Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Bill Kenwright breathes new life into Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is now touring the UK. The world-famous musical continues its tour, with an estimated 15 million tickets sold to date.
The musical is a retelling of the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. The longest-running musical in the UK, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat features a score of riveting songs, including “Any Dream Will Do” and “Those Canaan Days.”
The story is told through song with the help of the Narrator, the main character.
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, after which he falls into favor with Potiphar, an Egyptian noble. When Joseph refuses advances from Potiphar’s wife, he is thrown in jail. While in prison, he learns how to interpret dreams, and soon finds himself in front of the Pharaoh.
When his solution to Egypt’s famine proves successful, Joseph becomes the Pharoah’s right-hand man and is reunited with his family.
The musical was first presented as Joseph, and ran for just 20 minutes as a pop cantata at Colet Court in 1968. After a successful debut, a second performance was arranged at Westminster Central Hall with an expanded and revised format. A music critic for the Sunday Times was in the audience, and wrote a positive review of the performance.
The musical had expanded to 35 minutes by the time of its third performance at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Since its debut, the musical has had several revivals on West End, Broadway and on tour.
Back on tour in the UK, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’s cast includes:
- Joe McElderry, winner of The X Factor, as Joseph. Joe played in the 2016 production of Joseph in his title-role debut and his first major theatrical performance.
- Lucy Kay, Britain’s Got Talent contestant, is the Narrator. The successful singer is known for the song “Flower of Scotland.” Her debut album Fantasia shot to number one on the Classical Album Chart.
- Benjamin James-Ellis, a semi-finalist on Any Dream Will Do. Benjamin’s theatre credits include Hairspray and Dirty Dancing.
The show’s cast is completed by:
- Sallie-Beth Lawless
- Henry Metcalfe
- Amana Jones
- Matt Jolly
- Lloyd Green
- Darren Charles
- Richard J Hunt
- Matthew McCabe
- Michael Colbourne
- Michael Lapham
- George Knapper
- Will Breckin
- Gemma Pipe
- Kevin Grogan
The December run of the show will be shown at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle from 19 December through 31 December.