Seven years in the making, an event to dazzle
may be set thousands of years ago, but a tale of two devoted royal brothers torn apart by duty and divided loyalties in the face of popular unrest might also sound familiar to modern audiences.
I dropped by to meet the stars a week before opening night. Revisions were still being made daily to the scripts, costumes, choreography and even songs. On one pillar a spreadsheet 6ft high lists every minute of the show with every character and what they are doing and where.
It is a dizzying feat of splitsecond timing, talent and discipline and there is only one word for it.
“Terrifying,” says Christine Allado, a former star of Hamilton who plays Moses’s love interest Tzipporah. “I was in tears one night but it’s the beauty of being part of a living, breathing creation. And you think, ‘If they could build a pyramid, I can learn a song!’”
The cast learn new lines and steps before their three-hour show in front of 1,500 people with spotlights in their eyes, moving scenery, a tilting stage (that erupts with fire) and numerous costume changes.
“It’s an unbelievable company,” adds Alexia Khadime (Elphaba in Wicked, Cosette in Les Mis) who plays Moses’s sister Miriam. “Dancers learn a routine in an hour – I’m in awe.”
“Hey, I had new lyrics last night in two songs,” says Liam Tamne, who plays Rameses.
“Oh, I thought you were just making it up as you went along,” laughs Wilmot, 65, who plays Tzipporah’s father Jethro and is affectionately called “Dad” by the others.
Is it daunting to tackle a song made famous bywhitney and Mariah? They all look at each other and chorus: “Who?” before rolling around with laughter. Gary adds, “They’re old news. I see Louis Walsh say on The X Factor, ‘You nailed it’ and I think ‘Are your ears painted on? You want to hear something special then listen to these guys do it live.they give me goosebumps.”
Of course, these days stunt casting is rife, with reality stars brought in to boost tickets sales.
“I’ve seen people off TV who were brilliant on stage – but many were not,” says Gary. “It’s a joke that people train hard in our industry for 10 years and can’t get a break. But where are our own stars? More people go to the theatre in London every year than Premier League football across the whole country (22 million to 13 million in a recent report) but TV coverage for us is zero.”
“I know so many people who were incredible but dropped out of the industry because it is too hard to find work,” Alexia adds. “It’s brutal.”
The set-up the cast work in is impressive.to the sides of the stage there are props stashed, from the blocks which build everything – from the Pharaoh’s throne to a desert well – to crowns and those huge feathered fans slaves waft behind their masters.
A corridor behind the stage is lined with chairs, each labelled for a cast member with all their characters. Some have 10 or more.
The orchestra is hidden underneath the stage where I also discover a large crash mat.
During the spectacular parting of the Red Sea, some of the drowning soldiers actually tumble over and land among the musicians, before dashing to change for the grand finale.
And the ensemble speedily stripping backstage are still miked up and singing backing vocals, surrounded by stage managers and technicians.
This show also breaks new ground in more ways than one.
“When Steven Schwartz asked me to do the show he pitched it as ‘Wicked for boys’,” Liam says. “No other show has two leading men singing together like Moses and
Rameses as adoptive brothers.
“Rameses II has always been the one-dimensional baddie but he was actually one of the greatest pharaohs. He didn’t just expand Egypt’s lands, he gave women more power and signed the first-ever peace treaty. Our ending acknowledges that and mixes real history with the Biblical story. But our company is also incredibly diverse with an 86 per cent ethnic mix.”
Gary laughs: “86 is also my age”.
“Gary was actually one of the reasons I got into theatre,” says Liam. “I’m mixed heritage and I finally saw someone who looked like me. There’s always been a struggle for minorities in musical theatre but our show is truly colour blind.”
Gary blazed the way decades ago with leading roles such as Fagin in Oliver. “I’ve never stood on a soapbox,” he says. “I got on with it. In 1989 I was nobody’s idea of a Cockney playing Bill Snibson in Me And My Girl.as Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang I had blonde, blue-eyed children and Russ Abbot as my dad and nobody blinked.
“Just be good and they can’t deny the talent. But there has been some box-ticking in recent years. No one here is a token.”
Scott Schwartz himself radiates the conviction that has sustained him for seven years.
“It’s a joyful exhaustion,” he grins. “I’m so passionate about the incredible music, story and cast. I Iive in New York but London is the greatest theatre city in the world.the level of acting in musicals, not just in classical theatre, is so exciting. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
From here, it’s in the laps of the gods, Egyptian or otherwise.
●The Prince Of Egypt is at the Dominion Theatre, London, from Tuesday to September 12
‘No other show has two leading men together’