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Inverness Courier Online

06/08/2004

Still dazzling after 30 years

JOSEPH'S recurring song, "Any Dream Will Do", is the theme of this musical - one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's earliest successes. And really it seems to have been the theme of his career.

For virtually anything the composer has touched over 30 years has proved highly popular with audiences everywhere.

Joseph is an epic tale of jealousy, betrayal, despair, revenge, redemption and happy endings.

The genius of Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice is to turn it into a bright and breezy, highly entertaining spectacle, tailormade for today's audiences.

"Joseph" was originally designed as a short musical play for a school performance - and Bill Kenwright's enduring production still makes use of many local children wherever it goes.

It's a guaranteed crowd-puller and particularly appealing to child audiences, with its pace, strong, familiar story, and easily accessible tunes that linger potently - and sometimes unwillingly - in the head long after one has left the theatre.

This is undoubtedly one of the best productions of this modern classic that I've seen.

It isn't just the garment that is amazingly technicoloured - the whole stage is awash with brilliance and much of the time seen in a sort of soft focus, due to the persistent use of artificial fog.

The acting, singing and dancing is lively, the voices - particularly of the narrator (Amanda Claire) and Joseph (Andrew Derbyshire) - loud and clear, so that one could hear Rice's clever libretto.

An outstanding element of the show's success is undoubtedly the costumes.

The cast seemed to have an endless wardrobe of the most beautiful outfits which they donned and cast within seconds. Some costumes - such as Joseph's various dreamcoats - were truly spectacular.

The whole production careered along at such a pace that even someone with the attention span of a gnat could not fail to be gripped.

Particularly enjoyed by the Eden Court crowd - it was a full house - were the moments of sheer surprise, such as when the Pharaoh appears as an Elvis Presley figure (Lee Mead), Pharaoh's court takes on the character of an American football game, Joseph's brothers appear in Caribbean and then French garb, and when Joseph finally arrives on stage, briefly and inexplicably, on a motorbike.

Occasionally voices were swapped, so that a pretty young woman suddenly sang a line with the voice of a heavyweight thug - all much to the delight of the audience.

And of course, as with pantomime, it never does any harm to thrown in a few local references, and involve the audience by giving them something to do.

The lengthy finale was a miracle of staging - all the major tunes were reprised, the audience were encouraged to stand and clap along, some of the cast came down into the auditorium, lights flashed everywhere.

This lively and a highly entertaining production ends its week's run tomorrow.

Joseph is still a dream musical

By Theatre Critic Joe Sweeney

Aug 12, 2004

Wolverhampton Express and Star Online

Hippodrome Birmingham

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's enduring Biblical musical still packs a powerful punch in the feelgood stakes with its whimsical charm and catchy tunes.

And the major attraction for its return to the Hippodrome is a one-off appearance by Ian 'H' Watkins of Steps fame in the title role.

The show remains a tight affair company-wise with the supporting cast very much together in their overall presentation.

Amanda Claire's Narrator was in fine voice, while Robert Jaye's Black Country turn as the Baker adds a refreshing update to the proceedings.

Another plus is Lee Mead's enjoyable take on the Elvis-styled Pharaoh, one of the show's finest touches. 'H' cuts a slight figure as Joseph but sings surprisingly well - if with a little less gusto than some of his predecessors. His emotive treatment of Close Every Door proved to be his most polished rendition in the song stakes.

After all these years the show is still a lot of fun and makes for a visually impressive spectacle.