Theatre Harrisburg continues its 97th season with a comically rollicking musical about the twelve tribes of Israel, written by Tim Rice (lyrics), Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Moses (yes, THAT Moses).
Whether you have already seen “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” onstage, any of the movie or television adaptations, or even just Cosmo Kramer strutting through Manhattan while wearing the dreamcoat during a Seinfeld episode, it’s absolutely worth re-visiting to see Theatre Harrisburg’s talented cast sing you Joseph’s story. Director Kristi Ondo and Musical Director Matt Topping maximize the show’s inherent silliness while bringing out the clever.
The story of Jacob’s (Joel Sattazahn) favorite son Joseph (Jeremiah Joel) is set sometime between 2000 and 1600 B.C., but the various music and dancing styles in the play are decidedly 20th century (choreography by Lexi Fazzolari). The story tracks closely to how Moses wrote it in the Book of Genesis. In much the same way Joseph’s coat is patch-worked together from many colors and styles, his life story is set to musical genre arrays that would not otherwise fit together in one space.
Standout musical numbers:
Donning a cowboy hat, Reuben (Sam Krepps) croons “One More Angel in Heaven” (look out, Garth), while his heathen brothers are yee-hawing and line dancing a boot-scootin’ boogie, celebrating the sale of Joseph to the Egyptians. When a weeping Jacob walks back onstage, the music flips to a somber blues number. As soon as Jacob exits stage left, the hoedown is back on.
As Vegas-era Elvis, complete with blue suede shoes coated with sequins, Pharoah (Joseph Chubb) delivers a soulful doo-wop performance of “Poor, Poor Pharoah/Song of the King.” Throwing trajectories of sweat from his forehead onto his groupies lent authenticity to the rock star persona.
The pseudo-French song “Those Canaan Days” had me laughing the hardest. Sung by Jacob’s 11 sons (Sattazahn, Chubb, Krepps, Topping, Andrew Williams, Colvin, Graham Lewis, Tommy Dougherty, Mitchell Young, Francis Dy, Aidan Lacey, and Zacariah Roush) in French accents with intentionally clumsy ballet and flamenco dancing, the singers hang a lovely tenor harmony in the air, sandwiched between oh-so many comedic bits.
In the burlesque number “Potiphar,” Potiphar (Sattazahn) catches Joseph in a compromising shower scene with Mrs. Potiphar (Tori Levine). This is a family show, so the scene is tasteful and PG-rated.
In “Any Dream Will Do,” Jeremiah Joel sang in the beginning of the show in an understated, shoulder-shrugging way, giving the song an “aw, shucks” feel to it. In the reprisal, his voice sounded more confident, full of maturity, of someone who has lived to tell.
Providing the continuity in the story, Beth Darowish (Narrator) projects her strong mezzo-soprano voice. I suspect she would have been able to propel it to the back of the theater, even without a microphone.
The only snag in the fabric of this otherwise fun and flowing show was the ch-chunk in the middle of the action when the actors stopped everything to insert the donation request between songs. While asking for money is as customarily uncomfortable as being asked for money, the abrupt halt made the moment even more so. I much prefer the “Oh, by the way” while everyone is standing in the seating rows, clapping for the finale, and then the actors rush to the lobby with collection baskets.
But in the same breath, the disjointedness of the play’s elements—the diverse musical styles, the wonky dancing slapstick, the humor in the tiniest details—are what weave this performance together to make it so memorable. I mean, where else does a cheerleading pep rally song, the rousing “Go, Go, Go Joseph,” come before and after a steel drum-laden song called “Benjamin Calypso?”
There’s also a jazzy, swingy, brassy, Joseph-y number ear-worming its way through my brain since I left the theater. I may have to see the show again so I can learn the words.
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” runs through Nov. 20 at Whitaker Center, 222 Market St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.theatreharrisburg.com.
