“Any Dream Will Do!’

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat begins and ends with a very talented Youth Choir, setting up the narrative of the childlike innocence of young Joseph when he first appears. Favored by his doting father, Jacob, the boy Joseph eventually angers his nine jealous brothers, and they conspire secretly to get rid of him.

His nefarious siblings sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt and pretend he was killed by a wild beast. The father is bereft and clutches his son’s multi-colored coat and sobs uncontrollably.

Joseph begins to curry favor with the wise Pharaoh by interpreting his many-layered dreams. It seems that our Joseph was born with the gift of a “second sight”—the ability to make sense of the dreams of others and to see into the near future. (Sigmund Freud would have had a field day with this kid!)

Now we see the brothers not faring well and regretting their decision to get rid of their baby brother, and they moan about having to constantly lie to their dear old father. We also witness the rise of Joseph the man in the kind Pharaoh’s eyes and his triumphant return to his homeland. (The Pharaoh’s turn as an Egyptian Elvis impersonator is hilarious!)

And I must take a moment here to applaud all of the amazing songs in this production, many sounding quite familiar to these ears as the dynamic duo of Tim Rice’s lyrics & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music! (Jesus Christ Superstar & The Lion King, just to reference a few!) Very poppy, singable, and yes, danceable, too, by this multi-talented ensemble!

Within this time-honored Biblical parable are found the themes of forgiveness, redemption, and the true meaning of family! Joseph is a very positive, upbeat, feel-good musical for all ages! Another triumph for the North Shore Music Theatre! From now until July 19!

“Dream on, dream on, dream until your dreams come true!”

Story Written By: Peter Grimshaw/Mark Wood
Wood Media/Beverly Patch