BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME – UNTIL SATURDAY 16TH APRIL 2022.
REVIEWED BY NADIA DODD
5*****
After seeing Jason Donovan back in 1991 in the West End, cast then as Joseph it was a delight to go back tonight to see the show again. Slightly different with Jason this time around cast as a rather camp Pharoah, who dances and sings in a great Elvis style, quite a surreal experience.
With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice this production has literally been a dream to watch for a number of years.
The fantastic Alexandra Burke was cast as the narrator, but also doubled up as a few others smaller parts, she really did put on a show. Stunning voice, great little cheeky nods to the audience and very spritely on her dancing feet especially as she is currently pregnant. There was a small technical hitch during the first few moments as Alexandra was mid solo but after a few moments after the curtain being raised again she came back out to an applause ready for her to belt her heart out again.
Very minimal set design, lots of colour flowing pieces of material, and backdrops of pyramids and sunshine. Nothing much more is actually required. It becomes a lot more ‘blingy’ during the Pharoah scenes within act two, which is obviously set in Egypt but more like a scene you would see in Las Vegas!
Joseph is played by the wonderful Jac Yarrow who only hit the West End stage in 2019. He has a truly astounding voice, the power behind him when singing Close Every Door accompanied by the very talented younger stars of the show was magical.
The show was a technicolor joy to watch, live orchestra simply fabulous even being there to catch part of the Pharoah’s wristbands that came loose so he decided to throw it towards them til the encore where they cheekily launched it back to him whilst he was taking his final bow.
The group of youngsters that appear in the show have the full package, they are acting, singing and dancing so confidently now that they are all destined to be stars of the stage in the future.
The standing ovation and medley sing along that took place showed how the entire theatre really appreciated seeing live theatre back well and truly. Packed out seats and raucous applause must be music to the actors ears.