review: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (CLO, Pittsburgh)

[cellio]

This afternoon Dani and I went to see the CLO production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I am fond of the soundtrack and had seen one other production; Dani was unfamiliar with the show and I think didn't quite realize the tone it would take. We both enjoyed this production quite a bit. (If you don't know the story, see Genesis chapters 37-46, approximately. If you don't know the flavor of the show, you can find clips at the CLO site.)

There is schtick that doesn't come through on a soundtrack and that you have to see the show to get. I'm not sure what of this is written into the script and what is the work of the director. For example, I had not previously encountered the bit at the end of "One More Angel in Heaven", where the brothers are telling Yaakov about Yosef's "death" and pretending to mourn. Yaakov leaves the stage and the performance gets more enthusiastic -- a celebration instead of mourning. Then Yaakov comes back on stage and we get an "oh, oops" moment. That's not on the soundtrack I know. :-) Similarly, there's a bit of schtick after Paro "the King" performs his big piece where some of the children on stage rush him for autographs. Nicely done.

This production had spunk, and excellent performances from a few individuals. Joseph (David Osmond) has a strong singing voice and conveyed strong emotion without losing vocal quality. The emotion felt rather over the top in places; while the whole show is over the top, I think that works better for lighter moments than serious ones. Nonetheless, he is a strong performer. The narrator (Shoshana Bean) ranged from pretty good to excellent vocally, and had good command of movement. A couple of the brothers were also particularly strong (though not as strong as Osmond); it was hard to figure out who was who among the brothers sometimes, but with the aid of the program I think I can say the strong ones were Reuben (Gaven Pamer) and Judah (Jarran Muse).

Several actors doubled up on parts -- Paro, the butler, and the baker were the same actors as some of the brothers, and Potiphar was played by the same actor as Jacob. Actors not otherwise involved tended to be part of the ensemble, too. (I'm not sure if that's typical.) The choreography was active, enthusiastic, and generally well-executed, with some clever bits. (I thought the "cows" during Paro's dream were well-done.) There were also some nuances it would have been easy to miss, which makes me wonder how many others I did miss. I wouldn't object to having this production on DVD so I could watch it more closely.

The costumes, sets, and props were rich and contributed to my enjoyment of the show. This musical is often done by schools and community theatres, I'm told, and they usually don't have the budget for stuff like this. I wonder what those productions look like. You can make up for a lot with good and enthusiastic actors, I expect.

The general lighting was well-done; the follow-spots had some trouble staying centered on the targetted actors. The sound production was problematic; a soloist standing in the center of the stage could be heard clearly, and the children's chorus came through much better than I would have expected (these kids are trained, not random schoolkids, which matters), but when the ensemble was singing or when soloists moved toward the edges of the stage it became much harder to make out the words sometimes. The show has been running for only a few days; I hope they fix this problem for the rest of the run. Dani (who, remember, didn't know the soundtrack like I do) still followed it ok, but this was the weak point of the production.

The show only runs about an hour and a half, including all the curtain calls, so I was a little surprised by the insertion of a 20-minute intermission.

I bought our tickets about a week ago and was able to get the second row of the balcony right in the center. But the theatre was full today, so either most people waited even longer, or most people went for the cheaper seats as their first choices. We don't go to the theatre often, so I always opt for the best seats I can get. I don't want to undercut my enjoyment of a good show with crappy seats. Now if we made a habit of this we'd have to talk, but once or twice a year, we can manage.

Comments

[hlinspjalda.livejournal.com]

The long intermission in a (relatively) short production is probably for the sake of families with small children, of which there always seem to be plenty at a production of Joseph. It helps the children's attention span to have the production broken up like that, and it provides a potty and possibly snack break that doesn't require frantic scrambling by the parents.

This is such a great show! I'm glad you took a virgin to see it, and glad the production was as good as it was.

[cellio]

I hadn't thought of that. That makes sense; most adults can sit for an hour and a half, but kids can't necessarily. (I wonder if the child actors can; it might have been for their sake too.)

I didn't know until Dani started commenting on anachronisms that he had never listened to the soundtrack. (I knew he'd never seen the show.)