The Eleventh Commandment:

you must see The Ten Commandments!!!

Pure and simply, this is one of the finest examples that there is Hollywood styled entertainment that actually works.

Your pupils will be mesmerized; the singing will give you goose bumps and often make you clap. This time it’s worth it through and through. If you have to, borrow the fifty bucks.

The production is ambitious and their technical wizards blend visuals, sound effects, projectors and lights to give the spectator the surprising sensation that in fact, the musical is a perfectly orchestrated movie projected backwards: rows of spectators are used as an extended canvas for overflowing visuals. So the Ten Commandments feels like a movie… and if you’re fortunate enough to be in the front rows, you’ll be there when the waters are split apart!!!

Besides, the theme of this musical is so universal, is nearly impossible not to be, somewhere, somehow, touched. The Ten Commandments is about passion, it’s about believing, it’s about taking an unflinching position in the important battles of one’s life.

And I haven’t even told you the best highlight about it yet: that morphing machine known as Val Kilmer stars in it leading 50 other singers, actors and dancers in this visual candy –or should I say manna?- extravaganza. And he comes through in his role (and so does just about everyone else on stage and behind it) elegantly in charge.

Within a few minutes of Val Kilmer’s first appearance on stage, the microphone of  another actor having a dialogue with him malfunctioned and had to be replaced on stage. Val stayed composed and calmly continued with his line. After this initial blip, the musical sailed smoothly all the way to its grand finale.

A musical that works?

You bet.

For starters, the producers pulled all the stops: besides Val Kilmer in the starring role as Moses, Patrick Leonard (producer of Madonna’s Like a Prayer mega hit) is the man in charge of the overall music orchestration and the composer at large. Add two time Grammy nominee Maribeth Derry as the lyrics writer and the exquisite choreography of Travis Payne as well as the astute direction of Robert Iscove and you start to get a fuller picture. George Acogny is the executive music producer.

If all the above wasn’t enough, the musical debut in the US takes place at the prestigious Kodak Theatre, home for the last few years to the Oscar’s night ceremony. The producers intend to take it later to a multi-city tour including Vegas, Boston and New York among others.

The list of other Broadway stars and singers performing in this amazing extravaganza is too long to list here, but some of the most notable follow: Kevin Earley plays Ramses, Adam Lambert plays Joshua, Lauren Kennedy is Nefertari, Ipale plays Seti, Alisan Porter plays Miriam, Nita Whitaker is Ziporrah, Luba Mason plays Bithia, Michele Pereira is Yokebed and Nick Rodriguez plays Aaron.

Though not the best in the ensemble, Kilmer’s voice comes across potent and crisp –no doubt thanks in part to the stellar work of the sound engineers-. Yet, the proper tonality in his singing rounds off the rough edges of tricky dialogue and his persona ignites the stage without overshadowing his fellow performers.

The Wizards of Az(ria)

Maybe it takes a less jaded mind to properly dream a Hollywood dream, so credit it to his background in the fashion business, or to his being new to entertainment enterprises but Max Azria (Charles Cohen is also co-producer of the show) surrounded himself with the finest technical and artistic wizards for this Musical Debut. And it shows. And it pays off. Handsomely in fact.

Although the original premiere of this Musical was slated for September 18th, it had to be postponed for a few days until new special effects were worked out in the venue. Namely: visually stunning pyrotechnics that rival those of many post-production houses. There is a burning bush, profiles of pyramids, Egyptian temples and reliefs. Azria himself is the costume and wardrobe designer.

The choreography, by the way, is nothing short of mesmerizing and it is perhaps the secret glue making it all stick graciously together. This is one musical carefully orchestrated not to trivialize its main theme with unfitting dance routines. Solemnity and tragedy, anger, despair and hope are all portrayed on stage with vibrant voices and sinuous movements. Your eyes will have a hard time as they try to take-in the whole of the action unfolding in the grandiose Kodak stage.

From my sitting position I had a vantage point from where I could see the sound engineers working hard to keep it all tight and clean. Except for some rather loud special effects fed through the theatre’s PA system, all other sounds and effects were sharp and efficient.

Is it worth it?

Every penny of it. And this is not an inexpensive production so the cheapest ticket will cost you between 25 and 40 dollars all the way up to 100. But if your mother is in town, a lover you intend to impress, there’s no better nor quicker way to do just that.

The Musical is also over 2 hours long. Mind you, this is all performed live. Counting the recess of about 15 minutes, the Musical begins at 8 pm sharp and it goes on until 10:45 pm. I am sure the producers, directors and choreographers were hard pressed to choose and pick between this and that scene, between this and that plague to represent on stage. Not that you have time to notice the length of it. Once immersed into it, there’s no going back and regardless of your background or inclination, you’ll feel compelled to applaud over and over.

Lighting throughout the show is also primo. Special lighting effects dramatize several scenes in the storyline (columns of locusts swarm the theater walls, ceiling and floors while a disconcerting buzz fills up the whole auditorium).

What tops everything else is that jewel of visual craftsmanship involved in the parting of the waters. After recognizing the representation of most plagues I was wondering how, or if they would pull that one off. Well, they damn did it… and all the way. With the help of translucent fabrics, pre-recorded projections and moving platforms, the whole company of actors is seen ‘entering’ the parted sea. The crowd went wild and deservedly so.

And don’t forget, even though the musical looks –as stated above- as a perfectly orchestrated movie, it’s even better for a simple reason: it’s live.

If Chicago the Musical…

Many critics agree that the resounding success of the movie Chicago marked the beginning of a new resurgence of musicals in the US. Well, had it not been so, it would only take the inauguration of this mega Musical to generate the same type of domino effect. Simply, it’s that good.

Though not prominently, the show features a few child actors who, regardless of their tender age, do not disappoint while surrounded by such acting and singing luminaries. Their presence in stage confirms what your eyes tell you at once: the choreography this time left nothing to chance.

As costly and impressive as this production is, I was wondering why only tiny signs were posted along such a prominent corner as Highland and Hollywood (the location of the Kodak Theatre). It seems to me a disservice to an otherwise stellar production. Literally, in a flashy corner such as this, the musical programs sold inside were as big as the Ads posted outside the theater. This is however, my only gripe and it could be because LA is the city where the musical premieres.

As a stubborn skeptic prone to discount musicals off hand, I don’t mind admitting that in this occasion, I’ve found it a pleasure to be proven wrong.

The musical is playing now at the Kodak Theatre. For a schedule and show times please contact the theatre's box office at 323-308.6363 or visit their website at www.kodaktheater.com. You can also visit the musical's own website at www.the10com.com

The Kodak Theater is located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.