……BILLY SUTER……
DURBAN’S Young Performers Project (YPP) is presenting its latest stage musical, The Prince of Egypt, at Durban’s Playhouse Opera theatre from today (July 10) until July 19.
The 134 youngsters in this holiday production take the audience on a 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 must face a destiny that will change history forever.
The Prince of Egypt is directed by Roberto Pombo, making his YPP debut. The production features choreography by Evashnee Pillay, musical 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 school pupils, and 74 junior pupils from 42 different schools.
The Young Performers Project has, for the past 25 years, staged an annual musical theatre production with a cast of youngsters. In each production, at least one professional performer has featured in the show which is created by 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 its young casts, and theatre options for audiences, YPP has staged up to three productions a year: over the Easter, July and Christmas holidays. In recent years, the team has staged The Little Mermaid Jr, Annie, Shrek, Elf the Musical and Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The Prince of Egypt musical is a stage adaptation of the 1998 DreamWorks film of the same name, featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, a multi-Grammy-winner and the writer of Wicked, Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The show has orchestral composition by Hans Zimmer, a book by Philip LaZebnik, and highlights 10 new songs written by Schwartz, together with five of his songs from the film. The production features Schwartz’s Academy Award-winning duet, When You Believe, a hit for Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
Tickets for The Prince of Egypt are available via Webtickets.
These are performance dates and times:
Friday, 10 July – 11am and 2.30pm
Saturday, 11 July – 11am and 2.30pm
Sunday, 12 July – 2.30pm
Tuesday, 14 July – 2.30pm
Wednesday, 15 July – 2.30pm
Thursday, 16 July – 2.30pm
Friday, 17 July – 6.30pm
Saturday, 18 July – 11am and 2.30pm
Sunday, 19 July – final performance at 2.30pm
.....SoSuterBill..... 