West End Prince of Egypt- Page 4

[devonian.t]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 9:02am

Those slaves sure must have been well-fed to maintain those physiques.

[JennH]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 10:16am

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "SouthernCakes said: "So the review I read said that the set was lavish and layered and extended into the audience, but none of those pictures show any of that. Or even that promo video."

I know, right? Someone even compared it to Vegas.Lion King is, Aladdinis, Jersey Boys is.This is def. not Vegas.

I watche the clip again and the second half of Deliver Us isn’t actually bad and I love love the ending shot. But the beginning of that clip is so frustrating. The movie literally gives you the epic scale of this staging on a silver platter. Les Miz this! Give us harshness, sweat and blood."

YES, THIS. The movie pulls no punches about throwing you into this horror. And that clip isn't horrid, but it still doesn't do any favors, but for a show that seems beyond help at this point, it wouldn't have done it any favors anyway. And slowing down that song would help it somewhat...it always bothered me that it's twice the tempo that we all know it to be, because right now it's almost an uptempo bop...WOOF. Dancing isn't needed for it, I just want that 'harshness, sweat, and blood'.

devonian.t said: "Those slaves sure must have been well-fed to maintain those physiques."

I shouldn't laugh but I am!

The reviews are mixed to downright scathing. I don't like saying it, but thank goodness. I don't wish ill will on anyone/anything, but it's high time that Schwartz and Son learn from their story theatre stye mistakes. It doesn't work for everything. And I know some reviews are saying it's almost like this piece doesn't translate well to the stage but I will always defend it and say IT DOES because it's not being done WELL. I know what this show could be, I think we all do especially those of us who adore the movie and know why it's so good. I know Schwartz has always gone against the grain and done what he wants with his work, many times not caring about reviews, which is likely why he's always a hard time finding his place as a theatre composer, but there's comes a point when you have to care, because when everyone is saying the same thing, maybe you should take heed...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 12:03pm

Does anyone remember the Ten Commandments musical in Los Angeles with Val Kilmer? I’m almost glad this production of The Prince of Egypt is taking some artistic chances. That production of the Ten Commandments utilized a more literal burning bush pyrotechnic effect and a lot of posters here didn’t like that either. It’s almost like expectations for The Prince of Egypt were too high and they would have been criticized no matter what choices they made.

[JennH]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 3:43pm

^^^ There's a difference between artistic chances and outright terrible choices that make no sense. Sadly PofE, since day 1, has been the latter.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 5:09pm

JennH said: "^^^ There's a difference between artistic chances and outrightterrible choices that make no sense.Sadly PofE, since day 1, has been the latter."

Fair enough. I still want to see it and judge for myself. Hopefully it comes to New York.

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 2/26/20 at 6:18pm

I saw this in London last week - an extreme disappointment. The review roundup on Playbill is spot on. Sophomoric, pompous, and drab. Can't imagine that they bring this to Broadway, especially after their review bloodbath. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/3/20 at 8:01pm

Official trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV6J_4MomxU

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/4/20 at 10:44am

Ugh.  That looks completely uninspired.  Why are they staging it like the French spectacles of the late 90s/early 00s (eg Notre Dame de Paris, Romeo & Juliet, Ten Commandments, etc.)?  Those were disasters in the UK and the US.  It just looks like a school production with everything downstage center in front of a projection.  

And...I mean...really?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/4/20 at 3:20pm

I still want to see it and I'm looking forward to the cast album.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/4/20 at 4:15pm

This looks so awful and I’m still so excited to see the awfulness in person in a few weeks.

[Dolly80]

Posted: 3/5/20 at 1:52am

Jordan Catalano said: "This looks so awful and I’m still so excited to see the awfulness in person in a few weeks. "

I saw it last week and it’s so unbelievably bad you won’t believe it. The new songs are shockingly bad and the staging is like some (really bad) high school production. It’s also the worst designed show you may possibly ever see. 
 

I wonder how Stephen Schwartz’s son got to direct this mess?..... 

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/5/20 at 7:21am

regarding the set coming out into the audience, there was a timelapse load in video on youtube and you can kinda see what they mean

 

its not the set so much as it is the lighting. the whole back piece seems to be a vid screen (not projections) and coming off the stage either side are these vertical 'strings' that are apparently LED (think of a times sq billboard, but made up of vertical strings with spaces between) so when they light up it carries the effect out into the audience by the boxes. The dominion is lucky in that they have alot of side space where the boxes would usually be, I think there are only 1 box either side with a ton of space around them.

It must be expensive as these light curtains are practically billboards that can 'show' anything the designer wants. It is also nice to see this being refined so that you cant really see all the little led dots or that odd 'shimmer' like before. When I saw frozen i didnt realize their backdrop was also LED screen until i looked closely at it through my binoculars.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/5/20 at 7:34am

I saw this last night.

I found the projections and cheap-looking costumes to be pretty hideous, and the lyrics are mind-numbingly simplistic.

But I have to confess that my sentimentality got the better of me here. As a Jew, I grew up on this story, and I still have fond memories of our annual retelling of it at Pesach. Plus I watched the film many times growing up. I realize that many people have the mentality of "this story is important to me, therefore I need to see it done well" and that's entirely valid and understandable. But I'm more in the camp of "this story is important to me, therefore I can enjoy it even when it's told badly." Personally, I was emotionally engaged throughout, and I found many moments rather moving. I think they captured the epic feel of the story, even with budget being so...misplaced.

Also, I didn't mind the choreography all that much. And while most of the new music was forgettable, I thought it was well-placed in the story. As in, he chose good moments to musicalize for the purposes of developing the characters. I thought the instincts were right, he just wrote bad lyrics and forgettable music to carry them out. 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 3/5/20 at 8:31am

Dolly80 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I wonder how Stephen Schwartz’s son got to direct this mess?....."

It was just announced that Scott is doing that new Romeo & Juliet jukebox musical. I think he'll fare much much better with that than this. He just doesn't know how to do epic stories. Hopefully simple stories will be more successful for him. I really do wish him the best with R&J. He seems like a genuinely sweet guy from his interviews. 

But, I just don't know how the DWA executives are letting this direction happen. Maybe they can pull a CHOCOLATE FACTORY and restart all over again and debut it on Broadway two years later when it's much better. I'll see it in its condition, nevertheless.

Updated On: 3/5/20 at 08:31 AM

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 3/5/20 at 8:32am

I don't care what the critics say. **Taps nails on table impatiently* 

I WANT A BROADWAY TRANSFER 

[JennH]

Posted: 3/5/20 at 12:35pm

Mister Matt said: "Ugh. That looks completely uninspired. Why are they staging it like the French spectacles of the late 90s/early 00s (eg Notre Dame de Paris, Romeo & Juliet, Ten Commandments, etc.)? Those were disasters in the UK and the US. It just looks like a school production with everything downstage center in front of a projection.

And...I mean...really?
"

Aa a massive fan of Notre Dame, that staging actually works, regardless of it being a hit only in it's motherland, because the rock opera approach works with that arena type staging, much like JCS. Music and staging were cohesive. PofE is pretty much theatre music so the abstract approach to staging doesn't work. I'll repeat what I've said for years...every detail of a show must work cohesively to serve the "whole". It's frustrating to see that writers forget that music can inform the concept. And yeah...that pose is so obviously a dance trick for tricks' sake. It doesn't serve anything. 

As for Dolly80's question about Scott...well you answered your own question. He's his son. Nepotism. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/31/20 at 10:57am

A release date at last! And it’s this Friday.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-PRINCE-OF-EGYPT-Cast-Recording-Will-Be-Released-April-3-20200331

[JennH]

Posted: 3/31/20 at 11:07am

1. I'm honestly shocked it's getting one at all. Obviously they did this under wraps. 2. Hard pass. I'll just listen to the movie soundtrack that I've listened to on repeat for YEARS without it failing to move me in some way. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/31/20 at 11:21am

They recorded prior to opening. It was supposed to be out on opening night but they didn’t make the deadline, obviously. It wasn’t entirely under wraps. Schwartz confirmed it was recorded in a podcast interview, with an official announcement on playbill that an album would be forthcoming from Ghostlight Records, and some of their YouTube videos featured the entire cast in a recording studio. It wasn’t entirely a secret but this is the first release date confirmation.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 4/2/20 at 10:54pm

The cast recording is not great, which is a shame since the vocals were the only redeeming grace of the show. Also while watching it live I didn't notice how much faster some of the tempos are. Deliver Us in particular is a huge disappointment because you clearly miss the large orchestra of the movie and the chorus manages to sound very canned and artificial and at the same time miles away from the microphones. Moses' mother sounds great tho, as the did on stage.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/3/20 at 1:13am

I’m enjoying it. Obviously a great cast album is completely subjective. Everyone has their own ideas of what makes an album great. It captures the show well enough and the vocals are indeed the highlight. The problem, as with Hunchback, is that it is a great cast album of a flawed show. Though once again the majority of the reviewed flaws are mainly part of the visual aspects of the production. I actually think it stands a bit stronger and fairs a bit better as a cast album when you can imagine the more epic visual storytelling the material deserves. And I do think the material itself is largely strong. It’s certainly one of the better scores to come from Schwartz.

[James2]

Posted: 4/3/20 at 1:22pm

I've been hoping for a Prince of Egypt musical for a long time, so I'll pick this album up sometime, but I'll wait to see if they add a digital booklet so I can have a synopsis.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 4/3/20 at 5:48pm

I am currently listening to the album--not finding it that great. The vocals are pretty weak. Sad as I was looking forward to this album.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/4/20 at 12:30pm

I'm just curious what, specifically, you guys don't care for. Just the vocals? I'm enjoying it more and more with each listen and I feel like it probably plays better largely divorced from Scott Schwartz's direction.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/4/20 at 3:27pm

James2 said: "I've been hoping for a Prince of Egypt musical for a long time, so I'll pick this album up sometime, but I'll wait to see if they add a digital booklet so I can have a synopsis."

A synopsis?? Just read the book of exodus