Aylesbury Waterside Theatre – until Saturday 18 January 2020
Reviewed by Annie Hughes
4****
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat burst on to the stage of Aylesbury Waterside Theatre last night and what an explosion of colour and joy it was! Seeking inspiration from the least likely of places for a musical, Joseph tells the old testament story of Joseph, son of Jacob, and brother to eleven siblings burning with jealousy. It is most definitely a story with a moral, a story of brotherhood, jealousy, forgiveness and redemption, all packaged in the most comic, glitzy yet heart-warming way.
The show had every you could want as a theatre goer from the catchy Rice and Webber songs executed perfectly by the lead singers to the adorable yet without doubt highly professional Joseph Choir provided by the Peploe-Williams Academy of Theatre and Performing arts. Equally enjoyable were, for the dance lovers in the audience, some wonderful dance breaks choreographed by Henry Metcalfe and Gary Lloyd.
The whole show is colourful, vibrant and the audience were beaming, clapping and laughing throughout. But the most brilliant moment of the show, when the whole audience were left silenced, was undoubtedly Mark McMullan as Joseph’s astounding solo rendition of “Close Every Door” while in a jail cell. The emotional depth that is reached during that song as well as the sheer power of McMullan’s voice really does raise the whole calibre of the show. No wonder he was a Britain’s Got Talent finalist! Honestly, your ticket is worth it only for these few minutes!
At times the musical can feel a bit erratic and somewhat perplexing, such as when the brothers break out in to a Calypso number with Samba dancers in the background which somewhat distracts from the emotions that one would expect to feel for brother Benjamin who has been framed for theft. Nevertheless, this can be forgiven as what this production of Joseph does so well is transport the audience; you are transported in to a world of magical theatre, transported in to a world where dreaming is possible and I was certainly transported to my memory of my very first year 6 production of Joseph when I fell in love with musicals.
So if you are a dreamer and want to be transported to an evening of musical bliss, you must go go go get a ticket for Joseph!