Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

JOSEPH and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, written by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1968 is a timeless musical which has been performed to packed audiences for decades, way exceeding the composer’s expectations from what started life as a school assembly production! 
Known to musical fans simply as ‘Joseph’, many famous faces have worn the multi-coloured coat including Jason Donovan, Phillip Schofield & Donny Osmond amongst other teenage pop stars and heart throbs fresh out of soap land.
Director¸ David Humphries, produced an overall stunning production and together with Choreographer, Sarah Curtis, made sure the audience got its fill from this all-singing, all-dancing, high energy production.
This, like most of Lloyd Webber’s shows, has little dialogue and is fit to bursting with upbeat, full company numbers each with its own salute to a style or genre of the music, instantly giving the choreographer plenty of work to do! Credit where it’s due, Sarah had done a sterling job, at several points it was evident she’d steered away from the ‘easy’ or ‘obvious’ option which I always admire.
Musically, under the direction of Musical Director Andrea Stubbins accompanied by an excellent orchestral group who although they were in front of the stage never drowned the singers.
It’s not uncommon, particularly in youth productions of this show, for the part of the narrator to be shared out amongst the chorus or part of a group as the narrator is hardly ever off stage and is responsible for holding the entire show together. Katie Steel though sang the part throughout herself and I have rarely heard such a confident performance.  She did a marvellous job in doing so, and as an added bonus had the most delightful voice - her whole performance was a remarkable treat from start to finish! This was her first major role with Footlights and what a first it was!
Giles Odling gave us a very sincere Joseph, the highlight of his performance was undoubtedly ‘Close Every Door’ which he connected with to a mature level and delivered genuine emotion which was a standout part of the show for me. Strong support was on display from Angus Odling, brother of Giles, Joseph, as Pharaoh, Potiphar.
Other highlights of the show were ‘Benjamin’s Calypso’ and ‘One More Angel In Heaven’ which even adult companies would find it hard to do better. Congratulations Footlights Youth Theatre for yet another superb production!
 

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