Joseph Opens July 12

Release Date: 7/8/2002. Expired: 7/21/2002

The story of Joseph and his brothers and his rise from slave to fave of the Pharaoh in Egypt comes to life at The Renaissance Center when the center’s Renaissance Players present Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat July 12-21.

This international musical sensation from the famous writing team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (Really Useful Group) retells the story of Joseph and his gift for prophetic dreams. The Renaissance Players’ fun and very hip interpretation of the musical introduces the audience to Joseph’s family, the multi-colored coat he was given by his father, and carries through to Joseph’s trials in Egypt and his subsequent rise within the Pharaoh’s court.

Along with the opening of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be a gala marking the creation of the Renaissance Players, the center’s new troupe of community members who will provide the nucleus for community theatre productions, both on-stage and behind the scenes.

Staging the musical production is a monumental task for director Hal Partlow, Renaissance Repertory Company managing director. Helping him are numerous staff members from The Renaissance Center and several community members. Repertory Company member Alix McEachern Jones choreographs the show. The Children’s Choir is under the direction of Jenny Diamond, adjunct music faculty member. The show’s band is currently rehearsing under the direction of Darin Cochran, another adjunct in the music department. Kim Cantu, an active community theatre member, is stage-managing the production. Ray Dryden, assistant technical director at the center, is in charge of the sound, and Emmy Award winning Robert Cooper is designing the set.

“Joseph is a great show to kick off the formation of the Renaissance Players because it involves so many people in a wonderful production,” Partlow said. “This show is truly a team effort to bring together the acting, singing, dancing, orchestration and choirs on stage as well as a great set from the Toy Shop and a lot of behind-the-scenes work during each performance.”

For musical director Harvey Earls, director of piano studies, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an event. With 18 song and dance numbers in the production and a cast of more than 65 adults and children, it’s the largest production he’s ever worked with. Add the orchestra and there will be about 80 people on the Performance Hall stage.

The musical score for Joseph includes ballads, disco, Jamaican, royal rhapsodies in the grand court of Egypt, some country music and even an Elvis Presley styled song. The challenge in such a diverse score, Earls said, is interpreting all of the musical arrangements. He said the show has been revised several times over the years from its original arrangement as a 15-minute cantata for British school children.

In 1967 Webber was asked to write a “pop cantata” for the school choir Easter performance at St. Paul’s Junior School. Webber asked Rice to write the lyrics and the team considered ideas about spies along the lines of James Bond before Rice suggested the story of Joseph. The cantata was such a hit it was performed again and in the crowd was a pop critic for The Sunday Times who wrote a favorable review. That review then prompted Decca records to release an album of the St. Paul performance, which also got good reviews.

Webber and Rice found financial backing that allowed them to continue developing the show. Inspired by the success of the Bible-based program, the pair went on to write Jesus Christ Superstar, which became an international sensation. This success allowed the team to continue developing a Joseph musical. It was presented in various forms for almost 20 years, each time something new being added, until the current version debuted in the London Palladium in 1991 and played before 2 million people over a 2-year period.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opens July 12 and runs weekends through July 21. Friday and Saturday performances are 7 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 adults, $8 seniors and $5 children under 13.

For more information or to reserve tickets call The Renaissance Center at (615)740-5600.

The Renaissance Center is located at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 minutes west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

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