Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Thank you for your kind invitation to report on your 60th Anniversary production of this well-known musical in the school version.  The popularity of this show is very long lived, as it is still being performed in its different versions after many decades.  We were very sorry to hear that the Director had been taken ill in January, and wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.  The society is very fortunate to have such an able and competent Assistant Director who was able to step in at such short notice!

The set for the production was multi-level, with steps and balconies.  Set changes were well organised and efficiently carried out with minimum fuss, for example with the jail doors coming on.  A rainbow of light across the back curtain was most effective.  Together with the palm trees ringed with lights, the staging was vibrant and engaging, as the rainbow changed colours throughout the show. The opening costumes were equally bright, simple in sand to red colours, and very fitting for the story set in the dessert around Egypt.   This was in stark contrast to Joseph in black trousers and bolero and Jacob in grey, emphasising their differences.  I really liked the fact that the brother’s wives and children were included in the cast, creating a much larger chorus onstage. It made the whole situation far more believable.  

The music is immensely catchy, despite its tricky rhythms and timings, and was very well played by the live band. It was also great to see the procession of Ishmaelites led by a clarinet played live onstage.  The music generally was very well controlled and served the action beautifully.  The sound effects were good and fitting, but occasionally the mics for the singers were not on in time. The songs were very well performed, with many good solo sections and excellent chorus work.

The puppet animals were splendid, from the large camel to the massacred goat with the disintegrating insides, and later a kangaroo! The pyramids and piles on coins with eyes were great fun!  The other props were well handled and fitted well into the production. Costumes were very good, with Pharoah’s gold suit looking spectacular under the spotlights, and Joseph’s final coat covering most of the stage. It must have been quite a challenge to work out how to handle that amount of cloth on such a full stage.

The choreography was very good, with a nice tap dance to Potiphar’s song and creative movement very well performed through many sections of the show.  However, any production always relies on the cast for the main quality of the onstage action, and this show was vibrant, full of energy and performed with excellent stage craft.  The lead actors were very good in their parts, as listed below:  

Joseph: It was a little odd in the beginning that he was dressed so differently to his brothers, but he carried off the role with energy and panache.  Perhaps at times a little more understanding of the story and the meaning of the songs might help?

Jacob: A difficult part for a young person, but on the whole this was well acted. The stoop of old age was very well done at the beginning.  Perhaps more emotional connection with Joseph would have been good.

Joseph’s 11 brothers:  There was a good variety of characters here, with their wives and children as appropriate. They portrayed their anger well but could have included a little more detail in the killing of the goat and putting Joseph into a pit. 

Pharoah:  This was a powerful performance with a nice level of threat to Joseph should he choose not to take up his offer to run the country.  The power was understated – very nicely done!

Potiphar:  This performance was good but could have been a little stronger in places.  The jealousy over his wife chasing Joseph could have built up a little more.

Potiphar’s wife:  This role requires a total sense of seduction – which could have been stronger, allowing Joseph to react to it more dramatically.  The costume certainly worked well.

Butler and Baker:  These two crucial characters were both well played, with a real understanding of the contrasts in their situations: the dread and the hope.  Well done!

Altogether this was a good production of the school version of the show, but in that lay one of its few weaknesses. The show was quite short, and it was presented at a fast pace, so the audience was hurried from one scene to the next with little time to appreciate the action that had just been seen.  Perhaps a little more time between sections and a slightly slower pace would have served the produciton well.  However, the performance was very well acted and sung, and the staging worked brilliantly.  Well done!

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