{"id":89436,"date":"2026-07-17T10:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=89436"},"modified":"2026-07-17T10:25:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:25:37","slug":"musical-theatre-wests-glitzy-joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat-has-younger-audiences-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/musical-theatre-wests-glitzy-joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat-has-younger-audiences-in-mind","title":{"rendered":"Musical Theatre West\u2019s glitzy ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ has younger audiences in mind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Musical Theatre West\u2019s updated<\/a> rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice\u2019s 1968 musical \u201cJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat\u201d is as flashy and colorful as its title suggests, thanks to glitzy costuming by Adam Ramirez and Geovanni Virella-Torres and dynamic lighting by Jared Sayeg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As directed by Larry Raben, it\u2019s also built around visual cues that younger audiences might appreciate \u2014 Beyonc\u00e9, Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake and Lady Gaga are just some of the more modern musical references woven into the choreography and optics (which sometimes border on risqu\u00e9, and includes random hand-puppets at one point), even as the story and songs remain true to the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is the biblical tale of Joseph\u2019s journey from slavery to dream interpreter and powerful minister told in a pastiche of musical styles, sustained by the energy and enthusiasm of its youthful ensemble. They execute Corey Wright\u2019s creative choreography with verve and aplomb (look those words up, kids) \u2014 from the rah-rah \u201cGo, Go, Go Joseph\u201d to precisely coordinated dance moves in \u201cSong of the King.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Scene from Musical Theatre West’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Photo by Jason Niedle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Joseph\u2019s eleven brothers also perform with great chemistry as a group, their camaraderie palpable, especially in the French-ballad parody \u201cThose Canaan Days\u201d but also in the Western-inspired \u201cOne More Angel in Heaven\/Hoedown\u201d \u2014 dancing with their wives believing they\u2019ve killed brother Joseph out of jealousy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broadway performer Brian Justin Crum inhabits the title role of Joseph with grace and a powerful voice. However, with some of the songs seemingly slowed down and inflected differently \u2014 perhaps for a more modern cadence \u2014 Joseph\u2019s more important lyrics don\u2019t necessarily come across, especially in the pivotal \u201cClose Every Door\u201d but even in the earlier \u201cJoseph\u2019s Coat\u201d and \u201cJoseph\u2019s Dreams,\u201d sung with the richly voiced Daebreon Poiema as Narrator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The same is true of Pharaoh\u2019s (Kenneth Mosely) song about his dream, sung in the style of Elvis channeled through Bruno Mars, in which the word \u201ccow\u201d is practically the only one that comes across clearly. Hopefully this is an issue with sound that will get ironed out as the run continues, especially because the story and its emotions depend on the lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With less of an affective pull, the show may rely on surface-level visuals to appeal to all audiences, including the TikTok generation, rather than also offering a more immersive emotional experience \u2014 in this case, a relatable story of feeling abandoned by family, humiliated and utterly lost and then having the tables turned \u2014 that might draw them back for future productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Scene from Musical Theatre West’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Photo by Jason Niedle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What does come across loud and clear in this production, though, is the sheer dynamism of this cast of about 50 performers, accompanied by an excellent live band at the back of the stage led by Anthony Zediker. That rocking music and colorful costuming, lighting, choreography and vocals explode in a \u201cMegamix\u201d finale that allows the entire cast to shine brightly \u2014 a dream experience for any audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musical Theatre West\u2019s \u201cJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat\u201d continues through July 26 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center,<\/em> 6200 E. Atherton St., with shows Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at 562-856-1999 or visit <\/em>Musical.org<\/em><\/a>. Student rush tickets are $15 with valid ID at the box office one hour prior to each show. <\/em>Run time is 1 hour and 50 minutes, including intermission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beyonc\u00e9, Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake and Lady Gaga are just some of the more modern musical references woven into the choreography and optics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":89438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-89436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89442,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89436\/revisions\/89442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89436"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=89436"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=89436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}