The Broadway hit “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” opened last week at Theatre 29 and will run Friday, Saturday, and Sundays through September 17. I attended the opening weekend’s Saturday night performance. Under the skilled direction of Rebecca Havely, the big, bright, energetic show featured an ensemble cast moving smoothly through clever multiple stages and settings as the Bible-based story of Joseph—impressively played with a big presence and powerful voice by Jericho McWilliams—is told in song. Some of the standouts in the strong group of team players were Scott Clinkscales and Annalisa Pilecki, pleasant, smooth, and right on pitch as the narrators; a well-voiced and campy takeoff on Elvis by Ben Bees; and nice cameos by Kelly Ames and Joe Rego. Choreographer Sarah Fleischman skillfully molded the players into a series of effective and entertaining production numbers. Managing editor Tami Roleff attended the Friday gala opening night and joins in with her impressions of the show…
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” a musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, tells the Biblical story about Joseph, who is given a colorful coat by his father. Joseph’s 11 brothers are jealous, and sell him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams finds him favor with the Pharaoh, and he becomes powerful in his own right. Director Rebecca Havely cast Scott Clinkscales and the amazing and outstanding Analisa Pilecki, as the musical’s narrators. Pilecki is also the musical director. Several children who participated in the theater’s summer youth program deserve accolades, including Adonai Patu as Joseph’s youngest brother Benjamin, and Patricia Zuniga, whose tango was very well done. The musical is filled with catchy tunes and a mash up of country hoe down, calypso, a French torch song, and even Elvis. Tickets for “Joseph” are $10 to $15 and are available at the box office or by calling 760-361-4151.
The skilled ensemble cast also includes, Cruz Jimenez, Cathy Inscore, Malcolm Stanley-Wolfe, Yvonna Mullen, Britney Vachon-LaGuardia, Robert Ames, Jessie Scheckler, Jacob Giannini, Kylie Robinson, Ashley Peacock, Sabrina Luff, Jasmine Jillson, Emily Sheckler, Liyan Lagevardi, Nena Jimenez and Lloyd Tilch.
