You must learn to join the dance

I went to see The Prince of Egypt again yesterday. Although I was really underwhelmed the first time I saw it, I appreciated that it was the very first preview and wanted to check out what had changed now that it's officially opened. My original post is obviously my first impressions which are often a bit chaotic as its initially taking everything in, whereas now I feel like I have a better grasp of what I do and don't like.



I actually mostly enjoyed the first act, and I think if it ended after Act 1 I'd probably love this musical a lot. But unfortunately it doesn't, and I'm still all kinds of frustrated with Act 2 and how Moses cares more about Ramses and the Egyptian's plight than he does the slaves, it all just feels really tone deaf.

The Plagues scene is absolutely ruined and I don't understand why they changed it so much. And I don't just mean in terms of the staging (which is weak, but I don't know how it could be improved either as it's not like they can show the plagues happening) but they've changed the actual song and I hate it! They've taken away Moses and Ramses original lines and replaced them with a reprise of Footprints in the Sand (which is not growing on me). And I just don't understand this decision as the original song is such a bop! Moses doesn't even say "Let my people go" now, which is an odd choice? Like, it's Moses, that's his thing.

Moses isn't interested in leading the Hebrews at all, it's entirely about his relationship with Ramses rather than the story in the movie. Moses tries to get out of his duty so that he can stay at the Egyptian court several times, and he seems to be acting against his own free will any time he does have to do anything for the slaves. It's just a really weird take. The scene in the movie where Moses returns and gives Rameses his ring back, and you see the pain on Rameses face before he closes his eyes and changes in a flash is so chilling and iconic, and now it's a bit pathetic with Ramses practically grovelling with Moses to stay with him. Ramses is a soft character overall, and it doesn't make sense in the context of the story. His heart is supposed to be hardened and they don't do that any more, it's yet another line they've removed from The Plagues, and it's integral to the plot. It's because his heart was hardened that he allowed the slaves to leave of his own free will rather than just be terrorized into obeying.


It's the ending that really annoys me though, with Ramses and Moses having a whole heart to heart and forgiving each other and it's a big Disneyfied moment that makes ZERO sense whichever way you cut it. Moses is supposed to be horrified now he's learnt what the Egyptian people have done to his people. Not to mention Pharaoh allowed the plagues to happen through his own stubbornness and pride, none of it would have happened if he'd been empathetic, realized what he'd done, and freed the slaves. I was also talking to someone on a message board who offered another good take I hadn't thought of, and that's why would Ramses fall on Moses and forgive him so instantly when, as far as Ramses is concerned, Moses is directly responsible for the death of Ramses own son?!? No matter how close, I don't think any brother would forgive that so quickly!

For this version they've based Ramses on the real Ramses II, Moses even directly calls him "Ramses The Great" in the ending scene (plus he's married to Queen Nefertari), and I don't understand why they've decided to root it within this specific time period as there's no basis for it? It's assumed that if the story is true then it probably happened within his reign which is why the name is usually used in movies, but it's not fact and by basing him on a real person they've muddied it because if you make him a villain it could be seen as both insulting to a genuine historical figure, as well as being factually incorrect to his reign and apparent temperament. In the movie although he's called Rameses (they spell it different) it's never specifically stated which Rameses and as there were a few Pharaohs with that name throughout history it's ambiguous. The musical making it so specific just complicates an already complex plot by tiptoeing around historical fact and cultural appropriation instead of just keeping it fictional.



It's a shame how sloppy the writing is as I feel like this musical had so much potential and the cast are phenomenal. I'm really disappointed that I don't like it as I wanted to so much as the movie is one of my all time favorites and I really believed that this musical was going to be in safe hands as Stephen Schwartz was still involved and he wrote the lyrics for the movie. Even clips I've seen online of other productions are better than this, I don't know what happened.

Amsterdam

When I knew that I was going to see Mika in Utrecht I was really excited that I'd also finally be able to visit Amsterdam. So for my second day in the Netherlands I got up early and caught the train into the city. The Van Gogh Museum was first, and I knew as soon as I was going to Amsterdam that I really wanted to visit there as Van Gogh has always been one of my favorite artists. I've visited art galleries quite a lot and had seen the odd Van Gogh original before, but I still really wasn't prepared for just how much of an impact this museum would have on me.

Emily, it's your life and you can't live it twice

After I got back from seeing Mika in Luxembourg I knew I couldn't let the opportunity to see him again pass me by! Before I'd arranged to go to Luxembourg I'd originally been trying to decide whether to go to that show or the one in Utrecht, so I decided I'd go to both - plus attend both of the Mika shows in Utrecht because if I'm travelling that far then I may as well, right?

The Prince of Egypt

Yesterday I traveled to London to see the very first preview of the stage adaptation of The Prince of Egypt. I've never been to a first preview before, so that was quite exciting in itself. I was sat second row so didn't see most of the creative team, but on my way out I saw them all running about with their notebooks and overheard them saying to each other what needed to change based on the audiences reaction. Before the show started the director Scott Schwartz came and gave a speech, and there were a couple of technical errors during the show with the set, costume, and the sound during the first act, but I loved getting to experience all of that and it'll be interesting for me to see how the musical changes and grows.

I really really wanted to like this show as it was so highly anticipated for me, but it was kinda hit and miss if I'm being completely honest. The movie is one of my all time favorite animated movies, I remember seeing it at the cinema as a kid and I regularly watch it still, and it's probably one of my most listened to movie soundtracks.

The first act was incredible. When it opened with Deliver Us I was moved to tears, everything about the sequence was just beautiful, and the fact that it was pretty graphic (it showed an Egyptian soldier murdering a baby, with a red scarf billowing down to indicate the blood while the mother screamed) made me feel like they weren't going to hold back at all and I had really high hopes. Perhaps too high?



Some of the costumes felt a bit off - from my second row seat I could clearly see that Moses and Ramses were wearing white jeans and t-shirts that had embroidery added to them and it just felt a bit weird? With a setting of Ancient Egypt the costumes should of been spectacular, but they felt a bit tacky for the most part. The same with the set - it was very bare bones minimal, which works for some shows, but didn't work for me here. Often times throughout I felt like the story they were trying to tell was too big for the confines of the stage and set they were trying to keep it within. It mostly relied on projections with a few 'stones' that got moved about, and the ensemble created a lot of the scenery such as the river carrying the basket, or laying on the floor to create a well. Sometimes this worked, sometimes it didn't. The Nile turning to blood felt so anticlimactic as a bunch of dancers in red outfits jumped up out of the smoke and writhed around while someone shouted out "the Nile is turning to blood!" and it just felt a bit lame. I was expecting Moses to put his staff in the smoke and to have lighting effects make it look like the red was pooling out from it - I saw a similar effect used in Frozen with Elsa turning everything to ice so it's doable. The Plagues in general were very underwhelming, which is a shame as it's one of my favorite scenes in the movie. I kind of get why - it's not like they can bring a load of locusts in! But I think if I didn't already know what was happening then I'm not sure how much I would of gotten out of it, and I'm not sure how realistic it is to assume people are familiar with a religious story in today's age?

The second act in general is where most of it fell apart for me, and until the intermission I was really enjoying it. The characterization of Moses seemed a bit weird - which isn't a comment on the actor's performance, he was incredible, it's the writing and direction. During the plagues he's running around as if he has no idea what's going on and just seemed oblivious to everything, which just doesn't make sense when he's supposed to be a messenger and have full knowledge of everything that was happening and why. He spent most of it wandering around looking horrified, his body seeming to move beyond his control as if he's possessed. It almost felt like they were trying to take the religious aspects out of the story, which was a huge shame and directly contrasts the movie. Moses is a huge figure in three worldwide religions, why deny that? One of the things I always loved about the movie was how it humanized these characters in such a way that non-religious folk can enjoy it just for the story, so I don't know why they felt the need to take that away.



I also felt that they spent a bit too much time sympathizing the Egyptian characters. Apart from Deliver Us and the scene where Moses stops a guard from whipping a slave there isn't much depiction of what the Hebrews were going through. Which I get from the perspective that it's all pretty miserable, but they go to great lengths to show the Egyptians suffering from the plagues that Moses brought. Although the scene wasn't as graphic, there was a lot more time spent on the Egyptians losing their first born compared to the Hebrews and it just didn't feel very balanced.

Ramses was also no longer the villain and made much softer - it's all left to the High Priest Hotep to act as villain as the one pulling Ramses strings, which felt vaguely racist as he's the most Arab coded character. After the parting of the Red Sea, Ramses and Moses have a heart to heart and they specifically state how Ramses has a change of heart, changes his ways, and how Moses knows that he'll be the greatest Pharaoh who ever lived and I was just rolling my eyes so hard. He's supposed to grow more and more hardhearted and then get swallowed up by the Red Sea, which happens in the movie even if he does survive it - originally he's supposed to die. Obviously I don't think that it ought to be completely accurate but it just felt like they'd removed it a bit too far from the source and it was almost an entirely different story.

The choreography was insane, and probably the best I've ever seen in a show and absolutely the highlight of the whole thing. The performances all round were really strong, with Liam Tamne as Ramses, Christine Allado as Tzipporah and Mercedez Csampai as Yocheved stealing the show for me. Yocheved (Moses' mother) was just heartbreaking, and she keeps reappearing at poignant moments as a spirit to remind Moses of his mission. Tzipporah (Moses' wife) is already a strong character in the movie, but she's fleshed out even more and I just love her, she's an incredible character and Christine did her so much justice - she also kinda looked like a human version of the animation which was cool! I liked how Liam Tamne portrayed Ramses despite my criticisms of how he's been characterized - he seemed more naive than asshole-ish, and he had a real arrogant swagger about him that just suited the character perfectly.

Although I felt critical of the minimal set, there were elements of it that I did enjoy. When the Red Sea crashes down around the Egyptian soldiers the stage tips completely upwards which causes the soldiers to fall and roll into the orchestra pit which was a really neat effect. There were quite a few fire effects which were really well done too, and I didn't actually mind the projections, I just wish it hadn't relied on them so heavily instead of having more set.

The show ran for about three hours total, including intermission, which is pretty long for a show. I didn't mind it, but I've seen other people that were there say that they started to lose interest so I guess it's personal preference. It'll be interesting to see how it evolves, and I'm tempted to try and see it again at the end of the month after it's opened and out of previews!

You've got the whole world in your pocket

Towards the end of last year Mika kicked off his Revelation tour in London, and I was so bummed that I missed it because I was in Disneyland Paris! I figured that was that, I'd missed him and would have to miss the tour. But then in late December when I was sorting through my journal in preparation for the new year I came across a paragraph I'd written after I came home from New York about how "I want to be this happy again, I want to make the effort to travel to see my favorite performers instead of wishing they'd come to me. And if that means cutting back in other areas and travelling long distances for just a day or two, then I think it will be worth it. Hopefully I can make the opportunity happen again!" And all of those feelings I had at that time came flooding back to me, and I realized how stupid I was being with Mika's tour. I'd traveled all the way to New York just to see Aaron Tveit, and now I only had to hop across the Channel to see Mika!

I checked the remaining dates he had for Europe and set about checking logistically how I could get there, how cheap flights and hotels were, how close they were from the airport, and all of that kind of stuff, which is how I settled on Luxembourg. I'd never been to Luxembourg so had no idea really about the country even, but I decided that was where I was going to go and booked it all straight away!







I spent most of the day queuing and it paid off as I managed to be one of the first into the venue and sprinted to the stage and personally think I ended up in one of the best spots! I was first row on the side of the platform, you can see how close I was to the stage here, and Mika used the platform more than he used the stage so I got to see a lot of him and made direct eye contact several times. He actually came into the crowd for Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) which was amazing, although I couldn't see him for most of it I thought that was so great for the people at the back.

I know I'm a bit biased, but it was easily one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I waited to meet him afterwards too and got to say a few words of thanks, he's literally the nicest human being. It was such a good night that I didn't want it to end.






Meeting him afterwards. I don't like shoving cameras in people's faces, so I took this as he was leaving so I could prove to myself it actually happened.
Obviously I had to buy a few things to add to my collection. I really wanted the hoodie most of all, I'd been eyeing it up on the web store. I DID NOT want to buy a tote bag, before I went I kept telling myself "What ever you do, DO NOT buy a tote bag, you have about 8 at home" and then I bought a tote bag. The poster I got from one of those dodgy types selling knock offs outside, but I really love the artwork for No Place In Heaven and for €3 I figured why not - I didn't notice the pixelated autograph until I got it to my hotel room, but I'll still put it up.


I felt really emotional seeing the venue the next day on my way to the train station ♥

I've been so busy lately that time feels so weird and off kilter. I was only in Luxembourg for two nights, but when I got home it felt more like I'd been away for two weeks. On my drive home from the airport it struck me that at the exact same time one week earlier I'd driven along the same road on my way home from the Joker Q&A in London, but surely that was at least a month ago?? And just twelve hours before that very moment I was saying 'Bonjour' to a local crow and climbing over Casemates du Bock in Luxembourg City, but it felt more like a distant memory. It just all feels a bit surreal. I wrote on my Twitter that it's only January and already this year I've met one of my favorite musicians and the creator of one of my favorite movies, and it's just all been so incredible.

I'm off to Utrecht next week, I was originally weighing up attending that show or the one in Luxembourg so I already had it all researched and I decided it's worth cutting back in other areas so I can experience both. It was just so perfect and now already feels like a distant dream which feels unfair, so I definitely want to do it again whilst I have the opportunity. I feel like that's the biggest thing I've learnt these past few years, to stop talking about stuff and actually do it as you literally never know what might happen in the future to stop you from doing all of the pie in the sky ideas in your head. Mika often takes long breaks so I have no idea when I'd next get to see him otherwise, and I've always wanted to visit the Netherlands anyway and I can visit Amsterdam as I'll be passing through it for the airport. I'm already planning to go to the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House, and perhaps the Rijksmuseum, and I'm going to two Mika shows as he's doing three there and I figure if I'm travelling all the way to the Netherlands anyway then an extra day won't hurt.


Thank you for everything Mika ♥