Long-lasting appeal of light-hearted show
Sunderland Empire
18th April 2005
ANDREW Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice originally wrote this musical for a small London secondary school's end-of-term ceremony.
It went on to conquer the West End and Broadway and has now been seen by more than eight million people. Last night it began the latest of many successful visits to Sunderland Empire.
It is, of course, a light-hearted adaptation of the Joseph stories and introduces many elements that are clearly not from the Bible. There is, for instance, a talking Tutankhamun statue and a goat on wheels. The Pharaoh is an Elvis impersonator (a great performance by Marlon Moore) and his dancers are American football jocks and cheerleaders. The music, meanwhile, is a mixture of many styles, including country, reggae and gospel. It certainly has something for everyone. Joseph veteran Richard Swerrun plays the title role like it's second nature to him. By the end we were all up singing and clapping along with the medley. We were still singing the show's most famous tune, Any Dream Will Do, after the curtain had come down.
By
Lisa Hodge
19 April 2005
All rights reserved © 2005 Johnston Press New Media
A TRUE FEEL-GOOD CROWD-PLEASER
Hull New Theatre
24 May 2005
Ifeel as though I've just stepped off a musical rollercoaster. For the past two hours there's been wall-to-wall music, a few lulls in tempo, plenty of crescendos, and above all, a riot of technicolor.
The clue's in the last sentence, as it was indeed a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a show that never fails to disappoint in terms of sheer energy and high-octane entertainment.
As soon as the curtain went up at Hull New Theatre, this biblical story bounded out like an excitable puppy, with Richard Swerrun, who plays Joseph, eager to please with his energetic and animated performance.
A true feel-good crowd pleaser, which gallops along at a fast and colourful pace, steered by some great performances
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© Northcliffe Electronic Publishing Ltd
MUSICAL STARTED WITH A DREAM
09:30 - 26 May 2005
There are few shows with a history as illustrious as that of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The pharaoh himself might struggle to have as many ardent followers, and no doubt he would marvel at the show's influence.
It is a musical that has toured the world, from the theatres of Australia to the school halls of Canada, and now it has come to the Bristol Hippodrome. And not for the first time, I might add. I was in it myself on that very stage, some 15 long years ago. . . For those who don't know, the show is the retelling of the Biblical story of Jacob's favourite son, Joseph, a young man with an uncanny ability to interpret dreams, and an amazing, colourful coat.
Joseph's eleven brothers become insatiably jealous, and sell their sibling to Ishmaelites. After his new owner's wife tries to seduce him, he is thrown in jail for refusing her advances, and quickly becomes popular due to his uncommon talents.
The Pharaoh soon hears of his gifts, and appoints him to the post of Number Two in Egypt. Years later, Joseph's now starving brothers arrive in Egypt, and not recognising him, ask for assistance. Joseph gives his brothers a scare, but eventually reveals his identity, forgives them and grants them all they desire.
This story forms the basis of the show, but the phenomenal success is down to the magical touch of two young men, a touch that set things in motion 40 years ago.
In the summer of 1967, Andrew Lloyd Webber was asked by Alan Doggett, head of music at St Paul's Junior School, who taught his younger brother Julian, to write a 'pop cantata' for the school choir to sing at their Easter end-of-term concert.
Andrew immediately approached his friend Tim Rice to ask him to write the lyrics, and after toying with ideas of spies, they settled on the story of Joseph.
The first performance of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat took place on March 1, 1968, at the Old Assembly Hall, Hammersmith and was only 20 minutes long. Subsequent performances were arranged, and after a Sunday Times critic wrote a favourable review, it appeared in an expanded version at St Paul's Catherdral on November 9, 1968.
An album was released, and Tim and Andrew landed a contract with Sefton Myers and David Land, who guaranteed to support them for three years in return for a share of their income. Their first project under the new contract was another piece for schools, but was temporarily shelved in favour of another idea, one involving the story of Jesus Christ. It was Jesus Christ Superstar that enabled Joseph to grow - after the album of Superstar became hugely successful in the US, Joseph was released there as a followup. The Joseph album stayed in the charts for three months.
The 1970s saw great growth. Tim and Andrew had their contracts extended, and Joseph developed and changed, being perfomed at various theatres in the UK and America, including schools and colleges, until it finally moved to the Royale Theatre on Broadway in 1982.
In 1991 a production came to the London Palladium theatre, starring Jason Donovan. That production ran for a total of two and a half years, attracting an audience of two million people and earning a £50million at the box office.
Today there are nearly 500 school or amateur productions each year in the UK alone. The show has garnered awards aplenty, including a Laurence Olivier Award and Ivor Novello award.
As it now returns to the Bristol Hippodrome, the new cast, with Richard Swerrun as Joseph, will have a lot to live up to, as they have a great responsibility to a whole new generation of dreamers.
© thisissomerset.co.uk 2005
Bristol Hippodrome
FAMILIARITY HAS BRED AFFECTION
1 June 2005
So it is little wonder that shows like this one, which has been around for many years, have built up a following with people who like to hear music they are familiar with. Judging from the number of very young people in the audience the trend will continue keeping this show on the road for quite a long time to come.
Director Bill Kenwright and choreographer Henry Metcalfe have freshened the production up and, with plenty of enthusiasm from the cast, there are no signs of staleness or tiredness on view. The finest ensemble work is as slick and smooth as if this was the show's first tour.
Richard Swerrun, who has played Joseph many times over the past few years, successfully brings his own bright talent and verve to the role.
Abigail Jaye belies the fact that this is only her first year as a professional performer, playing the all-important role of narrator with ease and confidence.
Ballads, songs in the French-style, a calypso, country-and-western music and Marlon Moore ably recreating Elvis as another King Pharaoh make this a very rich score.
But for all their power and drive, the sound from Richard Chalmers and his six fellow musicians lacked variation of tone which, with no fewer than four keyboards among the seven players, is not surprising.
Not that this worried the audience, who were on their feet clapping the cast through the final curtain calls. For them, Joseph is still a show straight out of the top drawer and it is difficult to argue against such an enthusiastic opinion.
© Northcliffe Electronic Publishing Ltd. 2005
© thisisbristol.co.uk 2005
© copyright Bristol Evening Post 2005
Bristol Hippodrome
2nd June 2005
ANY production of Joseph guarantees well-performed big musical numbers, excellent choreography, a child-friendly atmosphere and wonderful colours, and this was no different. Richard Swerrun played Joseph effortlessly, bringing the vocal range and subtlety necessary for such numbers as Close Every Door and Any Dream Will Do, and he was ably supported by his on-stage brothers.
The Narrator (Abigail Jaye) directed the audience's focus and emotions, acting as a parental figure to the characters. She herded everyone from the children to the Pharaoh with the friendly disposition of a teacher.
These are all elements that you would expect from a production of Joseph, but where it shone was in its stamp of individuality.
Breaking with tradition, the plot took us through Parisian scenes, and via a talking sphinx, to the palace of the Pharaoh (Marlon Moore), who hilariously came out dressed as Elvis, shakin' and struttin' his stuff.
These touches refreshed the show that can't fail to entertain. It runs until Saturday.
DOMINIC HARRIS
© thisissomerset.co.uk 2005
