Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

I was warned that Hills' Joseph would be “am-dram,” because most of the cast were first- or second-timers. Apparently the lack of experience and training would hinder the enjoyment.

Nonsense.

Yes, most of the cast were making their stage debut, but the raw talent and joy they brought to this show pushed it well over the line. Besides, we all had to start somewhere.  Every person on that stage had personality and talent-plus, despite the relative inexperience. Kidlet Chorus - I’m including you in this too – don’t think you weren’t noticed. More importantly – and it’s a major thing – I felt the cast weren’t just having fun for themselves, but were making a genuine effort to entertain and share the fun with their audience.

However, scattered among the twelve tribes of beginners were some experienced cast who were not at their first hoe-down. This helped a lot.

Melissa Dinning as the Baker and Karen Breeden as the Butler were great to watch and hear, proving that there’s no such thing as a small role. Alan Phillips as Potiphar was suitably upper crust, and also made a good fat cow (and watch the seven fat cows – they were a scene-stealing hoot). Speaking of scene-stealing, the 11 brothers were awesome, and each had their own style well displayed. After seeing too many old-man Jacobs played as either “Tevye” or Charlton Heston’s Moses, it was good to see Dominic Augimeri give the role some originality and fatherly sincerity. Carl Oberg as the Elvis-like Pharoah was spot on, and it was to his credit that he didn’t overdo the Elvis thing but focused on the storytelling. His massive Elvis-quiff wig threatened to upstage him at times but he showed it who was king.

Jordan Anderson was a nice and personable Joseph, and knew when to unleash the diva: when he started singing “I look handsome I look smart” I half expected Madonna to emerge from under that coat and start a vogue-fest. However, I felt he was holding back on his big solo number in Close Every Door, and I would have loved to have heard more from his voice.

The show benefits greatly from the artistic force of nature that is Katrina Shaw as the Narrator. She made this show hers and displayed her usual formidable talents with her presence, timing, and singing. I especially liked her tasteful interpretation of A Pharoah’s Story. 

I wasn’t a fan of the tabled seating, with food and drinks allowed. However, Hills have used this set-up before, so it must work for them.

First-time director Jody Hooker did a great job pulling the show together, and sprinkled it with many funny sight gags, which was all ably supported by Sue Brown’s orchestra. The only one that concerned me – from a public liability point – was Potiphar lobbing a golf ball into the audience (not really a golf ball, but a ball of softer material). This would not be as big a problem if we were seated in conventional rows of theatre seats. However the ball isn’t soft foam, and can knock over bottles and glasses. The Litigation Gods must have visited on opening night, because my Plus One hurt her shoulder (which on top of it all was already injured and receiving physio) when an enthusiastic young audience member knocked her shoulder in trying to catch the ball. Hopefully the Litigation Gods looked the other way at that time.  Top marks too for Jody’s choreography, where the dancers looked great and the non-dancers also looked like they could move convincingly.

There were creases and wrinkles aplenty in this coat, but to iron out these so-called imperfections would rob the show of much of its charm and entertainment.

A lot of fun.

Peter Novakovich