THEATRE REVIEW: Electrifying Dreamcoat presented by Royal City
Rob Grundy
(left) as Joseph, Karen Allen (centre) as Mrs. Potiphar and Brad
Quinn as the Pharaoh star in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat.
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The Royal City Musical Productions version of Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat -- which opened on Wednesday at Guelph's River
Run Centre -- is, in a word, spectacular.
That applies to the acting, the dancing, the singing, the sets,
the costumes, the lighting, the energy and the fun.
Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Joseph is a very loose
take on the biblical tale of the favoured son, with his coat-of-many-colours,
being sold as a slave by jealous brothers, then rising to prominence
in the service of Egypt's Pharaoh and eventually getting his own back
on his siblings.
This Joseph, however, is like watching a live-action version of
a Disney cartoon, with all of the gags, asides, double entendres and
slapstick worked into a fast-paced show that never lets the energy
level drop for a second -- it just keeps going and going like a Duracell
battery.
I was first struck by the children's chorus. It is full-voiced,
with a big sound and a hard edge on the tone that fills the theatre.
No polite choral sounds here -- this is gutsy, the way real kids are,
but it's perfectly in tune, together and accurate
Joseph, played by Rob Grundy, is certainly a match for Donny Osmond.
Good vocal sound, excellent range, handsome young fellow either with
his shirt on or off (the ladies enjoy this part), and he does one
of the hardest things an actor can do -- play a really nice guy and
make it believable.
Grundy handles the big songs, Any Dream Will Do and Close Every
Door, with an assured, easy sound worthy of any professional singer.
It's hard to pick standouts in this outstanding ensemble, but the
two Narrators, No. 1 played by Sara Martin and No. 2 played by Danielle
Guistini, are exceptional. Their voices match so closely that you
have to look to see which one is singing, and their sound, power and
range is a constant throughout the performance. Since they provide
the continuity from beginning to end, they figure in many of the songs.
Joseph's brothers are a constant source of amusement. They enter
on scooters, inline skates and a pogo stick, and they cavort through
the musical like a real bunch of guys. But when they get down to business
and sing, well, look out! What a great sound big, strong, dead in
tune -- no holding back here.
The bit in the first act where they do the country-and-western
routine and in act two dress in drag as dance hall girls brings the
house down.
Three of them have standout solo parts: Dale Brubacher-Cressman
as Nepthali, Jamie Kovarik as Reuben and Lance Green as Levi, and
the rest are Robert Brown, Dave Gingerich, Drew Henry, Brian Kovach,
Lucas Nightingale, Eric Soehner, Terry Millie and Chris Steingart.
The Pharaoh, played by Brad Quinn, is something else. Quinn does
an Elvis take on the Pharaoh (it's in the script) and he is as good
as any Elvis I've seen, and sounds better than most. Very fitting
for The King to play the Pharaoh of Egypt, don't you think? Quinn
has the audience in stitches.
Space limits what I can say, and it's a pity, for even the smaller
roles are full of humour and well done.
The guiding force behind this production is undoubtedly Lisa Hagen,
who is both director and musical director, plus co-designer of the
marvellous sets with Brent Roth, right down to Joseph's winged chariot.
This show is a triumph for Hagen.
The dancers are superb, appearing through the sequences like sparkling
gems, with choreography by Marion Guyatt, and dazzling costumes by
Liz Scott.
The orchestra, as good as it was, tended to be a little heavy on
the keyboards, covering the wind instruments at times. Fortunately,
it never blocked the voices, which are well miked.
My biggest gripe is the program. It is poorly designed with too
much prominence given to the executive and board of directors of RCMP
Inc. and not enough to the folks who put on the show. The musicians
are omitted, for example.
STAGE
Who: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Where: River Run Centre, Guelph
Day: Through Sunday
Time: 8 tonight, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $22, $18 students, seniors
Phone: 763-3000
