When the Egyptian queen found a child in a basket on the river Nile, she decided he was sent to her by the gods. She called him Moses, a Hebrew name that meant deliverance. And even though he was born from the ranks of slaves, he was raised as a son of the Egyptian Pharoah Seti. And a preferred son at that.
That fact alone would seem completely miraculous, especially since the Pharoah had specifically declared that all first-born male Hebrews must be put to death. But that was only the beginning of the miraculous things that would happen to Moses.
Of course, they didn’t seem so wonderful or miraculous when they were happening.
When he ran across his real sister, Miriam, for instance, and she said that God had given her visions that Moses would be their people’s deliverer, Moses simply turned away. Why should Moses do anything to spoil the good fortune of being from the house of the Pharoah?
Moses’ close bond with his brother, Ramses, and his love for his father the Pharoah were far more valuable than any connection he might have with a Hebrew past.
So then when he (almost accidentally) kills an Egyptian guard for mercilessly beating a slave, Moses is beside himself.
That foolish choice would be nothing but his own ruin. A child of Pharoah cannot be seen as a murderer. So he must leave Egypt. And how could anyone see the miraculous in something like that? But indeed, that is only one more step in a preordained path. Moses doesn’t want what’s in front of him. He never wanted it. But he will, some forty years hence, be empowered to return to Egypt as a messenger, one who will deliver the captive Hebrews from bondage.
Though it’s extrabiblical, Moses and Ramses’ bond and brotherly relationship is what holds this version of Moses’ story together. Even when they’re at odds, their loving bond endures. (Interestingly, the story suggests they are at odds simply because of their fathers’ decrees. For Ramses, it’s Seti; for Moses, God.) Ultimately, the musical suggests that love and mutual respect can see us through the most difficult of problems.
It’s also apparent that Pharoah Seti and Queen Tuya both love Moses as their own.
Freedom is also a central theme to this musical. The Hebrews sing about their longing for freedom from slavery. And Moses’ future wife, Tzipporah, states, “I dance to the day I am free” after she’s taken captive.
Early on, Miriam states that she has received visions from God and that she sees His hand moving in Moses’ life. Moses, however, really doesn’t want much to do with that prophecy. In fact, it’s not until God confronts an older Moses with a miraculously burning bush that he begins to accept the call on his life.
But even after that, Moses tends to be the dynamic spokesman rather than the messenger God intended. (So in a way, God’s hand takes a less present part in this tale.) We actually see the Hebrews turn to faith and call out to God more often than Moses. The miraculous events—the plagues and the opening of the Red Sea—still occur, but God’s purpose behind it all is a bit muddied.
The Egyptian High Priest Hotep calls on Egyptian gods repeatedly. He sings praise to the god Ptah as the “God of creation,” and he cries out to the god Ra after Pharoah’s death. And this priest definitely throws around the weight of the “power” he sees vested in himself. However, that power doesn’t help him when the walls of the divided Red Sea waters come crashing down upon him.
Tzipporah’s father, Jethro, is definitely a man of God. And he declares that you must look at life through that lens. “So how can you see what your life is worth or where your value lies?” Jethro asks. “You can never see through the eyes of men. You must look at your life through heaven’s eyes.”
When the Midian slave Tzipporah “dances for her freedom,” it’s a rather seductive dance. And it definitely catches Ramses’ eye. He makes comment to Moses about her attractiveness. Later, she and Moses grow closer after they meet once again. And we see them drawing closer and more intimate before they are shocked by the (unseen) mating of a pair of sheep.
Throughout the musical, the singing and dancing chorus showcase men who sometimes dance shirtless and women who wear skin-baring outfits (bare arms, midriff and legs).
Everything is broadly staged and choreographed so that we never actually see any of the potentially violent parts of this story. For instance, the opening of the show features a dance illustrating the killing of the firstborn Hebrews. We see a doll slashed with a knife and a red ribbon signifying blood.
The killing of the Egyptian guard is off in the distance and non-bloody. The same is true with the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. There are some sweeping stage projections on a large scrim that indicate great turmoil without actually showing the related death and destruction.
In a related scene, Moses questions the death and aguish caused by the Egyptian plagues and notes that he’ll carry that “pain the rest of his life.”
At one point, Moses is ready to turn his own life over to Ramses as a ransom for the lives of the Hebrew slaves. But Ramses refuses, declaring that there has already been “too much death.”
We see some staged and choreographed fights.
None.
One scene perhaps shows people drinking wine.
Pharoah Seti sings of the political chain that he has forged over the years, linking the throne with the power sources of the army, the noble families and the priests. He worries that Ramses will be the weak link that destroys it all. And so, less-than-healthy choices are made to maintain the power structure over the people.
A younger Moses worries over his place, fearing that his life will be nothing but “footprints in the sand.”
After Tzipporah is taken captive, she fights to escape, and Moses has a hard time understanding why she doesn’t just relax and “enjoy the life of luxury” that being a captive of Egypt has given her.
High Priest Hotep repeatedly coerces Ramses by threatening to steal his throne away through his political connections.
Many movies and shows have, of course, depicted and embellished the biblical story of the Israelites exodus from Egypt. And now we can add The Prince of Egypt: The Musical to that catalog.
This enjoyable stage production bases its view of Moses’ tale on Dreamwork’s acclaimed 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt. And it features five of composer Stephen Schwartz’s songs from that movie (“Deliver Us,” “All I Ever Wanted,” “Through Heaven’s Eyes,” “The Plagues” and “When You Believe”) along with 10 other brand-new tunes.
It’s easy to suggest that if you loved the 1998 movie, you’ll likely enjoy this live production with its talented cast, lively staging, state-of-the-art stage projections and soaring musical themes. The show is well constructed and worthy of all the praise that its London cast and orchestra has received.
I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t at least touch on that story “embellishment” I mentioned above. This version takes the tale’s conclusion even further than its Dreamworks inspiration.
The Prince of Egypt: The Musical isn’t so much a story about God using a reluctant man to powerfully lead His people out of slavery anymore. In fact, it’s not really focused on God and His people at all.
Instead, this is more a tale of two men, two brothers, who clash and find a way—through the use of godly power—to move their respective people toward a better future. The musical ends with Moses leading his people off into the wilderness and having a vision of Ramses becoming “a great ruler who stretches the reign of Egypt.”
That’s a distinctly humanistic difference worth noting. It definitely fits our contemporary desire for mankind to find a way to get along in a world full of strife. God’s power is a part of the equation here, but His hand, His biblical purpose, is less evident. And some may find that story turn disappointing.
That said, the production itself is very good. And if it leads fans to seek out the whole biblical truth, all the better.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
