Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

[smallhobbit]

A few weeks ago TD decided we needed to go and see Joseph for her birthday.  So, being a well-trained mother I agreed and on Friday we both went up to London, where she had a quick trip to Primark, I took her out for a meal, and then we went to the Palladium Theatre.

This is a revamped production, portrayed slightly differently, but the songs are the same.  The children are more involved in the story telling rather than simply being a choir on the side.  There's plenty of glamour, and dance, and colour, and everything which one would expect.  Although I saw an amateur production very many years ago, I've never actually seen a professional performance, so I'm not able to say how this compares to the original.

Sheridan Smith is the Narrator and she was good.  She veered slightly towards the pantomime type, which isn't to my taste, and I felt she dominated all the scenes she was in, even when she wasn't the central character, but that I think may be personal preference.  TD enjoyed her greatly.  She was very good with the children - it was only the second preview, so for the children would have been their first - and the Brownie leader in me spotted when she gently moved one or two of them into the right position, so I'm fully impressed by that.

Jason Donovan plays Pharoah.  He hammed it up a bit, which was fine.  I definitely got the impression of 'I know I'm a big name, so let's have fun with it', but he didn't dominate when it was Joseph's turn. 

Jac Yarrow was cast straight out of drama school as Joseph.  Any doubts I had at that were quickly dispersed - he was very good.  His first few songs were good, but when it came to 'Close Every Door' he was amazing, conveying all the emotions.

I really enjoyed the production - TD was delighted with her birthday present.  I bought her a t-shirt and she bought herself a camel.

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Glad you had a good weekend!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. I shall be writing about the Exhibition Road Festival next week - there was a lot to see and do.

[angelofthenorth]

I remember when Jason Donovan was Joseph!

[smallhobbit]

So do I! It turns out that was the year TD was born!

[rachelindeed]

Aw, I find "Joseph" a pretty adorable musical, I'm glad you enjoyed this production! I've only seen it once on stage, and it definitely veered toward pantomime (I think the source material invites that, tbh), but I'm glad to hear the lead actor was able to become more serious and emotional when needed :)

[smallhobbit]

Yes, it was a good production - which it should be, being in a major London theatre. And Jac Yarrow was great, full of life throughout, which meant Close Every Door made such a well done contrast.

[solosundance]

Ah, my sister's favourite musical! What fun to see Jason Donovan. Glad it was enjoyable!

[smallhobbit]

Is she hoping to see this production? Yes, I'm quite pleased to be able to tick off 'seen Jason Donovan', on my list of things I've done.

[scfrankles]

...and she bought herself a camel. Of course, of course... (^___^)

I love that little bit regarding Sheridan Smith gently shepherding the children into place - it's very sweet and very admirable.

[smallhobbit]

She is my daughter after all!

And she clearly had such a good rapport with them they just followed her lead.

[aome]

Joseph is one of my favourite musicals - I'm glad you enjoyed the production! (And happy belated bday to TD. :) )

[smallhobbit]

I was pleased to have seen a professional production - it is fun.

TD had a good birthday - she went bowling with friends on the day, and then had a day with me (I'm so pleased she still wants to do that) and managed to get me to buy her more clothes than I'd planned - which is an occupational hazard I feel!

[corvidology]

I hope the camel turns out to be good tempered... :D

I performed in a version of this back in my drama degree days but I've never seen it performed otherwise. Glad to hear the revival sounds fun and that a newbie got a crack at Joseph.

[smallhobbit]

It's going to live with a unicorn so I imagine it will be. It's been named Alice after the Brownie song 'Alice the Camel'.

I was very pleased to have seen it - I preferred the older style musicals, but this was really good. Having a newbie might have been a risk (the tickets are so expensive they need to be sure of selling them) but he was very good.

[adafrog]

TD was delighted with her birthday present. I bought her a t-shirt and she bought herself a camel.
I love this.

[smallhobbit]

Sums up my daughter very well!

[debriswoman]

Sounds like an excellent trip:-)

[smallhobbit]

It was - two great days!

[tripleransom]

you do know that Jeremy Brett's SO, Gary Bond, starred in the original production, didn't you? Apparently, he was rather fond of wearing the coat around London also.

[smallhobbit]

No, I wasn't aware of that. I can't imagine anyone wearing the new coat anywhere but on stage - it doesn't look that comfortable.

[tripleransom]

Here you go: I can't figure out how to load pics in a reply, so this is a link to the image on my lj.That old dude is giving him such a funny look.

https://tripleransom.livejournal.com/72202.html

There is also a link to a youtube vid of him in the production

[smallhobbit]

That's very much a coat of its day. The old dude is a Chelsea Pensioner - lives at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, which is a home for ex-servicemen.

I've added a picture of Jac Yarrow into the main post, it's the best pic I can find to show some of the coat.