When You Believe! All You Need to Know About Stephen Schwartz's THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

As BroadwayWorld just reported, Bay Street Theater & Dreamworks Theatricals will present a new musical adaptation of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, featuring book by Philip LaZebnik (Mulan, Pocahontas), and music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Hunchback of Notre Dame), in a premiere concert reading as part of Bay Street's 24th Annual Summer Gala on July 11.

The reading will feature Norm Lewis (Porgy & Bess, Phantom of the Opera, Scandal) and Aaron Lazar (The Last Ship, Les Miserables, This Is Where I Leave You).

Based on the Dreamworks film, which debuted in 1998, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT tells the classic tale of Moses' life -- from his beginnings as an Egyptian prince to discovering his God-given task of guiding the enslaved children of Israel to the promised land.

To get ready for the story's stage debut, let's go back to the beginning...

Deliver us! In the late '90s, just after Dreamworks was founded, company head Jeffrey Katzenberg finally brought his long-awaited, animated adaptation of The Ten Commandments to the big screen. THE PRINCE OF EGYPT came together with co-directors Brenda Chapman, Simon Wells and Steve Hickner, songs written by Stephen Schwartz and a score composed by Hans Zimmer.

Val Kilmer and Ralph Fiennes did the voices for Moses and Rameses II, respectively; the rest of the cast included the talents of Danny Glover (Jethro), Michelle Pfeiffer (Tzipporah), Steve Martin (Hotep), Martin Short (Huy), Jeff Goldblum (Aaron), Patrick Stewart (Seti), Sandra Bullock (Miriam), Helen Mirren (The Queen) and more.

Watch a three-part "Making Of" special for the film below!

The film's song "When You Believe" went on to win Best Original Song at the '99 Academy Awards. Watch a music video of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey performing the tune below, plus the scene from the movie!

Amick Byram (Moses), Sally Dworsky (Miriam) and Brian Stokes Mitchell (Jethro) provided singing voices for three of the main characters. Below, hear Broadway vet Mitchell sing "Through Heaven's Eyes"!

And finally, listen to the full PRINCE OF EGYPT soundtrack! First, because it's just plain fantastic, and second, to prep for the upcoming one-act reading at Bay Street!

We can't wait to see Lazar and Lewis onstage! Who else would you cast in a full production of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT? Tell us in the comments below!