Theater review: ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ offers visual dazzle in Clovis
By Donald Munro
Like a bright and garish comet that sails around the sun every few years, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” seems to rotate into my life on a regular basis.
I’m well aware that some theater critics would rather do anything else – anything, like work on their taxes or sift through the litter box by hand – than see the show again. Not me. I have always had a soft spot for the juvenile antics of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in this over-the-top musical. (And juvenile is not meant as a pejorative; they were high-school boys when they wrote it.)
The CenterStage Clovis Community Theater production of “Joseph,” which plays two more performances at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District Auditorium, delivers the bright colors, eye-popping costumes and over-the-top exuberance that audiences have come to love and expect from this boppy musical. Most impressive are the scenic/production design, the ensemble vocals, and the ability of co-directors Darren Tharp and Kellerie Aldape to fit the 12 most famous brothers in the Old Testament – and their wives! – onto the tiny Veterans Memorial stage. In terms of community theater excellence, the choreography and ensemble dancing is weaker on the scale.
Melinda Salcido, as the Narrator, brings beautiful vocals to her pivotal role. In many productions, the character often ends up acting and sounding like a perky game-show host, but Salcido ‘s portrayal has more of a smoky, sardonic tinge. It works nicely to cut some of the inherent super-sweetness of the material. Diego Sosa is a fierce and effective Joseph, delivering as much angst, passion and humor that the narrative allows – although his singing hit a few rough spots in terms of pitch in his big belt-out number, “Close Every Door,” at the performance I attended.
Michael Lollis, as Reuben, nicely twangs his way through “One More Angel in Heaven.” Jonathan Silva, as Judah, is another brother standout in a very strong “Benjamin Calypso,” as is Christopher Hoffman, as Simeon, in “Those Canaan Days.” In terms of dancing (and overall stage presence), Yzabella Huerta Moultrie shines, along with Erin Roberts’ choreography.
“Joseph” is made of big moments, and the unveiling of the Pharaoh is at the top of the list. I really like the the way the co-directors make the most of it. It might be my favorite out of all the productions I’ve seen. (And that includes a Broadway national tour that involved a pyramid and laser-light show.) Dan Aldape is terrific in his show-stopping number, offering us a characterization that could be termed Pompadour Past Its Prime.
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Another pivotal moment is the first-act finale, “Go, Go, Go Joseph,” a cheery earworm of a piece that always burrows into my brain for a day or two following a show. In this case, the stage explodes in a paisley disco theme with some pom-pons thrown in; it’s as if Austin Powers swaggered into a Sunday School class and said, “Hey baby, how’s Genesis?”
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Dan Aldape does quadruple duty in the show. Besides playing Pharaoh, he’s the lighting, sound and production designer. Of those three, only the sound design wobbled at the production I saw; the fine live band overwhelmed the vocalists at times, and, overall, the show was just too loud. (Ear-splitting a couple of times).
The projection and lighting design, however, is triumphant. Technology and Aldape’s creativity have taken a huge leap even from last year’s production of “Once.” Using moving panels and a dizzying array of moving and still images, the show pulses with a hard-driving forward momentum that never loses its visual vigor. Flitting from photographic realism to stylized artwork, the effect is remarkable.
Perhaps just as remarkable is the fact that I’ve seen this show at least a dozen times and can still get caught up in its simple, tuneful, mirthful optimism. (Well, except for the Baker, whose fate is, well, baked in.) This is, after all, the show with my worst favorite lyric ever:
“Greatest man since Noah / Only goes to show-a / Anyone from anywhere can make it if they get a lucky break.”
I smile and love it every time.
