{"id":110311,"date":"2025-09-15T13:16:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=110311"},"modified":"2025-09-15T14:14:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T21:14:24","slug":"the-prince-of-egypt-at-avon-players-rochester-hills-mi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/the-prince-of-egypt-at-avon-players-rochester-hills-mi\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Prince of Egypt\u201d at Avon Players, Rochester Hills MI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reviewed by Suzanne Angeo (American Theatre Critics Association), and Greg Angeo (Member Emeritus, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Ensemble cast<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cPrince\u201d Makes a Start for the Promised Land<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe Prince of Egypt\u201d, a Metro Detroit premiere presented by Avon Players to kick off their 2025-2026 season, is a lightweight family-friendly musical. It was adapted for the stage by “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz , with book by Philip LaZebnik, from the 1998 DreamWorks animated film. It\u2019s a reimagining of the familiar story of the life of Moses and his journey from the bullrushes to Prince of Egypt to leader of Israel, and the many miracles in between. It had its debut in Mountain View CA in October 2017, and opened in London\u2019s West End in October 2020. Schwartz, who wrote the music for the DreamWorks film, also wrote the new music for the adaptation, bringing over five songs from the film.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t see any camels or actual chariots, but there is a great musical score with many memorable numbers, courtesy of the excellent 11-piece orchestra directed by Matt Kush<\/strong>: \u201cDeliver Us\u201d; \u201cDance to the Day\u201d; \u201cThrough Heaven\u2019s Eyes\u201d; \u201cNever in a Million Years\u201d; and \u201cWhen You Believe\u201d, which won Schwartz an Academy Award.<\/p>\n

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Emily Brown<\/p><\/div>\n

What really makes the show is the truly amazing lighting and projection effects by director JD Deierlein<\/strong> that smoothly transition us from scene to scene, transforming the stage from temple and palace interiors, to the river Nile, to the pyramids and deserts. Not to be missed is the \u201cBurning Bush\u201d encountered by Moses that\u2019s really hard to beat for sheer stagecraft wizardry.<\/p>\n

All of the main cast members have strong vocal talents that do justice to the score and make \u201cThe Prince of Egypt\u201d well worth seeing. Drew Gale<\/strong> offers an amiable Moses with a fine voice (\u201cFootprints on the Sand\u201d, \u201cFor the Rest of My Life\u201d). Moses\u2019 wife Tzipporah is played by Kionna Dailey<\/strong> with (at times) restrained energy and a superb voice (\u201cDance to the Day\u201d). Other bright spots: the standout performances by Lori Smith<\/strong> as Moses\u2019 sister Miriam, and Adam Wager<\/strong> as Ramses. \u00a0The rest of the key cast members include Matthew Cason<\/strong> as Aaron, Ryan Gigliotti<\/strong> as Pharaoh Seti, Katherine Whitton<\/strong> as Ramses\u2019 wife Nefertari, Scott Wickson<\/strong> as Jethro, and RJ Miller-Zelinko<\/strong> as high priest Hotep.<\/p>\n

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Lori Smith, Drew Gale, Kionna Dailey<\/p><\/div>\n

Those of you who have seen the film already know, but for those first-timers, keep in mind that the script takes broad<\/em> artistic liberties with biblical events. It presents a brotherly relationship between Moses and Ramses that simply did not exist (if they even knew each other), and softens the brutality of some of the curses that befell the Egyptians when Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Prince of Egypt\u201d alternates between exhilarating (great music, dramatic lighting, vivid special effects) and frustrating (flaws in the script, lack of key character development, and questionable costumes – like Ramses wearing a karate uniform). But this is an impressive show nonetheless, very much enjoyed by the audience and ideal for family outings.<\/p>\n

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Now through September 27, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tickets $32.00 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Avon Playhouse<\/strong><\/p>\n

1185 Washington Rd<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rochester Hills, MI 48306<\/strong><\/p>\n

(248) 608-9077 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0www.avonplayers.org<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Avon Players Theatre is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reviewed by Suzanne Angeo (American Theatre Critics Association), and Greg Angeo (Member Emeritus, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle)   \u201cPrince\u201d Makes a Start for the Promised Land \u201cThe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":3,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-110311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-greg-suzanne-angeo"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"