The Prince of Egypt musical is at The Playhouse in Durban
Journey through the wonders of ancient Egypt as Ramses and Moses, who have been raised as brothers, find themselves divided by a secret past.
The Young Performers Project will be staging the musical, The Prince of Egypt, in the Playhouse Opera Theatre in Durban from July 10 to July 19.
Journey through the wonders of ancient Egypt as Ramses and Moses, 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 musical is a stage adaptation of the 1998 DreamWorks film, featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Shwartz, multi-Grammy winner and the writer of Wicked, Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and orchestral composition by the legendary Hanz Zimmer; book by Philip LaZebnik, and 10 new songs written by Schwartz, together with five of his songs from the DreamWorks Animation film.
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The production also features Schwartz’s Academy Award-winning duet, When You Believe made famous by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
The Prince of Egypt is directed by Roberto Pombo, making his YPP debut, with choreography by Evashnee Pillay, music direction by Des Govender, sound design by Ant Govender, set and prop design by Nicolene Steyn, lighting design by Evan le Roux, and costumes by Kathy Singery.
The cast features 60 senior scholars, and 74 junior scholars from 42 different schools.
The Young Performers Project has, for the past 25 years, faithfully staged an annual musical theatre production with a youthful cast (with at least one professional performer) and a professional production team to provide the next generation of theatre practitioners with valuable experience of performing in a professional context.
In recent years, to provide maximum experience for the youngsters, and theatre options for audiences, YPP has staged up to three productions a year: over the Easter, July and Christmas holidays.
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Previous productions include The Little Mermaid Jr, Annie, Shrek, Elf the Musical and Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The first show is a special relaxed performance on Friday, July 10, at 11am where theatre etiquette guidelines are relaxed and the performance is consciously calmed, where the auditorium lights are dimmed, but not dark and the audience meet the characters ahead of time.
This is ideal for people with sensory issues and for children not experienced in attending theatre shows.
Showtimes: 11am and 2.30pm on Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11; 2.30pm on Sunday, July 12, Tuesday, July 14, Wednesday, July 15; Thursday, July 16; 6.30pm on Friday, July 17; 11am and 2.30pmon Saturday, July 18; and 2.30pm on Sunday, July 19.
Tickets can be booked through Webtickets.