When first this cute retelling of the Genesis tale of Joseph and his eleven brothers was performed, it was in 1967 as a 25 minute-long pastiche musical written by classmates Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Through the years, more songs of differing styles have been added to extend the musical, until it became a two-act presentation that ran on Broadway for 747 performances in the early 80s. The use of many differing song styles, from Country Western through Elvis-inspired rock to Traditional Jewish, made for an entertaining evening. It may not have had much connection to the material, but did make it fun. In Mesa Encore Theatre's current production, Producer/Director/Musical Director/Set, Light, and co-Costume Designer T. John Weltzien has chosen to graft on differing traditional and modern stories and characters. The result is a mish-mash of an offering that is high on energy, flash, pizzazz, and moxie, while making its audience confused, perplexed, and even a bit tired in the process.
Where else does Joseph... open with the cast of Peter Pan or feature the Rat Pack singing a French song? Potiphar's number has been transported to a tap dancing version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, while three of the cast of The Wizard of Oz fill the Ishmalite roles. Many of these choices are ill advised and disjointed, though some of them are quite funny, such as a West Side Story riff that suddenly pops while the brothers scheme Joseph's demise, and an enthused Dolly Parton who bounces around the stage during "One More Angel in Heaven." Mr. Weltzien has mixed a concoction that is fun and flummoxing all at once. In turning the show into a spectacle, the quiet moments and emotional peaks are lost in the melee. Sometimes, the evening feels like it is less about the performances, and more about the extended hodgepodge of lush and random-period costumes by Weltzien and Timothy Slope.
The cast of 29 barely fits on the small stage, overwhelming the audience visually. The result is highly detrimental to the talented Thomas Bigley, whose Joseph must often compete with enthusiastically performing brothers, wives, and munchkins, drawing the eye away from his earnest and well-sung portrayal. The narrator role is inexplicably cleaved in twain. Johanna Carlisle proves a wonderful surprise once again by exhibiting a high belter register that I had not heard prior. She outshines her counterpart, Lisandra DuFort, whose tremulous soprano voice is hard to hear and occasionally sharp. Besides doing nearly every other job behind the scenes, Weltzien also performs three featured roles, including the coveted Elvis-fashioned Pharaoh. While he milks it for every drop, he also inexplicably includes Maxx Carlisle to be his "Mini-Pharaoh," which is just one step too close to pandering for my taste.
The varied mix of styles gives choreographer Rachel Cohen a chance to experiment, and she does a great job of throwing everything in, from a small modern dance sequence to a Cabaret-inspired chair dance for the brothers that is quite enjoyable. Overall, the ensemble is able to handle the intense dancing and singing chores. While they are very successful in such numbers as "Joseph's Coat" and "Song of the King," they suddenly lose steam in the disturbingly anti-climactic first act finale of "Go Go Go Joseph." The version of this show that has been cobbled together has some awful orchestrations that involve odd harmonies, especially for the brothers in "Joseph's Dream." The two-and-a-half person band (Jenica Davis on Piano, Robert Biggs on Drums, and a featured Clarinet solo by Joseph Roberts) is not terribly impressive, although Roberts onstage playing-while-dancing solo is worthy of kudos.
Weltzien's lighting is a sparse, jury-rigged affair. Many times, leads sang in darkness on the apron while the ensemble was dimly lit. His basic set fortunately offers many levels for performing, although the jail bars single handedly ruin the biggest emotional moment of the show by having Bigley sing "Close Every Door" while hidden behind closely-spaced bars in awkward shadows.
Despite all of my criticism, and more left unmentioned for lack of space, in the end, I sort of enjoyed myself. While the anal-retentive in me screamed about the slew of unnecessary choices made for the sake of choice rather than for advancing the show, the easy-going part of me couldn't help but smile at the obvious fun the ensemble was having.
Production Details:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Tim
Rice
Mesa Encore Theatre
The Mesa Arts Center
(480) 834-9500 (option 1)
March 8th - 24th, 2002