Music Theatre International Acquires THE PRINCE OF EGYPT Musical For Licensing

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International has announced the acquisition of DreamWorks Theatricals' The Prince of Egypt.

The Prince of Egypt is a sweeping epic of a musical with music and lyrics by Grammy and Oscar winner Stephen Schwartz, a book by Philip LaZebnik, and 10 new songs written by Schwartz, together with five of his songs from the DreamWorks Animation film. The show also features Schwartz's Academy Award-winning song, “When You Believe.”

The Prince of Egypt had its world premiere at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in 2017 followed by productions at Fredericia Teater in Denmark and Tuachan Center for the Arts in Utah. The West End Production opened in February 2020 produced by DreamWorks Theatricals, Michael McCabe, Neil Laidlaw, John Gore, Tom Smedes and Peter Stern, Ramin Sabi, The Araca Group, James L. Nederlander and Michael Park.

The Prince of Egypt was filmed at London's Dominion Theater in December 2021. The live capture of the West End sensation was released on BroadwayHD on November 15th and will be available to buy or rent on worldwide digital platforms beginning December 5th. More information can be found here. 

With direction by Scott Schwartz and choreography by Sean Cheesman, the London production featured a cast and orchestra of 60 performers, making it one of the biggest musicals ever staged. What's On Stage hailed the show as, “An epic of biblical proportions.This spectacular show has delivered something special to the West End.”

Philip LaZebnik remarked, “We were gratified that the audiences who came to see The Prince of Egypt were incredibly diverse, comprising all ages, backgrounds and beliefs and that, judging by the audience reaction night after night, our story connected profoundly with everyone.”

“It was because of the consistent demand from theatres and producing groups around the world that we first undertook creating a stage version of The Prince of Egypt,” added Stephen Schwartz.  “I am truly delighted that not only will the show now be available for licensing and production, but that there exists this video record of the beautiful West End production to inform and inspire.  I am grateful to all the artists who made this possible and to MTI and DreamWorks Theatricals for giving the show such a promising future.”

An original London cast recording was released in April 2020 and scored a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album.

Drew Cohen, the President and CEO of Music Theatre International stated, “We are excited to announce the acquisition of The Prince of Egypt. This is a show that has long been on theater fans' wish list, following the success of the beloved animated film. After multiple productions around the world, including London's West End (now available as a live capture on streaming platforms), The Prince of Egypt is the perfect show for organizations large and small looking to deliver the highest quality family entertainment to their audiences. MTI is proud to bring this wonderful show to the world."

Licensing and additional information are available here.  International restrictions may apply.

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide.

MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI's Broadway Junior shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI's School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.

DreamWorks Theatricals, a division of Universal Theatrical Group, was established to develop and produce live stage productions inspired by the studio's acclaimed animated films, including Shrek The Musical, Madagascar and The Prince of Egypt. UTG, the live theatre division of Universal Pictures, is currently represented by the musical phenomenon Wicked, which has been seen by 60 million people worldwide, making it one of the most successful theatrical ventures of all time. Universal's critically acclaimed musical adaptation of Billy Elliot, which won 4 Olivier Awards and 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, ran for 11 years in the West End. In addition, Universal produced the Broadway premiere of Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn with Roundabout Theatre Company and the Tony Award-nominated Broadway production of Bring It On – the Musical.