What an absolute delight.<\/p>\n
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice\u2019s (lyrics) second collaboration, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat <\/strong>(1974), originated as a 15-minute cantata written for St. Paul\u2019s Prep School (1968). Expanded into a two-act musical, the work still maintains its boyish charm. This production is another diadem in A.D. Players\u2019 musical crown. From Fiddler, Wizard of Oz, Narnia, to this season\u2019s wow of a production Brother Andrew, this company is on a melodic high. What a way to close out its 59th season.<\/p>\n This music is prime Webber, You hear what\u2019s to come (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard), but what\u2019s also here is his fully-formed style, simple yet rich melody, pastiche numbers (country\/western, calypso, disco, tango, pop), tied to the glee of putting on a show. Rice\u2019s lyrics are also simple, but mighty effective and witty. The entire show is sung-through, the songs are the book, and the childlike wonder is most apparent and lovable, a perfect complement to the Biblical story of Joseph, his trials and tribulations, and ultimate success and forgiveness.<\/p>\n Making his debut, director and choreographer Michael D. Jablonski (he\u2019s welcomed back any time) suffuses the musical with sudden comic surprises just ripe for a child\u2019s imagination \u2013 a singing camel, neon pyramids, pop-up palm trees, stuffed sheep rolled on wheels, inventive and spirited dance routines, and a subtle comic style. The show flows like a picture book \u2013 turn the page and another amazing adventure awaits.<\/p>\n Jablonski is ably abetted by a superb team of backstage wizards: Torsten Lewis on sets, Adriana Lambarri\u2019s rich costumes with their hints of sword-and-sandal movies and Egyptian hieroglyphics, Bryan Nortin\u2019s perfect lighting, Ryan Thornton\u2019s crisp sound design, and the ace musical direction by Jonathan Craft and his impressive 11-member orchestra. The whole package is top-notch.<\/p>\n So is the cast, starting with Daniel Z. Miller, so memorable from his star turn in Brother Andrew. He\u2019s got it all \u2013 solid stage presence, strong pop-Broadway voice, and graceful physical agility. He\u2019s a splendid Joseph: haughty favorite son of Jacob, sold by his jealous brothers into slavery \u2013 twice \u2013 who winds up in Egypt as slave to Potiphar. Thrown into prison after horny Potiphar\u2019s Wife (the sensuous Amber Ward) falsely accuses him, he\u2019s desolate and waiting for a heavenly sign. <\/p>\n As a wily interpreter of dreams, he\u2019s brought before Pharaoh (Ben Travi\u00f1o in his own show-stoppin\u2019, hip-swivelin\u2019 Elvis interpretation), foretells the future, and is made favorite of Pharaoh. When his brothers flee Canaan to Egypt because of famine, they don\u2019t recognize the bejeweled second-in-command. When he sees their honest contrition, he forgives them. They all live happily ever after and sing a \u201cMegamix\u201d during the curtain calls.<\/p>\n To navigate Joseph\u2019s story, there\u2019s a Narrator, the lithe and leather-lunged Courtney Markowitz who keeps the plot lines nice and straight. Although the 11 brothers are not delineated with any individuality, the actors bring them to life through song. Notables: Pantelis Karastamatis. as Simeon. croons the parody of all French torch songs, \u201cThose Canaan Days;\u201d Tyler Rae Lewis (most recently seen as Fat Ham at 4th Wall) soars and struts in the calypso number \u201cBenjamin Calypso;\u201d and Braden Tanner, as Reuben, two-steps nimbly through the honky-tonk \u201cOne More Angel in Heaven.\u201d <\/p>\n There\u2019s also six children who double as the Narrator\u2019s audience. They\u2019re lively little sprites, dancing up a tiny storm, or cooing along to the musical\u2019s signature number, \u201cAny Dream Will Do.\u201d Except for the Narrator, there are no big roles for women, but they double or triple as soldiers, handmaidens, wives, dancers, choristers. Every one of them does this as if in the spotlight. They\u2019re going for it even in the chorus. That\u2019s dedication.<\/p>\n For a family friendly piece of musical theater, Joseph can\u2019t be bettered. Once again, A.D. Players has upped its game. Like its world premiere predecessors Crime and Punishment and Brother Andrew, Joseph, exactly as is, could transfer to Broadway. Who couldn\u2019t use a jolt of childish wonder and songs you can actually remember after the show?<\/p>\n Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat continues through July 19. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays; and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at A.D. Players at the George theater, 5420 Westheimer. For more information, call 713-526-2721 or visit adplayers.org. $10-$85.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What an absolute delight. 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