Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

DIRECTED BY
Tiffany Nichole Greene 

CHOREOGRAPHY BY
Ahmad Simmons

MUSIC DIRECTION BY
Cody Dry 

SCENIC DESIGN
Leah Mazur

COSTUME, WIG, HAIR, & MAKEUP DESIGN
Cole McCarty

LIGHTING DESIGN
Martha Carter

SOUND DESIGN
Cresent Haynes

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS
Laura Elaine Berrios*
Malaisian Ann Parker

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ashley Oliver

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Andrew J. Brown

CASTING
Eisenberg Casting
Daryl Eisenberg, CSA

Starring

Christina Austin Lopez
Kayleigh Banks
Caroline Black
Lakin Black
Miles Cernoch
Zoë Cernoch
Leslie Marie Collins
Sofia DeSena
Christion Dior Draper
Amber Marie Flores
Alexandria Garcia-Morales
Michael Scott Gomez
Victoria N. Gomez
Parker Gray
Lily Hemsath
Kathryn Jacobson
Timmy Lewis

Mark Quach
Jayden Myckala Russell
Jolie Shearer
Lucy Shearer
Ruby Shearer
Tiffany Solano
Aiden Valentine
Esteban Vilchez
Zachary J. Willis
Apollo York-Hudson
Enzo York-Hudson
Katie Meza
Liz Mikel
Stephen Newton
Deanna Ott
Juniper Pirro

My thoughts on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat or…. this dream will most definitely do

Dallas Theater Center’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1973 musical of the biblical story of Joseph opened June 18th with colors flying. Joseph’s tale is told here with opulent splendor. Scenic Designer Leah Mazur’s huge gold toned Middle Eastern inspired floor to ceiling perforated screen dominates the stage. Cole McCarty’s costumes, particularly the turquoise sheaths and gold headdresses worn by the Egyptian women, are outstanding. Martha Carter’s lighting has both Israel and Egypt looking fine and highlights the performers beautifully and Cresent Haynes’ sound design keeps all those Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes coming at us clearly.

Helming the production is Tiffany Nichole Greene and her inventive staging is a joy to watch. Joseph is not a book musical. It’s a series of songs that are all from different musical genres. This gives the director freedom to make many creative choices, and Greene keeps the show lively with her style and wit.

Another reason this show is lively is the incredible choreography of Ahmad Simmons. You know a choreographer is doing something right when you hear buzzing about it at intermission. I wish I had a stronger background in dance to appropriately describe the moves Simmons has the cast performing. Dazzling is not a strong enough word. I talked to many of the happily exhausted cast members after the show and they all praised Simmons. His choreography is almost another character here, enhancing every scene with its stylized, high-spirited vivacity.

What a tough job Joseph must be for a music director. There’s a huge cast to rehearse and there’s no break for book scenes. It’s music wall to wall and Music Director Cody Dry has done a superb job keeping this Joseph sounding first rate. Dry and the band deliver and rock the Wyly with joy.

The story of Joseph and his brothers is narrated by storyteller extraordinaire Tiffany Solano. The narrator is almost constantly on stage introducing characters, commenting on the action, and often joining in the dances. She also occasionally serves as a shepherd for the Children’s Chorus who bring the wide-eyed wonder of childhood to the show. Solano, in one of McCarty’s most striking costumes and looking more glamourous than any narrator I’ve seen in previous productions, has an incredibly sweet soprano voice that makes her narrator next level as she weaves together the tale.

Liz Mikel. Anytime I see her name on a cast list, I know I’m in for a treat and, in this production, make that two treats as Mikel plays two roles. As Jacob, Mikel in long gray locks, is the father of Joseph and the brothers, and Mikel captures both the grief and the joy of the character. But it’s as the bedecked in black from head to toe Pharoah, that Mikel gets to raise the rafters and bring down the house singing “Song of the King” Elvis style. That Mikel magic is undeniable.

I wish the program furnished a list of which actors are featured vocalists in the songs as there were many excellent performances throughout the evening. I apologize for not knowing where credit is due, but I enjoyed every song from start to finish. “One More Angel in Heaven” was especially entertaining and a rip-roaring hoedown.

I did recognize the glorious voice of Christion Dior Draper as Potiphar and Amber Marie Flores as his sexy seductress of a wife. Aiden Valentine and Timmy Lewis are excellent as the Butler and Baker who have Joseph decipher their dreams. Parker Gray, who plays brother Asher, is hilarious as the angst ridden, cigarette puffing Frenchman lamenting his desperate situation. “No one comes to dinner now. We’d only eat them anyhow,” he bemoans in “Those Canaan Days.” That song also features Draper holding a note longer than I thought humanly possible and an appearance by Christina Austin Lopez as a sensual, baguette toting Apache dancer.

One major change that Director Greene made was to make the song “Benjamin’s Calypso,” usually a rousing Jamaican flavored production number into a plaintive, heartfelt plea touchingly sung and well acted by Jayden Myckala Russell.

“Strange as it seems, there’s been a run of crazy dreams and a man who could interpret could go far, could become a star” go the lyrics and Zachary J. Willis as Joseph is a bright, bright star. Willis, a world class actor/singer/dancer, gives Joseph heart and soul. His stirring “Close Every Door’ is a highlight of the show and his winning demeanor and ready smile make his Joseph a most appealing character. In short, Willis’s dreamer is a dream.

Dallas Theater Center’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an opulent, rousing, heartwarming good time filled with great music and dynamite dancing. You need to go! go! go! as you may never see Joseph so spectacularly produced again.