Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoa

This was a vibrant, amazing, technicolor production of “Joseph” with all the ingredients to bring this fascinating Old Testament Bible story to life. The Lloyd Webber/Rice music and lyrics do this anyway but the incredibly talented cast of KMTC added all their obvious enjoyment into the mix.  The energy and enthusiasm from the performance on stage was felt right to the back of the theatre!

This retelling of the biblical story about Joseph, his eleven brothers and the coat of many colours was brilliant and was the perfect experience for theatre goers who have either seen “Joseph” umpteen times (like me) or for the very first time.  You could not help but be spellbound by the whole production. 

Harvey Dewhirst was perfect in the leading role as Joseph – he sang his musical numbers with complete ease and with beautiful sensitivity. He had just the right amount of charisma and looked amazing in his coat of many colours!  This young man has a very bright future ahead of him in musical theatre!

The role of the narrator was brilliantly played by Charlie Holmes.  It is incredible to think that this is Charlie’s very FIRST theatre stage performance!  Her stage presence and charisma were superb.  She was engaging with her fellow performers, and with the audience.  Congratulations Charlie – I certainly hope it won’t be your first and last musical theatre production!

Dennis Maher as Pharaoh gave us a wonderful Elvis-style impersonation – so full of fun!  A truly professional performance, with such clarity of voice.

David Kirk played the dual role of Jacob, and he also played Potiphar – another great character - with flair and style!  It was good to see him back performing with KMTC.

With a cast of 11 brothers, 11 wives, and 11 children in the chorus, this was an excellent “ensemble” who brought the show entirely to life from start to finish.  Movement of the large and varied cast around the set showed precision in rehearsal and the same can be said of all of the vocals which were delivered with such clarity.    Everyone remained in character throughout and the story telling was incredible.  It was lovely to see the 11 children integrated into the production rather than just sit as a “choir” at the side of the stage.  They clearly loved being totally involved as their smiles were infectious throughout.

Presented on a single set with essential differences in height levels provided by rostra and staircases on each side and the use of brilliant projected backgrounds, dramatic lighting and pyros, the show proceeded seamlessly through the numerous scenes – effortlessly and enthralling the audience along the way.

The choreography and movement was imaginative and slick throughout.  I (and the rest of the audience) particularly loved the “mega mix” at the end of the show.

The band, under the musical direction of Adam Boniface, were brilliant.  They played with gusto from the very first note to the last – but they never drowned out the performance on stage.  This is vitally important when the production is entirely sung from beginning to end (no spoken word) – so it was a joy to hear every single word!

The overall production was first class (one of the best KMTC have EVER done in my opinion!) and the Director (Giles Atkinson), Choreographer (Judith Chapman) and Musical Director (Adam Boniface) should be ecstatic with the result.   This was a visually stunning show, spectacular in every sense of the word, particularly due to the brilliance of the costumes, the lighting, sound and special effects.

The set construction was a multi-level stage dominated by steep twin staircases depicting a glass pyramid structure.  The glittering Pharaoh's Palace scene was absolutely breathtaking

Massive congratulations to everyone involved!  Your standing ovations are so well deserved!  Bravo!!!!!!!!!

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