Go, Go, Go Joseph!

Jam Theatricals brought the Broadway musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Cedar Rapids' Paramount Theatre last night, complete with Elvis impersonator and the most brightly sequined coat you've ever laid your eyes on.

Our attendance was a birthday present for Michelle. Back in February I presented her with two choices -- the Newsboys in March or Joseph in April. She couldn't pass up the song and dance of Joseph, so we joined 1,800 other Cedar Rapidian's for the musical telling of the Biblical story of Joseph.

The musical is short on plot details, but generally recounts the plight of Joseph, the 11th of 12 sons born to the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. Joseph is loved by his father, but despised by his jealous brothers. Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery, sensuously tempted by his boss' wife, correctly interprets (with God's help) the dreams of the Egyptian Pharaoh's butler and baker, and ends up serving alongside Pharaoh undertaking "the first recorded rationing" in world history. (See Genesis ch 38-40 for the full story)

This is my fourth exposure to Joseph. The first was as a high school student, watching a troupe of high school and college students perform. I immediately fell in love with the music, the story, and the relative simplicity of the production (it was originally written in shorter form and intended for performance by school and church groups). Next, Michelle and I watched a Broadway tour of the show about 10 years ago. The late 90's saw a Joseph revival that featured Donny Osmond, captured on DVD. And now this.

Michelle and I agreed that the production value of this particular rendition was just average. More than Michelle, I felt the lead actors were also just average. Adam Ryan Tackett's Joseph was a little effeminate, and his voice week on some songs. Clarissa Grace as the Narrator (the role that weaves the story together from song to song) was fine but not spectacular. Each lead has a song or two they get to belt out with all their might, and they rose to the task. But in the show's quieter moments, both lacked a certain quality I can't quite put my finger on (I did catch myself wondering a time or two if this man playing Joseph was gay, and how pitifully ironic that would be). Also, unlike other productions I've seen, this one did not feature a children's choir (usually a local group that joins the tour on stage for several numbers). As always, the role of Pharaoh (an over-the-top impersonation of 1970's era Elvis Presley) stole the show, even though this particular Elvis (Matt O'Brien) didn't look like, or sound like, the King.

One reason (maybe a big reason) for my slight disappointment was a misunderstanding of who was currently touring. Several months ago the role of Joseph belonged to Patrick Cassidy, youngest of the 70's Cassidy singing/acting clan, and the role of the Narrator was filled by a former American Idol finalist. These are the two actors I was expecting Thursday night, but a quick look at the playbill confirmed otherwise. I was ready for some well-known talent, and settled for off-Broadway no-namers.

But in the end, it didn't matter much. What sets Joseph apart is that it is a fun, energetic, colorful, and mostly accurate retelling of an inspiring Bible story -- that God did (and does) work miracles in the lives of His people, and that when every door seems to be closed, God can open a new door filled with great promise.