Grand Opera House York – until Sat 5 October 2019
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4****
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, is the well known musical that has been around in this full length version for 45 years. This is a musical like no other, unless you have seen it on stage or television you do not know the story, you may think you do, but I very much doubt you do. I first saw this 2 years ago and all my preconceived thoughts were thrown out, in fact chucked out, of the window.
The story follows Joseph (Jaymi Hensley), who is the favourite son of Jacob (Paul Brangan who stepped in as understudy). His eleven brothers plot his demise, jealous of his relationship and the gift of a technicolor coat from their father. Instead of killing him they sell him to slave traders, what follows is a rollercoaster of a journey. He rises through the ranks of an Egyptian household, before being slung in jail, where his deciphering of dreams is his saviour, becoming the Pharaoh’s right hand man.
For the start of the show the stage just had an Egyptian backdrop with music playing. This seemed to go on for an extended period with a lot of the audience thinking there was something wrong, but I believe this is just part of the show. I must admit that I did find this far too long, I just wanted the show to start.
Alexandra Doar, making her professional debut, is the narrator for this tour, she is the glue that holds the show together, steering it throughout to its conclusion. She is onstage for the whole show, sometimes right there at the front, others in the shadows, along with the amazing Joseph choir. Her facial expressions and her energy were lovely to watch. I would have loved to have seen her in a spectacular outfit, I know it’s the narrators costume but she deserved more.
The brothers and handmaidens put on an energetic show with their comic timing, costume changes, singing and dancing. Some of the dancing was mesmerizing, look out for the little pocket rocket Mikey Jay-Heath as Judah. All the cast worked well together and delivered strong performances, whilst having to deal with the many character/theme changes. The icing on the cake for me though was the Pharaoh, “Elvis” (Andrew Geater). He was absolutely superb and his portrayal had me in stitches. His singing was second to none, totally owning his role, fabulous!
The set and stage are used well, with large gold Anubis heads dangling, pyramids, Pharaohs galore. Watch out for the inflatable sheep, I’m sure they have multiplied since last time, and they still deliver great merriment.
Hensley plays a fresh faced Joseph with just the right amount of vulnerable, innocent charm. His vocal range was impressive and at times quite moving. At the end of the show he appeared very humbled by the audience’s reaction and thanked us all, a lovely touch, before getting the whole theatre rocking again. By the end the whole audience were up on their feet cheering and rocking away to Jaymi, “Elvis” and the whole caboodle.
This is more than a biblical story with a few songs, it’s a biblical story with country and western, French and calypso themes thrown in, and don’t forget Elvis. A colourful show from beginning to end that is suitable for all.