THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

A review by Tanya Howard

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.

The latest addition to the West End line up of shows is The Prince Of Egypt The Musical, adapted from the 1998 Dreamworks’ film of the same name. I was a big fan of the film when it first came out, being especially obsessed with the musical numbers When You Believe and Through Heaven’s Eyes, so you can imagine how excited I was to hear they were bringing it to the stage.

Showing at the Dominion Theatre the show features five of Stephen Schwartz’s critically acclaimed songs from the film, alongside ten brand new songs. You can imagine the treat my friend Hannah was in for sitting next to me trying to restrain myself from bursting into song and rushing the stage to join in during When You Believe.

I was so impressed with Christine Allado, in the role of Tzipporah, and Alexia Khadime, in the role of Miriam, who completely wowed me when they performed this song. I wish they would have had bigger featuring roles as they had so much passion and presence on stage and their voices were spectacular.

Luke Brady and Liam Tamne played the lead roles of Moses and Rameses, and whilst they had a great connection in their role of brothers, I felt like Liam got a bit lost in the background at times and didn’t come across as strong as other characters. Gary Wilmot appeared in a very small role of Tzipporah’s Dad Jethro, performing Through Heaven’s Eyes, and for me he made more of a lasting memory.

I was really impressed with the choreography from Sean Chessman, and I loved how they incorporated the cast to create part of the set. At one point they helped to form the wall of a hidden room that Moses and Rameses used to hide and play in as children, and I genuinely forgot it was the cast at one point and not a real piece of set.

One issue for me sadly was the costume designs as I was left questioning whether some of them were accurate and appropriate for the time and setting of the play. And it might seem small and ridiculous to some, but I could not get over the bedroom vest that Moses was wearing. Ain’t no Prince Of Egypt wanna be caught dead in that laundry day all that was left in the wardrobe vest.

Although I had a few niggling issues with the show, like the fact that the casting for Moses’ brother and sister could not have possibly had them looking any less like a family if they tried, they were small things that were overshadowed by the positive parts.

I would definitely recommend getting down to see The Prince Of Egypt if you get the change. And now if you’ll excuse me I’m just off to put the soundtrack on repeat and sing my lungs out to my favourite songs.

Photo Credit [Full Cast] Matt Crockett