missed the mark by a wide margin.
The script didn't help matters, with the addition of transitional scenes that were unneeded and expository, plus a refusal to cut other scenes that probably should have been. Action packed chariot races, hieroglyphs coming to life, among other sequences are fun ideas to explore in animation, but trying to imply them onstage only makes the final product much more campy. One couldn't exactly cut elements like the burning bush, parted sea, or the plagues when telling a story about Moses, but those are also reasons why the story is so hard to bring into a theatrical space. Mixing a Bible tale with stage effects gives a sensation of a novelty show from Branson, Missouri rather than anything from the West End.
I did not much like the cast as a whole. The vocals were overall impressive, with perhaps the exception of Christine Allado as Tzipporah, who seemed intent on passing as a pop star. I particularly enjoyed the leading man, Luke Brady, who brought to the table a stunning voice along with very competent acting. Unfortunately, I think that's where it ends. This is the price that is paid when deciding to film a musical, as the acting style seldomly works in closeups. The most notable "weak links" are Tanisha Spring as Nefertari, one of those aforementioned unneeded additions. Her stereotypical snobby demeanor was eye-roll inducing whenever she took the stage, necessary for the character, but not for the show. There was also the problem of Adam Pearce as the High Priest. His performance was over-the-top, yet serious, extra infuriating considering he replaced the original's comedic relief. Why is that? Well, the show needed him to be the token bass, part of a larger musical cliché, an obsession with deep voiced villains to contrast the overabundance of tenors in the cast. This poor choice additionally altered one of the better songs of the original. They should have added more baritones to the ensemble, but not at the expense of "Playing with the Big Boys."
This character is also a large part of objectively the worst element of the show, the ending. Ramses had a confusing babyface turn at the conclusion, hugging Moses and letting him escape. This allowed the High Priest to very briefly become the main antagonist, mind controlling the Egyptian army before all of them were swept away by the Red Sea. It's one of the worst creative liberties I have ever seen. The Prince of Egypt is not Star Wars!
There were ways this show could have been great, as was evidenced by my excitement to initially see it. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, they missed the mark by a wide margin.
lets pretend this didn't happen
Smithjacob200421 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The performances, and the clever use of the ensemble was very impressive. For example, the river carrying the basket was cool and the parting of the red sea was mind blowing. SOME of the cast is awesome. And others are in the wrong show. This show is probably an hour longer than it should be with a lot of added songs that serve very little purpose. The pacing is a lot slower than the movie. It seems as if everyone is singing for no reason rather than singing to enhance the emotion in a scene. The endless music devalues the songs that actually work because your mind is so numb to the mediocre songs that were added to seemingly inflate the runtime. A lot of the characters were changed in weird ways. For example, the pharaoh in the beginning is supposed to be very threatening and evil... but he's just like a normal guy and he cracks a few jokes. Not only did the characters change but a lot of the songs were adjusted in not great ways. There did not need to be a strangely sexual dance in the middle of "Through Heavens Eyes". That should not have to be said.
So if you like watching shows for the awesome spectacle of the sets, then you'll love this. If you like watching shows for about anything else, then don't watch this. Go back and watch the original animated classic.
So if you like watching shows for the awesome spectacle of the sets, then you'll love this. If you like watching shows for about anything else, then don't watch this. Go back and watch the original animated classic.
Let My People Not See This
ericgoldberg-501592 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
First of all, I am a Jew who has read the Torah and knows the story of Moses very well. Second, I am a big fan of the original movie which does the actual story of Moses justice. This musical changes things in extremely unnecessary and convoluted ways. At one point the pharoah Ramses makes a deal with Moses that he will free the slaves if Moses joins him. Moses agrees to this. This is an absurd change considering in the original story Ramses hardens his heart and doesn't free the slaves so he can keep his kingdom strong. He also promised his dying father, Seti, that he will not be the weak link in the chain. In the musical Ramses goes back on his word to Moses and keeps the Hebrews enslaved which also makes him a liar and a coward. At the end of the show Ramses survives and is all buddy buddy with Moses. Moses also doesn't even go to the top of Mount Sinai and get the Ten Commandments which is literally the most important part to the story. The production and additional music were nice but nowhere near enough to save this travesty.
So disappointed
hannahpascual-187646 January 2024
They changed the whole story! It doesn't follow the FLAWLESS, emotionally gripping, and captivating animated at all...much less the actual story of Moses. Nothing about Moses' faith, God's commands, NOTHING. The costumes and styling are strange and don't match the time period or the geographical location. Why does the pharaoh look like the prince from cinderella with the shoulder pads and tassels?
The new (TOO MANY) added songs, storylines are forgettable and don't add anything to the story.
Acting/delivery was over done and cheesy and in no way draws me in like the animated movie. This had SO much potential they pretty much cheapened the whole story. Like why is Zipporah writhing and twerking in a cage for them? Why is she sing-growling all the time?
I'll be forever disappointed, I've been waiting for someone to turn this incredible movie into a musical theater production since I was a kid :(
The new (TOO MANY) added songs, storylines are forgettable and don't add anything to the story.
Acting/delivery was over done and cheesy and in no way draws me in like the animated movie. This had SO much potential they pretty much cheapened the whole story. Like why is Zipporah writhing and twerking in a cage for them? Why is she sing-growling all the time?
I'll be forever disappointed, I've been waiting for someone to turn this incredible movie into a musical theater production since I was a kid :(
A Huge Disappointment
mandyk-2744523 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I was so excited to see this as Prince of Egypt is probably one of my all time favorite movies. Don't get me wrong, I love when movies or musicals add or adapt the story... most of the time. Newsies (went from movie to stage) is a great example of the story being changed without losing the essence of what it was about.
Then we come to this one... The first song was amazing and gave me chills, though I didn't like the way they changed the meaning of the name Moses. But I could get past that. The next couple of songs were pretty lackluster and it seems like the creators felt like they had to shove a song into every possible moment of this performance. They made nonsensical character changes that didn't really add anything to the story and will only detract from it for those who love the original film.
I can't even enjoy most of the songs that are actually from the film because the words leading up to them have changed the meaning of the songs too much. "Through Heaven's Eyes" is supposed to be about how we can't always see the good in us, but God sees our true purpose and what we can do. In the musical, it has been turned into "we don't know why you're here either, but there's gotta be a purpose".
I know I sound petty, but so much of the power of the story has been lost. There are so many unnecessary changes, like changing Ra to Potar for whatever reason, that the enjoyment has been taken out. Prince of Egypt was a masterpiece I could watch even as an adult... I wouldn't wish this adaptation on even my worst enemy.
Then we come to this one... The first song was amazing and gave me chills, though I didn't like the way they changed the meaning of the name Moses. But I could get past that. The next couple of songs were pretty lackluster and it seems like the creators felt like they had to shove a song into every possible moment of this performance. They made nonsensical character changes that didn't really add anything to the story and will only detract from it for those who love the original film.
I can't even enjoy most of the songs that are actually from the film because the words leading up to them have changed the meaning of the songs too much. "Through Heaven's Eyes" is supposed to be about how we can't always see the good in us, but God sees our true purpose and what we can do. In the musical, it has been turned into "we don't know why you're here either, but there's gotta be a purpose".
I know I sound petty, but so much of the power of the story has been lost. There are so many unnecessary changes, like changing Ra to Potar for whatever reason, that the enjoyment has been taken out. Prince of Egypt was a masterpiece I could watch even as an adult... I wouldn't wish this adaptation on even my worst enemy.
Storyline the biggest issue
markecrowder11 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
If you know the Bible story, this will be incredibly disappointing. It's a major divergence from the Disney movie of the same name, as well.
The Disney movie took creative license in the story telling, but at least kept God in focus and addressed the miracles reasonably correctly (mostly). The musical made it all about the relationship of the Ramses and Moses as brothers and made significant storyline changes that made this almost unrecognizable from the Bible story, and even the Disney movie through large portions of the film, including and probably most regrettably, the end.
As far as songs, 'When You Believe' and 'Deliver Us' were truly excellent. The rest were unnecessary adds or changed in ways that made them extremely disappointing.
The two premier songs already mentioned are being circulated online and they feel and look amazing. Don't be fooled. If you watch this, go in expecting something completely different from anything you've seen, because that is what you're going to get.
The Disney movie took creative license in the story telling, but at least kept God in focus and addressed the miracles reasonably correctly (mostly). The musical made it all about the relationship of the Ramses and Moses as brothers and made significant storyline changes that made this almost unrecognizable from the Bible story, and even the Disney movie through large portions of the film, including and probably most regrettably, the end.
As far as songs, 'When You Believe' and 'Deliver Us' were truly excellent. The rest were unnecessary adds or changed in ways that made them extremely disappointing.
The two premier songs already mentioned are being circulated online and they feel and look amazing. Don't be fooled. If you watch this, go in expecting something completely different from anything you've seen, because that is what you're going to get.
This is the eleventh plague!
Paurian23 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I came into watching this with high hopes. The introduction had some promise, but continued to fall flat as the show continued. Odd choices and liberties with a story line really have no place with a classic, historic account like that of Moses. They might as well have made a musical adaptation of Schindler's List taking place in a circus tent. I found it that offensive.
Some of the musical numbers were delivered well, but others lacked cohesion. They skipped over one of my favorite numbers: "Messing with the Big Boys, Now" and added in much weaker songs that didn't carry the story or add to the characters.
Some of the dance numbers were fun to watch and I enjoyed the costumes. The backdrops felt like cop-outs to making stage props. For example, during the scene where the eight plagues come about (frogs to darkness) some video is just projected on the screen. I realize that it was rushed through the movie as well, but it seemed even more like the musical was considering the plagues as a passing thought than it was. Even during the Seder, we give the plagues more time from the Haggadah - and having little kids, the Haggadah we use is a comic book (please don't judge)!
The characters get a complete rewrite with the Pharaoh and Moses being henpecked, them being the girly BFFs, and Pharaoh and Moses both being weak in character and roles of the story. At the end, the godless priest saves the story by hypnotizing Egyptians into walking to their deaths in an unseen, barely mentioned, Red Sea while Pharaoh helps Moses escape.
It felt like a DEI alphabet of heresy that is as offensive as it is long.
Some of the musical numbers were delivered well, but others lacked cohesion. They skipped over one of my favorite numbers: "Messing with the Big Boys, Now" and added in much weaker songs that didn't carry the story or add to the characters.
Some of the dance numbers were fun to watch and I enjoyed the costumes. The backdrops felt like cop-outs to making stage props. For example, during the scene where the eight plagues come about (frogs to darkness) some video is just projected on the screen. I realize that it was rushed through the movie as well, but it seemed even more like the musical was considering the plagues as a passing thought than it was. Even during the Seder, we give the plagues more time from the Haggadah - and having little kids, the Haggadah we use is a comic book (please don't judge)!
The characters get a complete rewrite with the Pharaoh and Moses being henpecked, them being the girly BFFs, and Pharaoh and Moses both being weak in character and roles of the story. At the end, the godless priest saves the story by hypnotizing Egyptians into walking to their deaths in an unseen, barely mentioned, Red Sea while Pharaoh helps Moses escape.
It felt like a DEI alphabet of heresy that is as offensive as it is long.
NO, JUST NO!.
phildeesnow17 December 2023
I gave it a 3 stars rating just because, the mapping on the LED screens was good, also the lighting was nice.
That's about it. I didn't like anything else.
The costumes sucked, the casting sucked, the added songs sucked, the creative licences sucked... I'm a big musical theatre fan, and I was hoping to be baffled and I was incredibly disappointed.
The " burning bush" and the opening of the sea were the stupidest staging I've seen. I don't understand why they didn't use anything magical and went the way of more choreography and interpretative dance.
The costumes were so modern that only highlighted the inaccuracy in everything else.
Honestly I was bored to sleep.
Read the other reviews...
That's about it. I didn't like anything else.
The costumes sucked, the casting sucked, the added songs sucked, the creative licences sucked... I'm a big musical theatre fan, and I was hoping to be baffled and I was incredibly disappointed.
The " burning bush" and the opening of the sea were the stupidest staging I've seen. I don't understand why they didn't use anything magical and went the way of more choreography and interpretative dance.
The costumes were so modern that only highlighted the inaccuracy in everything else.
Honestly I was bored to sleep.
Read the other reviews...
What in the name of all things biblical was that?!
hrussell50723 April 2024
The first act was phenomenal, but the second made my jaw hit the floor! What in the name of all things biblical was that?!
First of all, Moses feels burdened and guilty for the plagues - singing a song about having to live with the consequence of what HE (not God) has done!! They completely removed how the plagues showed God's majesty over the Egyptian gods' powerlessness. In fact, Moses was ready to go back to Egypt to help Rameses "get the priests in line." WHAT?!
Then, Moses "prophecies" over Pharaoh (who survives), declaring that he will "build the greatest empire on earth without slaves" while "we Hebrews will have our little kingdom by the sea." Lord, help us!
First of all, Moses feels burdened and guilty for the plagues - singing a song about having to live with the consequence of what HE (not God) has done!! They completely removed how the plagues showed God's majesty over the Egyptian gods' powerlessness. In fact, Moses was ready to go back to Egypt to help Rameses "get the priests in line." WHAT?!
Then, Moses "prophecies" over Pharaoh (who survives), declaring that he will "build the greatest empire on earth without slaves" while "we Hebrews will have our little kingdom by the sea." Lord, help us!
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