Special to the Enterprise
Oconee Youth Playhouse will stage six performances of The Prince of Egypt, a musical based on the 1998 DreamWorks animated film, July 24-26 and July 31-Aug. 2. The film inspired a stage musical adaptation that opened in London’s West End in 2020.
The musical is a retelling of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses. Raised as a prince of Egypt and brother to future pharaoh Ramses, he learns he was born a Hebrew and is called by God to lead his people out of bondage.
Nate St. Onge as Ramses (left) and Drew Wrinkle as Moses (right). Photo via Oconee Youth Playhouse.
Composer Stephen Schwartz—whose hit musicals include Wicked, Godspell and Pippin—wrote the music for the animated film and added additional songs for the stage production. The show’s iconic anthem “When You Believe” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1999 and was notably performed at the Oscars by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
OYP’s production features a cast of 63, ranging in age from 3rd graders through college students. Moses in played by Drew Wrinkle, a rising junior at North Oconee High School. Nate St. Onge, a graduate of Clarke Central who will be entering the musical theater program at Elon University, is Ramses. Other featured roles include Queen Tuya and Princess Nefertari, played by NOHS seniors Brooke Costigan and Rylen Ward; Miriam, played by Marlo Hardin, a sophomore at Prince Avenue Christian Academy, and Tzipporah, played by Olia Mogollon, an NOHS graduate who will be attending Emerson College.
“This show was a tremendous undertaking and we are incredibly proud of the cast and artistic-production team, who worked so hard to pull it together,” says Jordan Powers, who is directing the show with Terra Hannon. “It wouldn’t have been possible without OYP’s longtime musical director Rachel Townes, plus Tenley Moretti, our stage manager who is also responsible for the set design and props, and costume coordinator Hollie Smith.”
“Prince of Egypt will be the 75th OYP production,” notes Hannon, who founded the non-profit community theater in 1998, “and I have to say it’s our most ambitious ever. The music is very demanding and the show also involves a lot of challenging choreography.”
Both directors serve as choreographers and Hannon also called on staff and dancers from Oconee Youth School of Performance for additional assistance. “We have teachers and students who have won multiple awards at regional talent competitions and we needed that reservoir of talent,” she says.
Tickets for The Prince of Egypt are on sale on the OYP website, oconeeyouthplayhouse.com. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. in the Oconee Youth Theater, 1050 Jamestown Blvd. in Watkinsville. Because of intense themes, the movie received a Parental Guidance rating, which parents should also consider for the stage version.