Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Taproot Theatre

This charming show was quite a surprise! I’ve actually never seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on stage. But I know the music very well.  Younger me owned many Andrew Lloyd Webber compilations, back when CDs were a thing. My grandmother loved telling me the story of Joseph and his coat, so I know the basic plot and have many fond memories of the story. I’ve always wanted to see this show, it just somehow passed me by. It happens, even to a theatre lover like me.

I know enough about composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice shows to expect a big production. So I was very curious when I saw Taproot was doing it. How would this look on Taproot’s small stage? Or maybe I had incorrect expectations?

Taproot uses an interesting narrative choice: The fable is being told at a children’s camp. (Dream Camp, of course.) It’s not a “story-within-a-story.” No plot happens with the campers. But you see the counselors and children in their camp tee shirts. It both scales down the show and makes it much more approachable for kids. I loved all the kids in the show. (How come I never got to perform in a non-school theatre production when I was ten?)

The show is fun! Charming, funny and full of parody. The performances are a hoot. CJ Lorentz plays Joseph. I have never wondered what Joseph from the Bible might look like, but as soon as CJ enters the stage I thought, “Yep, this is Joseph.” He looks the part and totally nails it. The rest of the cast play multiple roles, playing one of Joseph’s 11 siblings as well as characters in Egypt. These characters, and their numbers, were hilarious!  Each song taking on a different (and modern) sensibility. When we first see obscenely rich Potiphar, lounging on his throne-like chair, the audience howled! Pharaoh channels James Brown and his jumpsuit!  Joseph-second-to-Pharaoh channels Bruno Mars! You could tell the performers were really enjoying themselves, and the audience loved it. My favorite song was Those Canaan Days. All the siblings singing their woes as French cabaret performers.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is light and frothy. This is not a serious show. As a deliberate choice, it works here. I will say, one aspect of this choice is I never really empathized with Joseph. In the beginning, he’s not a jerk or anything, but he is very clueless about the impact of his father’s favoritism on his siblings. We never really see him suffer, even during his slavery. He really does keep failing upwards, and there’s never any introspection from him.

But that’s not what this show is. It’s light, fun and a good time. You can see it at Taproot Theatre through August 15.