By Manning Harris
fmanningh@gmail.com
Theater of the Stars’ production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” at the Fox through June 26, is really more of a community theatre show than a polished professional one. This is not quite the put-down it may seem.
For example, there is a 50-voice children’s chorus, recruited from local auditions, that adds its cherubic presence and often frames (literally) the stage. They sound very good, in a production where quality sound (we’re talking about miking the Fox, you know) is a work in progress.
You probably know the show is based on the Biblical story of Joseph, whose jealous brothers sold him into slavery to Egypt because their father Jacob loved Joseph best. And you no doubt also know that this piece is an early Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics) work, first shown in London’s West End in 1973 and on Broadway in 1982. There’s almost no spoken dialogue; it’s what they call “sung-through,” and it’s been performed thousands of times by amateur groups everywhere. It’s really a children’s show that adults can also enjoy, with a lot of wacky charm and whimsy, nice universality of theme (be true to yourself and don’t give up your dreams), and fun, catchy music.
To bring this work into a vast space like the Fox , however, is sort of like loosing a butterfly in Stonehenge. Since you’ll immediately lose the show’s intimacy, you’d better have perfect sound and lighting. Sad to say, this was not the case on opening night. Sometimes lighting would be changed in the middle of a scene. More important, the principals were not properly miked (a very expensive process) and the sound quality varied.
Joseph (American Idol alum Anthony Federov, looking like a grownup golden-haired cherub himself), lost most of his low notes, and the words could not be distinguished. He faired much better in his middle and high range; his singing voice is quite pleasant. Singer Janet Metz played the Narrator, and even in a show where a “Spiderman” budget was definitely not used in costumes, her outfits were a stitch. Her costumes truly reminded me of early Liza Minnelli, dressed in glittering 70’s Halston.
Normally I don’t make a huge deal of costumes (a fault, no doubt), but Ms. Metz and her dazzling outfits, having nothing whatever to do with the ambience of “Joseph,” became comic relief for me. Who let her wear these creations? The Music Theatre of Wichita is given costume credit. Wichita is coming up in the world, or trying mightily.
Of the songs, my personal favorite is “Those Canaan Days,” sung by Joseph’s brothers; it’s amusing, and—great sound! Other pleasant ditties are “Any Dream Will Do,” “One More Angel in Heaven,” “Go, Go, Go Joseph,” and “Potiphar.” Just think, from this modest beginning came the soaring anthems of “Cats,” “Evita,” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” Any dream will do, you see.
Take your kids, become a kid at heart yourself, and you can have fun at Joseph. Hopefully the technical problems I mentioned will have been worked out by the time you get there. Oh yes, direction is by Norb Joerder.
For tickets and more information, visit www.theaterofthestars.com.
My husband and I have season tickets to TOTS and while this was not their best show ever it was not the worst. I thought Anthony Federov did quite well. I enjoyed his performances most of all. To have 50 children on stage was a pretty impressive act to pull off. I was not distracted by them and thought their singing was excellent. I didn’t care for EVERY word to be sung… but alas that’s how it’s written. The brothers were GREAT! I commend the TOTS for their continued productions and am looking forward to Rock of Ages in a couple of weeks…