{"id":41105,"date":"2023-12-05T12:00:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1938296"},"modified":"2023-12-05T14:32:39","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T13:32:39","slug":"stephen-schwartz-on-prince-of-egypt-and-total-joy-of-wicked-movie","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/stephen-schwartz-on-prince-of-egypt-and-total-joy-of-wicked-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Schwartz on Prince of Egypt and \u201ctotal joy\u201d of Wicked movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legendary musical theatre composer speaks exclusively to RadioTimes.com to mark the digital release of The Prince of Egypt: The Musical. <\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 December 2023 at 11:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The idea of creating filmed versions of hit stage plays is not necessarily a new phenomenon, but it\u2019s a practice that has taken off in a whole new way in the last decade or so.<\/p>\n

The National Theatre started bringing live versions of its biggest productions to cinema audiences around the UK in 2009, while during the pandemic, a recorded performance of Hamilton became a major streaming hit on Disney Plus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is a development that Stephen Schwartz \u2013 whose musical The Prince of Egypt is the latest to spawn a specially filmed version \u2013 is very much in favour of.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seems to be more of an appetite to try and get a wider audience that maybe can\u2019t get to the theatre or can\u2019t afford to get to the theatre,\u201d he tells RadioTimes.com<\/a> during an exclusive interview. \u201cI think it\u2019s obviously a great development, and I\u2019m happy to be part of it with The Prince of Egypt.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Schwarz notes that certain aspects of the live experience are impossible to replicate in this format \u2013 specifically the unpredictability and unique energy of watching something unfold in the same room \u2013 he reckons that there are also advantages to pre-recorded versions that make up for those shortcomings, not least the ability to make use of close-ups and to appreciate the piece from angles that would be impossible from a theatre seat.<\/p>\n

And he also likes the idea of immortalising live performances that might otherwise be lost to time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many performances from the past that\u2026 even myself, being of a certain age, there are still things that I never saw, performances I never saw that are legendary that it would have been lovely to be able to have a recording like this to be able to see,\u201d he explains.<\/p>

The idea of a filmed version of The Prince of Egypt seems especially fitting given that the musical is itself adapted from the 1998 animated film of the same name.<\/p>\n

Schwartz had composed several songs for that original film \u2013 including the now-iconic When You Believe \u2013 and returned to pen some new numbers for the stage version, which was originally performed in 2017 before coming to the West End in 2020.<\/p>\n

He said the process of developing the project for the stage was one he greatly enjoyed, and he particularly relished the opportunity to give \u201cmuch more depth\u201d to some of the characters.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, it was also enjoyable to revisit his musical research from the original project, even if nothing could quite top the experience that initially gave him the inspiration for When You Believe all those years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were on a tour that DreamWorks had arranged, and we were actually in the Sinai desert,\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd one of the directors, Steve Hickner, was talking about wanting a kind of anthemic sound for when the Hebrew tribes finally succeeded in getting their freedom.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the next morning, we actually got to climb Mount Sinai, and got up before dawn so we could be up at the summit to watch the sunrise come up. And I kind of had this tune in my head\u2026 I didn\u2019t write the whole song then, but that was basically the genesis of the song!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
The Prince of Egypt.<\/span><\/figcaption> SEAC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Those kinds of circumstances might not have been recreated this time around, but he did find it useful to dip back into his research \u2013 which included \u201crecordings that purported to be of Egyptian court music\u201d and \u201ckind of Middle Eastern folk music\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used a lot of authentic instrumentation in the orchestration for the show,\u201d he adds. \u201cAnd it was a matter of kind of going back to what was the musical palette that I was using originally, and trying to draw upon that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another thing that\u2019s notable about the stage musical is that its director was none other than Schwartz\u2019s son, Scott Schwartz. The composer describes Scott as \u201cone of my favourite directors\u201d \u2013 but stresses that that doesn\u2019t mean \u201cwe don\u2019t have our differences\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a positive thing,\u201d he adds. \u201cHe definitely brings his point of view, he has an extremely strong visual sense, as I think anyone seeing the video is going to realise. I thought the production was just simply beautiful to look at and the flow of the way he stages things is something that I like very much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like the concept that Scott and his choreographer, Sean Cheesman, came up with, that they wouldn\u2019t do very high-tech things all the time \u2013 that a lot was made from dancers\u2019 bodies,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that dancers are making a chariot race or dancers are becoming the Nile or kind of a haunted desert as Moses is sent out into the desert. So much is done with the actors and the use of their choreographic skills \u2013 and I think that was one of my favourite things about this production.\u201d<\/p>\n