Review
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Grand Opera House
JUST when you need him most he's there in front of your very eyes, handsome and strong, with a wonderful voice and great dress sense. And he brings along his 11 brothers, some dancers and a group of talented children - and there you have it, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The brilliant Alexandra Burke also graces the stage at the Grand Opera House. She takes on a variety of roles but mainly as the narrator of this famous musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
I saw the show in 1991 when Jason Donovan was Joseph and then in the Arts Theatre when The Ulster Actors packed the house night after night.
So I had some idea of what I expected but what I got was unexpected - a rip-roaring production heavy on laughs, a very modern version of the original, but then that's the joy of a well written play or musical, it can be adapted to the director's wishes and never fail.
All the songs are there - Any Dream Will Do; Go, Go, Go Joseph; Close Every Door; and the rest. This production is huge and the staging breathtaking - a lot of money has been invested, and a cast of over 25 fill the stage. Joseph (Jac Yarrow) is immediately likeable, the sets are truly magnificent - especially Pharaoh's court when this Elvis lookalike (Bobby Windebank) is carried in shoulder high by hefty slaves with golden girls dancing in attendance. Flaming torches, fantastic statues join in his telling the story of his dreams and two camels bring a well deserved ripple of applause. Children and adults were mesmerised.
There were no meaningless moments, though some to wonder about, like Joseph appearing in the first scene with Burke and the children showing off his coat of many colours and my disappointment that he didn't end with a vast flowing coat that filled the stage. Instead it's a multi-coloured and glistens in the lights but it's tailored rather than spectacular.
For a traditionalist it was a surprise that there was a full tap routine by the brothers, a hillbilly song and dance, cheer leaders, Cossack dancing. But I was won over.
This is a tremendous night's entertainment, with familiar songs, a top class band with a top class conductor and it's worth saying again that Alexandra Burke knits the whole thing together; she sings and she dances and she has the audience in the palm of her hand.
If you want to cheer yourself up, come away singing and have colours swirling around you on the way home, then you can join Joseph until tomorrow.
:: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is at the Grand Opera House in Belfast until tomorrow. goh.co.uk, 028 9024 1919.
Anne Hailes
