Last night, Ellen and I went to see
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was part of Playhouse Square's Broadway Series. Originally it wasn't one of the offerings, instead "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" was supposed to be our March show. We had already decided to opt out of that when they announced that Joseph would be replacing it. I was happy because I actually wanted to see Joseph. When I was a kid, Joseph was my sister's favorite soundtrack (or at least that's how I remember it based on the number of times I had to hear it), so I was familiar with the show and the music.
We got to the theatre later than normal, so I didn't have time to browse the Playbill as thoroughly as I wanted to, but I did notice that the two leads (Narrator -
Diana DeGarmo, and Joseph -
Ace Young) were both American Idol "graduates". Not only that, but they are married. To each other.
The show opened with what first appeared to be smoke rising from the stage, but upon closer inspection proved to be a projection of smoke on a scrim. As the lighting started to (slowly) rise, the figure of a sleeping man became apparent below where the smoke was being projected. The smoke then started to morph into images that swirled and changed, making it clear that this guy was dreaming.
This scene was framed by a false proscenium made of flown-in fabric. The sides were angled so that the bottom opening was wider than the top, and the top of the arch was made by a single straight fabric that was front of the other two. It reminded me of a pharaoh's headpiece. As the scrim rose and the guy woke up from his dream, projections started on this false proscenium. They continued throughout the show as a way to set the scene, and were frankly amazing.
The lighting (by
Howell Binkley) and projections (by
Daniel Brodie) were consistently incredible throughout the course of the show. (I'll also shout out to scenic designer
Beowulf Boritt, as I don't know which designer was responsible for which element, and suspect that they worked together closely to pull this off.) There were some effects that stood out to me. One was the interior lighting (or maybe projections?) of some of the set pieces. The set was very minimal - mostly blocks and platforms (door-sized) that could be carried around by the actors. In a couple of instances some of the blocks glowed - clearly being lit internally. Also there were three movable staircases, one of which was similarly lit internally. The best part was that it was really subtle. Both the stairs and the blocks looked like they could have just been reacting to the stage lights.
The other effect of note was projections on items other than the false proscenium (and other backdrops). In one scene, Joseph's brothers were tending sheep (which appeared to be luaun board cutouts painted white). They picked up the sheep and held them together to create a "canvas" upon which was projected various graphical elements. Similarly, later in the show, angels costumed in white appeared on the stage. They came to the edge of the stage and held their arms out, allowing their flowing sleeves to merge together into another canvas for projection. This concept culminated in the final scene when Joseph is standing on one of the stair units and the backdrop has been split into several pieces, all of which are attached to his coat. The backdrop then becomes a canvas for the projection of the continuation of his coat motif out and up over the cast.
Speaking of the coat, it was amazing (pardon the pun). Created by costume designer
Jennifer Caprio, it was inspired by 12 stained glass windows that were created by Marc Chagall for the Abbell Synagogue at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem.
You can read the whole story on the Joseph website. I can't even begin to explain it, so I'll just have to show you.
This is the design (front on top):
Here's a photo of the coat in production:
 |
| Joseph in his coat, with the Narrator |
Much of the acting/performing was great - the brothers especially. I wasn't impressed with the Narrator, her voice was shrill and couldn't project over the musicians (even mic'd). Joseph wasn't bad. He had a nice voice and seemed at his best when he was playing off the other characters. I couldn't help but think that these two were on this tour in order to draw people in - "You saw them on American Idol, now see them On Stage!" But, the supporting cast was fantastic. The brothers had some great lines, and played a lot of comedic effect, and the Pharoah was wonderful with his Elvis persona. Between the main characters and the company all on stage, the choreography had to work, and it did.
Overall, it was a fun show, and one which I wish could have afforded to take my kids to see.
Oh, one last thing. While I really enjoyed the show, I think my favorite part was the curtain call. It wasn't done as a traditional "skip to the front of the stage and take a bow". Instead, the company returned to stage dressed all in white (except the Narrator, she was in red), and the stage was stripped almost bare save for a light rig upstage center. Singing the "Joseph Megamix", they continued to dance while a variety of light sources and colors bathed the stage. Periodically, groups of cast members would come downstage and bow, and they ended with the whole cast doing that. But, the whole curtain call, to me at least, was about the lighting. Awesome.
