The Ten Commandments Pauses for Retooling

The musical version of The Ten Commandments, starring Val Kilmer, is being retooled. Performances of the show were canceled on October 5 and October 6 to allow the cast more rehearsal time. When the show resumes performances at the Kodak Theatre, it will do so on a limited schedule--six performances instead of eight a week.

The Ten Commandments chronicles the story of Moses leading the Hebrews from captivity out of Egypt, and the passions that would drive the people to sacrifice their children, betray their kinsmen and ultimately rise up against the greatest imperial power the world had ever known.

The Ten Commandments features a score by Patrick Leonard, lyrics by Maribeth Derry and direction by Robert Iscove. It began performances at the Kodak Theatre on September 18 and opened to mostly harsh reviews on September 27. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times wrote: "This bland, static, overproduced and underdirected musical all but submerges the famous episodes from Moses' life in an oily sea of pleasant but unremarkable pop music."

In addition to Kilmer, the tuner features Kevin Earley, Lauren Kennedy, Aharon Ipalé, Adam Lambert, Alisan Porter, Nita Whitaker, Luba Mason, Michele Pereira and Nick Rodriguez.