Akhenaten (musical)

Akhenaten The Musical
Akhenaten The Musical Poster
Music Hesham Nazih
Lyrics Mohamed Metwally
Book Hisham Abdel Khalek
Mohamed Metwally
Setting 1353–1336, Egypt

Akhenaten The Musical is a musical drama with book by Hisham Abdel Khalek and Mohamed Metwally (Lyrics) and music by Hesham Nazih. The story is about how the pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti challenged the almighty power of the priests by imposing for the first time a single God over their many gods. But the struggle for power will leave many destinies shattered. The new Broadway bound musical is now in development in New York.

Background

The show was created by three Egyptian artists : Hisham Abdel Khalek (director and book), Mohamed Metwally (lyrics) and Hesham Nazih (music). Several concerts were given in New York City to present the highlights of the musical to a live audience in Queens Library, the Triads and 54 Below.

A 29-hour reading was held in May 2015 with the actors of the show to polish the first draft of the book. A workshop will take place in New York City in September 2015 where choreographies will be developed for select numbers by Chet Walker.

The new Broadway bound musical is now in development in New York and produced by Hisham Abdel Khalek, Olivier Delesse, Saad Bin Mohammed and N’Kenge Inc.

Synopsis

More than 3000 years ago, Amenhotep IV was the pharaoh ruling Egypt. He loved his wife Nefertiti more than anything else and even against the will of his own mother, the jealous Queen Ti. As a pharaoh, he had to fight against the overwhelming powers of the Priests who were worshipping hundreds of Gods and Amon above all of them. Supported by the unconditional love of Nefertiti, he decided to replace all the Gods by one : Aten. He changed his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, and directed all the resources of the country into the building of the city of Akhetaten, the new capital of Egypt erected in Aten’s dedication. But with all the workers and farmers busy with offering presents and monuments to Aten, riots erupted in the population, and Hittites were about to seize the opportunity to invade Egypt. Warned by Maha that the priests of Amon were conspiring against him, Akhenaten stayed blindfolded in his idealism. Worried for Egypt’s integrity, Army general Hur-Mohb stroke an alliance with Maya, the Higher Priest of Amon to restore their Gods, depose Akhenaten and put Tutankhamon, the pharaoh’s son on the throne. To discourage the establishment of a single God to ever again threaten the power of the priests, and to wipe out Akhenaten’s legacy, the names of Aten and Akhenaten were erased from every single stone in Egypt.

Characters

Guards, maids, people of Egypt, priests, pharaoh court, farmers, army soldiers, police officers.

Music

Musical numbers

Act I
  • "You are in Egypt" - The Scribe and Ensemble
  • "Overture" – Orchestra
  • "Coronation" – Maya, Akhenaten and Company
  • "I was blind" – Akhenaten
  • "Dance: We are the strongest !l" - Hur Moheb and Maho
  • "The stones of time" – Akhenaten and Nefetiti
  • "Dance: mastermind" – Maya and The Priests
  • "Akhetaten" – Akhenaten and Engineers
  • "How does it feel to be a queen ?" – Nefertiti and Queen Ti
  • "The voice of heaven" – Maya and Men
  • "Watch out" – Queen Ti and Akhenaten
Act II
  • "Safety" – Nefertiti
  • "Hymn of Aten" – Akhenaten and Company
  • "Danger" – Hur Moheb and Nefertiti
  • "I will be alone on the throne" – Hur Moheb
  • "O my son" – Queen Ti
  • "Wrapping up" – The Priests and Maya
  • "Dance: Mastermind (Reprise)" – Maya and The Priests
  • "The dark future" – The Scribe and Old Gods
  • "The power of the people" – The People
  • "Aten" – Akhenaten and Nefertiti
  • "Finale" – Company

Demo Recording

A first demo recording of 7 songs took place in New York City under the music direction of Charles Czarnecki in January 2015 with Broadway actors including: William Michals, Christina DeCicco, N'Kenge, Ted Keegan, Sean MacLaughlin, Seph Stanek and Aaron LaVigne. Ensemble included: Talya Smilowitz, Alia Munsch, Sahar Milani, Erik Ransom, John Lucas and DJ Bucciarelli.

Music Videos

N'Kenge and Seph Stanek performed in 2 music videos adapted from the musical. They presented the clips with the producers and the creative team at a Launch Party which was held at the Players Club on May 29, 2015.

The first music video, "O my Son", features N'Kenge and her baby daughter Jahzara Martina Pacurar, Actors Jason Vendryes, Stephanie Jill Chernick (Miss New York United States 2013) with make-up by Joe Dulude II and Brandalyn Fulton, hair by Dre Brown and stylist Andrew Clay. The music video is a modern adaptation of the song from the musical where Queen Ti (N'Kenge) gets increasingly concerned about the decisions of her cherished son Akhenaten who seems to get totally lost in his obsession with the God Aten. The video, shot in Manhattan and New Jersey, shows a mother worried for her son and his bad marital decisions.

The second music video, "Dark future", features Seph Stanek and Joe Dulude II with dancers Andres Acosta, Daniel Lynn Evans and Christopher Trepinski with choreography by Alessandro Pellicani, make-up by Joe Dulude II and costumes designed by Carmen Marc Valvo. While in the musical the song features the Scribe, concerned about the direction his country is heading under the rule of an increasingly uncontrollable Akhenaten the pharaoh, the music video shows him in today's world concerned with the wars and destructions of the past century.

References

External links

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