By Jan Machado, Contributor 
Moses, played by Rory Baugh, comes to the rescue of an Israelite slave being beaten by an Egyptian guard. - Contributed
I MUST CONGRATULATE Jamaica Junior Theatre on the choice for their year 2002 production "Deliver Us!" which relates the wondrous Epic of Moses and the Exodus. What they have done is to create a Musical Epic, and how they have succeeded!
Among a huge cast of over 60, several principal roles are double cast so I feel fortunate to have been able to see both casts in action last weekend at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts. I found the script by freelance writer Sonia Gordon Scott outstandingly good. It is couched in beautiful English and follows closely the events that unfold in the Book of Exodus. Onstage was an imposing and rather massive set designed by Robin Baston with clever reversible columns but the backdrop was disappointingly nondescript. The costumes designed by Carolyn Chin Yee and constructed by Lorraine Green, nearly 300 I am told, were spectacular. They seemed well researched and their bright and varied colours added greatly to the visual enjoyment of the show.
"Deliver Us!" calls for many principal roles. These include Moses, two different Pharaohs, Jochbed the mother of Moses, Miriam, Jethro a Midianite priest, Zipporah the eldest of the priest's seven daughters who becomes Moses' wife, two amusing Court Magicians and Aaron. The two leads, however, are clearly Moses and Zipporah and I will comment mainly on the Sunday performance when these roles were filled by Rory Baugh and Jhanelle Graham. Both displayed commendable stage presence, sang excitingly well, acted and interacted convincingly and together gave a remarkably fine performance. Their duet was certainly one of the highlights of the show.
Strong performances were given also by Lawrence Woodham as Pharaoh Rameses II, Martine Wright as Jochbed, Suzanne Stanley as Miriam, Karla Josephs as Mina and Lauren Delapenha as Young Miriam, all acting and singing well. David Tulloch and Orrin Scott-Stewart made an entertaining pair of Court Magicians and there were several minor roles, which were handled well and deserve recognition. Among the girls these were Kim Harvey-Lewis as Merris, Melissa Woodham as Tanis and Tobi Lawson and Lisanne Gage as the princesses Mareeah and Farah. Excelling among the boys were Matthew Gordon-Martin as Young Moses and Sean Spence as Young Rameses.
In this production the Company has been able to mount both a powerful singing chorus and a dynamic dance chorus with lead dancer Samantha Chin Yee giving a truly stunning performance. Outstanding also among the dancers were Kimberley Thwaites, Kristina Rochester and Jilliane Lewis. The music content of the show is quite brilliant and was performed convincingly by soloists and chorus alike against Jon Williams' usual fine accompaniment. Ensemble items were put over well and outstanding among these was an electrifying "Plagues" sequence. This was the best choreography I have seen from Tony Wilson for some time and his handling of the Red Sea sequence was enthralling, as was the Burning Bush and Voice of God sequence. Perhaps the success of Peter Haley's direction can be judged from the enthusiastic audience reaction. Rohan Garrick's lighting left me in two minds as at times it was very impressive yet it was irritating to see the stage darken so often when the audience is much more interested in seeing what is happening.
In the performance I saw with the alternate cast, David Tulloch gave a strong reading as Moses and Danielle Stiebel with her high soprano and sparking personality was a popular Zipporah with the crowd. Pharaoh Rameses II was played powerfully by Orrin Scott-Stewart and I was also impressed with Patria Kaye Aarons as Jochbed, Delina Wallace as Mina, Stacy-Ann Williams as Yasmin and Amanda Preston as Young Miriam. The cast includes a small group of young children who enchant whenever they appear on stage with their enthusiasm and happy faces.
This is an excellent family show. Jamaica Junior Theatre is fortunate this year to have such a depth of acting, singing and dancing talent in "Deliver Us!", they have created a top flight musical which I urge you not to miss.
