Video: Stephen Schwartz Can't Wait to Deliver Us THE PRINCE OF EGYPT on the Big Screen

Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge

Universal Pictures Content Group is releasing the film's stage version of Stephen Schwartz's London

Musical, Prince of Egypt, The Musical, on digital VOD in the US and worldwide on December 5th

And I caught up with the Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer right after his Broadway phenomenon, Wicked

celebrated its 20th anniversary. We all have a story

We must find a good name for you. Moses. Ramesses will build the greatest empire on earth

Deliver us. Here we're called deliver us. Pharaoh has granted us here in this burning side

To deliver us Pharaoh has granted my plea and freed you all

Your people

Your will when you will When you will be new believe So listen to see him

First of all, it is great to see you, my friend

How are you and where are you? I am in Connecticut. I'm very well

and, you know, we keep running into each other at events, et cetera

So you know that everything is good. We go on. Perfect. Well, listen, Universal Pictures Content Group is getting ready to release Prince of Egypt, the Musical, on December 5th

How excited are you, Stephen? Well, I'm really excited. You know, I thought it was a great production in London

It's really beautiful to look at. And I was delighted when, you know, of course, you know, everything had COVID struggles, as did we

But, you know, we did manage to get our year run in that we had planned

But I was very pleased that at the end of that time, Universal decided to preserve it on video

So people who weren't able to get to London, particularly because of COVID

There were a lot of people, you know, everyone heard from who wanted to see it and weren't able to get there

And I also love this new thing of putting shows on video so that audiences not only who simply can't get to the venue, but frankly, who maybe don't have the, you know, financial ability to see everything that they would like to see, you know, can see it in this way

And I, you know, I think they did a beautiful job capturing it

So I'm really pleased to have it out there. Thanks, Ritchie. So let's talk about that because this is what I love at Universal

doing too with getting these you know like you said anybody can rent this or buy this on

December 5th anywhere any time around the world and watch it in the comfort of their home they can

watch it over and over what that means to about the reach this is going to have for people yeah well

this is starting to happen with shows now you know Hamilton of course did it and a few others and

I just think it's it's so great in terms of both expanding

an audience who then might want to come to musical theater. You know, maybe this is their introduction to it

And again, for people who don't have that ability but love musical theater or going

to learn to love musical theater, you know, it's fantastic that now we can do this

Obviously, it's the, you know, advent of newer technology that allows this kind of thing

And it's great that, you know, Universal and others are taking advantage of it

the filming is exquisite. You actually feel like you're sitting in the theater

with these audience members. I mean, like you said, the technology has come so far

that you actually feel like you're in the theater watching this with these people. Yeah, I love that about it

You know, I think the company that filmed that did a really good job

Because what I love about it is, yes, I think you get the feeling

of sitting in the theater because you get the wide shots and you hear the audience around you

But you also get the van, it's as if you could run around the theater and sit in different seats

and then quickly run up onto the stage and look closely at one of the actors and then run back

You know, you get all these vantage points, but still kind of the overall experience of the live production

And, yeah, I think it's very well done. What are some of your favorite memories of working on this beautiful production, Stephen

I just I think the cast more than anything you know it such a diverse cast from all different cultures and backgrounds and for them to come together and tell this story which is a story of you know development of empathy for people who are different than you are et cetera You know it so important at a time like this I mean unfortunately it more important now than ever

I wish society and the world were going the opposite direction. And, you know, this would be, it would be quaint to tell a story about, you know

violence in the Middle East and groups that don't get along. I'd love when that was ancient history, but unfortunately, it's all too current

But yeah, I think that the commitment of this very, very diverse company to come together to tell the story is the most memorable thing for me about it

This is also an epic production. I think there's over 60 people involved in this between your cast and orchestra

How that makes you feel. Yeah, I mean, it was, you know, it's a big tale

It's a big story. And it, you know, took a lot of human person

to tell it. What I like about it, though, is that while the production is epic in terms of the number of people involved

and though the human resources, it's not very, you know, it's not a lot of stage machinery

You know, you have these amazing dancers with Sean Cheeseman's great choreography who create, you know, the burning bush out of their own bodies

And they're the river Nile carrying the basket with, you know, with the baby in it

you know, they become chariots for a chariot race. And, you know, so it's a very theatrical use of human talents

rather than, you know, just bringing a bunch of machinery onto the stage

It's also very intimate, too. I mean, just following the story and all

That's what I want to get back to talk about, your son, of court, of course, Scott Schwartz

who directed this. I mean, talk about collaborating with him on this

and what the dynamic was like. and he's one of the most sought after stage directors

Talk about what he brought to this and working with him. Well, with good reason, I mean, he's one of my favorite directors

You know, Scott began his career very carefully and deliberately not doing my work

You know, he really established himself, you know, with creating shows like Bat Boy and Tick-Tick Boom and others

And it was really with Hunchback of Notre Dame when Disney went to him for the stage

adaptation of a hunchback of Notre Dame. That was Tom Schumacher's call, not mine

but, you know, Scott did such a brilliant job with it, that when it was time to consider doing another animated feature for the stage

and, you know, in this case, Prince of Egypt, he was, you know, a pretty clear choice

The great thing is that, you know, Scott and I have such a history

of seeing each other shows and giving very frank feedback. You know, I think I've often told the story about

Scott coming to an early reading of Wicked and putting his finger on a problem we were having

with the opening of it and really coming up with the idea that turned into the song The Wizard

and I. So my point being, you know, I'm accustomed to hearing from Scott and getting his notes

on shows that he's not directly involved in. And I've also always done the same for him

you know, gone to an early preview of Tick-Tick-Bomb and given some feedback or whatever. And so by the time we worked together, it was, you know, a very

comfortable kind of working relationship. But it's, even though I'm his dad, that's not how it works

in, you know, in the room when we're working professionally. I mean, he's definitely the director

and I'm the writer and not just how we relate to one another. And it's worked very well for us

Yeah. I love your son's work. I always have. And I think what he's done with is absolutely stunning of what he's done with this musical

Let's talk about the expansion. I mean, this is such a beloved animated film

and then how did it come about for you to say, let's do this as a stage musical

Well, actually, what happened was that DreamWorks over the years was hearing from so many people

theater companies and schools and church groups, et cetera, who wanted to do a live, you know

theater production of Prince of Egypt. And then there were a bunch of pirated versions that we kept hearing about

And so finally, DreamWorks said, well, we should make this available to people

These days, some animated features get turned into stage pieces. Obviously, there is interest in this

And that's how it got created. And one of the lovely things now is that it will be released for licensing

so people canにな, you know, they'll see this production. Obviously, they don't have to do it on this scale

But people will have an idea of what it looks like and sounds like and then can do it themselves

But yeah, but that was the impetus. It really came from outside. So how many new songs are in the stage musical

Oh, you know what? I haven't counted, but there are quite a few

You know, I mean, I had a guess maybe eight, nine, something like that

you know when you do a obviously animation is limited and it's in the amount of time

in the amount of screen time and there tend to be you know

maybe six songs in an animated feature and then of course the stage musical

usually has upwards of 15 songs because you just tell more of the story through music And also you have a longer amount of time stage time

so you can go into more depth of the characters and the relationships

and that will demand new songs as well. Yeah, that's what happened here

Yeah. I think the press release says 10 new songs, added to the beautiful songs

I'm sure they count it. You know, but I think that's probably accurate, yeah

Who did you want to expand on the most with bringing it to the stage

That's a wonderful question. We wanted to go into more depth in terms of the relationship between Moses and Ramsey's

You know, when we first started the animated feature, it was Stephen Spielberg who said

I see this as a brother story, the story of two young men who've grown up together

who love each other, and then are driven apart. by their personal destinies and circumstances

and have to find a way to reconcile in spite of that

which is such a wonderful emotional story. And so first and foremost, we wanted to focus more on that

And some of the new material obviously speaks to that. And then we added a character of Nefertari

who is Ramsey's betrothed and wife, through the course of the events

actually becomes a real wife to him, which I think is an interesting and kind of moving story

And I thought that helped to give Ramsey's more of more three-dimensionality as well

So it was really about trying to make the characters more well-rounded and more complicated

the way human beings are complicated. Talk about working with your and collaborating with your wonderful book writer

Yeah, well, I've known Philip Lezevnik for a long time. Obviously, he worked, you know, we knew each other at Disney, where he worked on Pocahontas, and then he was the principal writer on the animated feature. But Philip has a long history in musical theater. He actually, before he was working in animation, had founded his own theater company in Chicago. And then he moved to Denmark. He lives in Denmark now with his wife and family

because his wife is Danish, and he and I work together on a musical that was done in Denmark about Hans Christian Anderson

So we were still, you know, very much in touch when the Prince of Egypt idea came up

And, you know, he's a great collaborator. Obviously, someone who has worked as much in animation as Phil has, you know, really knows how to collaborate both with his fellow writers and with directors and designers

So, you know, he was a great choice to do it. You know, it's funny, when I looked at all of your animated musicals, the animation, I've always seen them as these beautiful musicals

I've always envisioned them when you watch them like, boy, it's like you're watching them on stage

Is your approach to creating for an animated musical the same that you would work on a book musical for a stage, a live musical

Absolutely. You know, I think full marks to Howard Ashman, who, you know, sort of began the revival of Disney animation and the animated musical

And that's precisely what Howard did. He brought the, you know, the talent and expertise and experience he had from working in musicals, you know, stage musicals like Little Shop of Horrors

And then when he came to Disney, he basically was doing musical theater structure for animation

And, you know, so that became the guidepost for what Disney did and then subsequently DreamWorks in a, you know, a piece like Prince of Egypt

Why do you think audiences have fallen in love with the animated film and now are falling in love with the stage musical

What is it? You know, Richie, one of the things that amazes me is that I hear from so many people who are now, of course, adults who say

Prince of Egypt was my favorite animated film when I was a kid

And that was very surprising to me because it's such an adult work

And so I asked that question over and over again, really? Why was that your favorite

That would not be what I would expect. And, you know, I get told over and over again that it's willingness to deal with real-life dark themes

I mean, people die, and people are at war, and it's, you know, it is, it's not a happy fairy tale

And, and, you know, a lot of young people responded to that

And I think, again, that's what, what, you know, is true in the, in the, in the grown-up musical, so to speak, in the stage musical

But I also think that people respond to the basic theme of, you know, as we were talking

talking about earlier, about understanding, you know, people with, listening to someone who has a

different point of view than you, not necessarily seeing them as an enemy, having empathy, even if

you don't agree, you know, all these things which are in terribly short supply in our real world

I think people find inspiring to at least have it on the world of the stage

You know, what's interesting is, because I've talked to all my nieces and nephews who are brought up on all of these

And I've asked them, I said, what did you take away the most, the more you watch these And they said I learned about life through art And I was really smart for them to say but they learned life lessons through songs and stories that they were all brought up on

through these animated films and these musicals. I mean, you know, that's wonderful to hear. And I have to say

that it was intentional on the part, you know, again, starting with Howard Ashman and then, you know, his, what he, and of course

Alan Mank and my wonderful collaborator, but Alan's a but, but Howard George's original collaborator

And then the people running Disney, you know, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner, of course, Tom Schumacher, you know, that they really, they weren't just making cartoons

and fairy tales. Even when the pieces were based on fairy tales, they were trying to do work that really spoke

to, you know, human experience. Yeah. Well, you know, on another note, you're one of the busiest men in show business

There is so much happening for you. And I was very honored last week to have been able to attend the 20th anniversary performance of Wicked

That carpet was crazy. I saw you at the beginning of it. And have you been able to put that whole evening into perspective and 20th anniversary of your worldwide phenomenon, Wicked, what it means to you, Stephen

Yeah. I mean, when I started in this business, there was no such thing as a show that ran 20 years

I mean, there wasn't such a thing as a show that ran 10 years. years. And if you ran five years, you were a gigantic hit of all time, you know, kind of thing

Now, you know, then of course, along came Phantom and Lion King and, you know, Chicago. So the sort of

long run phenomenon did start to exist. But the fact that, you know, one of my shows has become

part of that is amazing. You know, the evening was so wonderful because it was like a giant family

reunion. I saw, you know, people who I, who were involved with workshops, you know, of the show

before it even tried out in San Francisco and all so many Elphabas and Glinda's and Fierros

you know, et cetera, over the years. It was just so great to see everybody there, you know

celebrating what we had been able to create together. Can you tell us anything about the film

Do you spend some time on the set of the film? I mean, yeah, I can tell you

Some things because, of course, my job is to be responsible for the music and the recording, et cetera

So what I haven't seen any of the movie cut together. I know that John Chu, our director, has been doing his rough cut

But I was on the sets and costumes are unbelievable. They're amazing

I don't know. I thought that it was going to be like being on a television set where it seems where you're like

oh, it looks bigger on screen and this is so small. It's the opposite. The sets are vast and the costumes are so gorgeous and detailed

It's really like one of those old, you know, musical productions, you know

like a throwback to the kind of scale of the MGM musicals

And then all I can tell you is that the singing is going to be very, very good

because I worked with those two ladies, Cynthia Revo. and Ariana Grande, they're phenomenal singers and wonderful singing actresses

wonderful human beings, by the way, really great to work with. And, you know, I've had a great time in the studio with them and with the other members of the cast

Well, we can't wait for that, but finally, what do you hope audiences take away

after seeing Prince of Egypt the musical anywhere in the world? Well, thank you for the question, Richie

I mean, obviously this is a contemporary wish based on what? what's happening right now in the Middle East, where we're seeing this kind of violence and demonization of the other

that is exactly what the story of Prince of Egypt is about thousands and thousands of years ago

And so, you know, I just wish people would see there's another way to settle, you know

legitimate grievances and legitimate problems, but, you know, there's got to be a better way

than everybody just killing each other. Yeah. Well, once again, Prince of Egypt, the Musical

is being released on digital VOD worldwide, starting on December 5th. And for those who can't wait for December 5th

it's available right now on Broadway HD. Stephen, great to see you as always, my friend

Always good to see you, Richie. Thank you. Take care, everyone. And we'll see you at Prince of Egypt

the musical. You can never see with your eyes on earth look through heaven's eyes

Look at your life Look at your life Look at your life through heaven's eyes

Thank you