I do like to review something occasionally from Broadway HD, hoping that they eventually prioritize accessibility. I’m not targeting just them. I review stuff from Starz, CrunchyRoll, AMC Plus, and plenty of stuff on other streamers that doesn’t have a track made available to us. But, Broadway HD happens to be showing live theatre, which has actually come a long way in providing live audio description. So, figure it out.
Yes, there’s a live stage adaptation of the Dreamworks Animation, which seems like a long time coming. it has been workshopped before. A few years back, it almost got off the ground, until some people noticed the cast was almost entirely made of people who… don’t look like they could possibly be from Egypt. So, they regrouped, and eventually got this on stage, and filmed. it hasn’t been to Broadway yet, and I believe this is the West End cast. However, there is a cast recording, and vocal selections available.
It’s OK. I’m not really sure this did anything for me. There’s some new music, which fleshes out the story more, perhaps making it more adult. Some of the songs, other than When You Believe, are fine, but not everything here instantly catches on. I can see why this struggled to get to where it finally did.
How I handle these things, since ranking everything on Broadway HD as unwatchable is just unnecessarily vindictive, is that I take in what I was given, and ask myself if there is any reason why a blind or visually impaired person should choose this. For example,a lot of shows have very little dialogue, so the cast recording would suffice. But, some of those shows also lack some of the songs, like some reprises, and aren’t a full representation of the show.
Here, this is a biblical story that was made into a popular animated film with an even more popular song. It took years to get a stage version off the ground, and there are some changes. There is substantial dialogue, so listening to this in place of a cast recording does have a purpose. I don’t know if the Dreamworks cartoon has audio description, but I do think that is the better version. but, that’s where grades come into play, and while it may not have audio description, and there certainly are moments where it needs it, it is like listening to an extended cast recording.If you are a fan of musicals, you might find this interesting. You also likely won’t.
Final Grade: C+
