The Ten Commandments: The Musical

(Warning: this review contains spoilers!)

I saw the new Ten Commandments musical last night at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Let’s just say I’m glad my ticket was free.

The show was…an experience. It’s got potential, but it has some big problems as well. The biggest flaw was the dependence on technical effects to propel the story. Some of the effects were clever and effective, while others were disappointing and occasionally humorous when they didn’t work. The story of Moses and the Ten Commandments is supposed to be about human struggle against oppression. The characters and their relationships should make the drama compelling. The pyrotechnics in this production distracted the audience from noticing the glaring gaps in the script. Still, there were plenty of “whoops and hollers” from the mostly tourist audience after each special effect.

Val Kilmer as Moses was passable. He is a fine actor, but he doesn’t have much of a singing voice. He lumbered through the role without much focus. This is not necessarily Mr. Kilmer’s fault. One of the major weaknesses in the script is that Moses has almost nothing to do. For one thing, we never witness his interactions with God. The burning bush is represented but it is almost a background set dressing. We do not hear the voice of God nor witness Moses even acknowledging God’s presence. Moses sings of dedicating his life to a grander cause, but we never saw the reason why Moses was so transformed. Later when he returns from the mountain with the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments, it seems almost an afterthought. We never knew that Moses had left the group or why he chose to disappear while the hot, young chorus people were writhing around on stage performing simulated sex in front of the golden calf. Moses arrives as if he is late to the party and nobody will acknowledge him, nor the two tablets he carries, so he throws them to the ground in a fit of jealous anger. The tenderest moment of the performance follows, as a young child picks up the Styrofoam tablets (they seemed very light) and reads/sings the list of Commandments in a lovely boy soprano voice.

The play assumes the audience is already extremely familiar with the details of the Biblical story. Most of the characters are never referred to by name, except Moses and Ramses. Moses and Ramses have several powerful duet scenes, but Val Kilmer’s sleepy baritone was no match for the awesome vocal prowess of Kevin Early as Ramses. Moses is supported in his crusade by Aaron, Miriam, and Joshua (all of whom were excellent singers and dancers) but the audience is never clearly introduced to them, nor is it explained how and why they came to be involved in Moses mission. Someone who wasn’t intimately familiar with the story would have trouble following along.

The music was written by Patrick Leonard, who has had an interesting career writing and producing for many big name stars besides working in his own bands. I happen to enjoy Mr. Leonard’s sound, but I am not sure it is the most appropriate style for musical theater. His compositions tend toward airy melodies and rich textures that wash over the listener. There are few standout melodies. Some of the songs in The Ten Commandments were lovely and effective; other numbers were not so good, and some were downright awful.

The sets and costumes were attractive and well done. The set pieces resembled large sandstone brick walls with hieroglyphs and other Egyptian iconography painted and carved on them. There were several sections of the stage floor that rose up to create large block platforms, and other sections of the floor with trap doors that opened to reveal actors climbing in and out of them.

The most effective element of the set design was the use of video projection screens on either side of the stage and at the rear center backdrop. Images of Egyptian temples with flaming torches, the flowing waters of the river Nile, and the shifting desert sands under the moonlight added a nice cinematic touch. The entire plague sequence was handled with mixed results by the video screens and lighting projections. But again, the script did not allow time for the drama of the plagues to unfold. Moses never announces the plagues, they just start happening, and the whole series of plagues is over in less than five minutes! The plagues also depended on sound effects such as the buzzing of locusts. The biggest disappointment was the parting of the Red Sea, which featured wavy glass panels, representing the water, lowered to the stage and surrounded by lots of fog. It was pretty lame and the actors knew they looked silly.

Overall the sound design was very effective. It was the first time I experienced surround sound in a musical theater production. The rear house speakers often carried sound effects like the swirling desert winds, the plague of buzzing locusts, or the rippling waters of the Nile. This was another cinematic effect that worked well.

As a venue, the Kodak Theater, the new home of the Oscars, is beautiful. I sat in the upper balcony during the first half of the show, but moved down to the orchestra section for the second act (the house was only half full). For Act Two, I sat right behind the sound and lighting booth, which had the largest sound mixing board I have ever seen: three boards in all, complete with several notebook computers and display monitors, including the closed-circuit video image of the conductor displayed on one of the computer screens. Two technicians stood behind the soundboard but they did almost nothing during the show. No doubt every lighting and sound cue is preprogrammed for this production. The band was tucked away somewhere out of the sight, probably under the stage. They appeared on the large video screens for the curtain call. All the lobby areas on each floor of the theater feature grand staircases and huge pictures of past Oscar winners mounted on the walls. It was a lot of fun to walk around admiring the images of many famous stars past and present.

I can’t vouch for the future of The Ten Commandments, the musical. It’s definitely a tall order to pull off, but the writing and technical flaws were almost overcome by a dynamic and talented (not to mention gorgeous) group of young singers and dancers. This could end up being a smaller touring production. I know first hand how much the people of America’s heartland eat up religious-themed performances. I went on the road with Jesus; maybe soon this company will be out on the road with Moses.