Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of those classic musicals from the pens of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber that has graced stages large and small around the world for more than fifty years.
Chosen by Buxton Opera House as its community production of the year, the famous authors of this beautiful piece of musical theatre will have been proud of this particular production as the amateur cast rose to the challenges of appearing on a professional stage and the demands of a professional creative team to give the audience a couple of hours of tip top entertainment.
The story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis, it tells the tale of the favourite son of Jacob (Barrie Goodwin) who makes his eleven brothers envious when he creates a wonderful coat for his favourite.
Joseph (Ross Clifton) is already an annoyance to his siblings as he is very much a dreamer while they are a hard-working bunch and this favouritism causes the brothers to plot to rid the family of the favoured brother.
Joseph is waylaid by his brothers whose original intention is to drown him in a well but they instead sell him into slavery to some passing Ishmaelites and take his now tattered and bloodstained coat back to their distraught father who mourns a son he believes to be dead.
Joseph passes into the hands of Potiphar (Anthony Longden-Kirk) but is thrown into jail when his master believes that he is dallying with his wife (Karina Tomlinson).
Despite his initial despair, this proves a turning point in Joseph’s luck because his cellmates include a baker (Tavis Hill) and a butler (George Edwards) who are in service to the Pharaoh (Matt Bond). The Egyptian leader is troubled by dreams but is told by his manservant of a prisoner who can interpret their meaning. When Joseph is given the opportunity to foretell the nation’s future, he is released from prison and given a high position in the royal household.
As Joseph’s fortunes have risen his family is suffering a time of famine and they travel to Egypt to beg for food. They are met by their brother who is now unrecognisable to them. Food is donated but Joseph decides to punish the family by falsely accusing the delightful Benjamin (Edwards) of theft.
After much pleading from his estranged family, Joseph relents and is reunited with his father who restores the coat to its fabulous glory.
Clifton is a magnificent Joseph and has a lovely onstage relationship with Goodwin. His brothers work extremely well as an ensemble and excel in their group vocals with Hill doing an excellent lead of One More Angel in Heaven as Reuben. Christopher Sherborne is a fabulous French entertainer as he leads in Those Canaan Days as Simeon and Matthew Lovatt-Wood performs Benjamin’s Calypso so well as Judah.
All of the action is held together by the Narrators (Maria Dunford and Chris Blackshaw) and all other members of the cast add to the enjoyment and quality of the production. A special mention must be given to the Dancers who provided so much energy and movement and to the Singing Quartet and Choir who provided superb backing.
There are two points in the play that are always eagerly waited for by experienced members of the audience. How will the iconic Close Every Door be presented by Joseph? The answer is brilliantly. And what will the fully revealed coat look like. All that I can say to that is that Costume Designer Vicki Louise Smith has done a magnificent job.
The cast rose to the vocal challenges presented to them with a variety of musical styles – French ballad, Elvis (great performance Matt Bond), county and western, Charleston (Longden-Kirk did so well), Calypso, jazz and 1970 go go and each individual performance was met with thunderous applause from the audience.
Director Paul Kerryson and his creative team of Choreographer Tracey Iliffe, Musical Director Helen Washington, Set Designer Ian Tregaskis, Lighting Designer Tom Davis and Sound Designer Justin Teasdale have combined to make a production that would grace any stage.
There was the very occasional stumble but it would be truly nitpicking to allow this to take away from what is an excellent evening’s entertainment which should make everyone involved truly proud of their contribution.
My thanks go to Paul and his team for showcasing the talent which lies in the Peak District and allowing the cast members to develop and fill the magnificent Opera House with so much delight. All involved are to be congratulated for making the grand old lady pulse with passion and pride.
Another Community production that must not be missed.
