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.