Montgomery Theatre, Sheffield – until 9 December
Reviewed by Lottie Davis-Browne
4****
Following the recent announcement that Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be making a return to London’s West End in the New Year, last night I decided to try and rekindle my love for the musical which first ignited my passion for all things theatre, with local Sheffield based Southey Musical Theatre Company performing the show at the city centres Montgomery Theatre until 9th December.
Back in 1991, as a ten year old I worshipped my Jason Donovan posters and watched television clips of his performance as the leading role, wishing I could have been one of the children in the chorus just to see him up close! It wasn’t until the “Any Dream Will Do” television competition in 2007 to find an unknown performer the role for a return to the West End that I first got to see a professional production of the musical. By this point I had seen several amateur productions and always thoroughly enjoyed them, however the 2007 production for me felt embarrassingly cheesy – to the point I wanted my theatre seat to swallow me up and could not wait for it to be over. I really lost interest in it as a musical so was obviously feeling somewhat anxious last night……
However once I had taken my seat and the band started playing a medley of the songs I soon filled with excitement, taking in the stage in front of me. A single bed with a technicolored duvet cover on and a teddy bear on and a dress makers dummy proudly displaying the intricate splendour that is Joseph’s coat, and after the band had got the audience raring for the story to start (because who doesn’t know every lyric to every song in the musical – I’ve had these memorised for over three decades myself after all!), the Narrator enters the stage with a young boy in pyjamas, and begins (in song, of course!) to tell him the story of a boy named Joseph, and encourage him to “think it, want it, dream it” as she continues to tell the story of a boy “who’s dreams came true”. The story is based on the story of Joseph, as told in the Bible in the book of Genesis. Born the son of Jacob – Joseph is one of twelve sons, (“Jacob and Sons”) but when he is gifted a luxurious coat featuring every colour of the rainbow and more, his brothers become jealous, especially when the coat helps Joseph visualise and share his dreams coming true with his brothers, so much so that they attempt fratricide to get rid of him, however the brothers have a sudden change of plan when they spot the opportunity to sell him as a slave to some passing Ishmaelite’s (“Poor, Poor Joseph”) (Ishmaelite’s are the descendants of Ishmael, the elder son of Abraham and the descendants of the twelve sons and princes of Ishmael FYI.)
I particularly loved how the Director (Adam Walker) had put his own stamp on this production – from little details that make this production memorable (for all the right reasons) from the Narrator taking a “selfie” on a mobile phone with the Jacob and his children at the end of “Jacob and Sons”, the 70s disco twist to Act One finale “Go, Go, Go, Jospeh” – proving that it wasn’t just Joseph and his coat that were “ahead of their time” but the biblical story had a “futuristic” 70s vibe to it! (A homage to the decade when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice first wrote the musical) but what really knocked my socks off in this production was the choreography (Amber Parry) – particularly the wives cartwheeling effortlessly across the stage. The young choir provided perfect harmonies and accompaniment throughout and I loved the fact that they were placed to one side of the stage throughout the story, sat on a technicolored row of seats. I would have liked to have seen the youngsters in the choir be given the opportunity to engage more on stage – particularly at the end for the Joseph Megamix – surely there’s some talented dancers amongst them that could give the wives a run for their money by performing some somersaults and cartwheels etc?
Vocally Lee McCusker was utterly flawless in the title role as Joseph, and visually it was clear to see why the many wives and Potiphar’s wife flocked round him like they did! Lee engaged well with the young children in the choir (“Any Dream Will Do”) and equally both McCusker and Robert Curr (Jacob) gave a heartwarming performance as Father and favourite son; their reunion at the end of story.
Heather Reynolds was everything you’d expect from the Narrator character – engaged well with the children, the audience and Joseph and his brothers, had an instantly likeable feel to her (the same instant likability as characters such as Miss Honey in Matilda for example), however vocally at times it was clear Reynolds was struggling with the vocally demanding role and her voice lacked the maturity usually found within this character. At times lines were sung slightly off key and her voice had a nervous wobble to it, and where hard to reach notes were needed, such as when Joseph is thrown down a well during his brothers disposing of him, instead of singing the notes needed, a scream was added instead – using a snake coming out of the well to scare her into the scream. It wasn’t always that noticeable and there were times I found her vocals to be soothing and somewhat hypnotic, as if I was being sung a bed time story, but where other lead characters delivered a flawless and continuous high level of accuracy and competence, I sadly did not always get this from Heather. It may indeed have been a case of first night jitters, but when some of the “wives” delivered flawlessly sung vocal lines with far more mature and competent voices, I felt somewhat deflated over this particular role compared to the others. Whilst Reynolds clearly shows great potential, this is a highly demanding role which barely allows the performer to draw a breath and I felt that on this occasion more vocal training was needed which in turn brings with it added confidence.
Another knock out performer of the night was Jon Warburton – (the best thing since sliced bread in my opinion!) as Pharaoh – another reason why I loved Adam Walker’s direction on this production – yes we KNOW Pharaoh was a King but what I have despised in previous productions of this show is how they base the character on Elvis “The King” Presley – grrr – number one – I cannot stand Elvis – there – I said it! And number two – I don’t feel it’s relevance in a biblical story. Thank goodness Adam had seen sense and chosen not to go down this route in his portrayal of the character (performed by Warburton). Vocally he sounded like a King and was a huge hit with the ladies (myself included!), his hip thrusting attracting the attention of the wives and the audience members alike. Just a shame he wasn’t on stage for the entire night…!
There was no cringeworthy cheesy feel to this production; it felt fresh and new, as if I was experiencing the songs for the first time. It reminded me of why I loved the musical so much the first time I heard it and rather than wanting to crawl under my seat with how the last (professional) production made me feel, instead I was tapping my toes along the entire time and joining in when encouraged to do so at the end by the cast. Overall a joyful and colourful performance, restoring my faith in this classic family-friendly musical. I just hope the next West End run is as pleasurable to watch as this….maybe their Director needs to buy a return ticket to Sheffield to see how Joseph should be done!
Playing until Saturday 9th December, tickets are selling fast so be quick to secure your tickets – the perfect feel good factor to start the festive season off with a bang.