I loved this last night, finding it less the hollow spectacular epic I feared it might be, and more a surprisingly human, intimate and subversive take on the biblical story, which, by humanising both protagonist AND antagonist, at the expense of the divine, has every chance of appealing to a broader audience than believers alone. That and the fact that it's got a terrific cast, exciting choreography and luscious tunes!
Some spoilers follow. . .
Adapting this bibical story into a musical for the West End stage is astonishingly daring. A show by believers for believers (eg the aborted "Heaven on Earth") could never generate enough footfall to be a viable business proposition, and tampering with the story too much could kill it's core audience.
After all, for believers, the Passover is a testament to the glory of God, but to nonbelievers, a story about the mass killing of innocent children to exert political pressure on powers-that-be sounds like terrorism.
I think this dichotomy haunted the movie, "The Prince of Egypt," which didn't even get a Blu-ray release until it's 20 year anniversary. That movie, opted for spectacle as it's USP, as only animation can show the plagues of Egypt on such an enormous scale in such ravishing detail.
A musical, a format in which a single flying helicopter passes for spectacle, could never rival the film in epic scope, and this musical doesn't really (there are a couple of decent coups-de-theatre) try, using bare sets, video projections and presenting plague montages wherein you'd need to be a Biblical scholar to identify when one plague ends and another begins.
Instead, this musical is all about the feels of Moses, Ramses and Tzipporah, featuring some pretty dazzling dance choreography and some glorious tunes, only a few of which appeared in the original movie.
Now, I haven't seen the movie in 20 years, so I can't be trusted on this, but I recall Ramses to be an increasingly diabolical character in that movie, driven by overweening arrogance and cruelty in the latter stages, a pretty black and white villain. If I'm right in my recollection, that Pharaoh Ramses is gone, to be replaced by a much more agreeable and relatable figure in the musical, torn apart by political winds that even the man on the Clapham Omnibus would understand, and fiercely loyal to his adopted brother, Moses, to boot. Liam Tamne's Ramses portrays a vulnerable, brotherly, loving, and naive Ramses for whom your heart might break.
Luke Brady's Moses is even more likeable and relatable, a man trying to do right by everybody. He is not made to own any atrocities committed in his name, as when such scenes are played, God's own voice comes out of Moses' mouth. Later, Moses describes the Egyptians as "victims" and seems compassionate and mournful for what God has done to them.
And this is where the musical feels subversive, for God's actions are left to God alone, the unfathomable, with no human being unmitigatingly endorsing them, and no black and white villainy to bolster God's motives.
But perhaps that is not even the most subversive thing about this show. Indeed, the most subversive thing is how little God appears, with my watch reading 9pm without a single supernatural event having happened.
This is clever, as the dramas, of loving brothers pitted against each other by fate, and of unexpected and humorous romance against the backdrop of jeopardy, take centre stage, and emotionally draw in an audience that may be resistant to religion.
Indeed, I think I know more from this musical about the names given by Moses to his sheep, innocently charming and romancing Tzipporah, than I know about the names of the plagues that later ensue upon the Egyptians.
Not only does God have a bit part, when he does show up, the burning bush is played by the whole ensemble as a deliciously exciting Diversity-does-the-burning-bush routine (actually, even more diverse than Diversity, as women and men together tumble, leap and fly over each others' heads to create the Bush). The effect is to put the full spectrum of humanity and the beauty of dance into the depiction of God, which makes God at once wondrous and invisible, for it is not God we are admiring, but talented dancers.
Christine Allado impressed me so much as Tzipporah, how she could dance so vigorously and sing so vigorously at the same time, something most pop stars avoid like the plague lol.
She, along with Tamne and Brady lift this show with song and humanity. But above all, it is Brady's sympathetic portrayal of a Moses, trying and failing to do right by everyone, that really hit the spot for me, often on the verge of tears, always trying to lift with humour, ever gentle, and with a more commanding voice than his staff.
I won't pretend the storytelling is complex, but it is classically entertaining in the dilemmas it sets up, and in its politically complex love-hate personal relationships.
And in addition to the central three actors, Gary Wilmot absolutely rules his one big song (just as he ruled the panto at the Palladium recently), and Alexia Khadime's underdeveloped character sings beautifully.
The whole ensemble is pretty wonderful, actually.
In summary, if you want epic scale mega-sets and accurate Bible study, forget this. If you want a hugely complex and original story, also forget it. But if you want classic emotive drama and romance, beautiful songs and singing, wonderful ensemble dancing and a charismatic lead, this really hit the spot for me, and it might for you too.
The subversiveness of this show is that it wants to entertain its general audience more than it wants to lecture them. I loved it, and unlike the film, would happily see it again.
4 stars.