Months of preparation. Hundreds of performers, musicians, managers, directors, designers, and production staff. And in the middle of it all, UNC Greensboro’s very own Dominick Amendum.
This week, the long-awaited DreamWorks production of “The Prince of Egypt” hits the stage at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End. Based on the acclaimed animated film, the show tells the story of a journey through the wonders of ancient Egypt as two young men, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past.
Amendum ’01, the UNCG Smart-Tillman Artist in Residence in Musical Theatre and coordinator of the Musical Theatre program, is the music supervisor and arranger for the show. What does that role entail?
“Putting up a musical is like building a house,” Amendum says. “The composer is the the architect and draws all the plans and has the vision, and the arranger is the contractor who actually puts all those ideas into play.”
Amendum divides his time teaching musical theater at UNCG with his professional role on high-profile productions such as “The Prince of Egypt.” Sometimes that means a lot of long-distance travel. On any given week, he may find himself working with award-winning musical composer Stephen Scwartz (“Wicked,” “Godspell,” “Pippin,” “Enchanted”), and the following week he’s back on the UNCG campus mentoring students in the classroom or the studio.
In addition to putting the finishing touches on the new production, Amendum has been working with performers in the last weeks to produce the show’s cast album.
The show opens on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, and runs through mid-September.
For videos and more information on the show see theprinceofegyptmusical.com/about.
Story by Matthew Bryant, University Communications
