John Pinto Jr. and Cast

The Maltz Jupiter Theater presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This much loved musical features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, in one of their first collaborations. The pair would go on to write Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita together before continuing their careers separately.

Joseph is a retelling of the Old Testament story of Jacob and his twelve sons. Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. They deceive their father into believing Joseph is dead. Far away in Egypt, Joseph is thrown into jail after the Potiphar misunderstands his servant Joseph's intentions toward the Potiphar's wife. In time, Joseph's ability to foretell the future through interpreting dreams finds him in good favor with the Pharaoh. He is released from prison to become one of the highest ranking officials of Egypt. Years later, his now destitute brothers come to Egypt seeking the help of this official not knowing his true identity. He reveals himself only after testing their loyalty to one another after falsely accusing one of them of theft. Jacob and all of his sons are happily reunited at the end of the story.

The musicians on and off stage provide a wonderfully full sound for this production at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. In the words of Artistic Director Andrew Kato, the seven-piece band does indeed sound like nearly twenty. The Maltz has perhaps made the show even more inviting to some audience members by including a chorus of nearly thirty children in each performance. They actually cast eight choruses of children, and will be rotating these choruses at each performance. Their moments on stage are isolated but valuable ones and, on the night attended, their faces were alive with the joy of being a part of this whimsical production.

The eclectic musical styles of the songs in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat lead to clever choreographic, costuming and cameo character moments throughout the show. A country music style "One More Angel In Heaven" (led by Dennis O'Bannion) includes a hoedown between cowboys and dance-hall girls. "Go, Go, Go Joseph" features the cast dancing in the hippest 1960s inspired attire, and "Benjamin Calypso" showcases a Harry Belafonte style crooner and Calypso line dance.

Stand-out performances are given by Ben Liebert as Reuben in a very French version of "Those Canaan Days" and a hunky Ryan Williams as the Elvis-like Pharaoh in "Song of the King." A beret-clad Liebert controls both the comic and musical beats of his number admirably all the while rolling his r's and pensively smoking his cigarette. With muscles flexed and oiled, Williams works the audience shamelessly to full affect, and still manages to actually sing the song well and be funny at the same time.

The production features imaginative costumes, colorful sets, carefully executed lighting, sound and music, and an extraordinarily strong supporting cast. The supporting cast is so strong, in fact, that Jodie Langel as the Narrator is rather bland by comparison. She sings the role well, but we never get a clear concept of her character; and we don't know her any better at the end of the show than we did at the beginning. With an impressive performance resume, it is disappointing not to get to see more of her talent at work in this particular role.

While Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat is by nature a sweet and happy show, this production is cloyingly sweet. Some moments feel lifted right out of a theme park revue. The actor playing Joseph, John Pinto, Jr., is undeniably talented, but directed to seem very, very young—and emotional and mentally rather simple. In one of the finest musical moments in the show, Pinto, after Joseph is thrown into prison, sings "Close Every Door" gloriously. As an actor he is robbed by the direction he has been given, however, as the juvenile nature of the character so diminishes the anguish of the moment. Joseph never really becomes a man in this version, despite the fact that he would've been about 40 when his brothers came to Egypt. His facial reactions range between the ever ready mile-wide smile, and the stern pout he had as a youth at the start of the show. One may assume that the aim was to keep the character and therefore the show as light-hearted and breezy as possible, but there has to be conflict and suffering for there to be a hero.

The song at the end of the show, "Any Dream Will Do," becomes a launching pad for a finale of epic proportions entitled "Joseph Megamix." With the musical feel of a contemporary dance club, the cast (all dressed in white) performs mini-reprises of the show's songs to high energy choreography reserved just for the finale. All of this ends just in time to see Joseph's fabled coat of many colors spread out to nearly the entire size of the stage. It provides a rousing ending to this pleasingly family-friendly show.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat originally premiered as a 30-minute rock cantata in 1968 before being reshaped and professionally staged as a musical in 1972. It opened at the Royale Theatre on Broadway in 1982, starring Laurie Beechman as the Narrator, and received eight Tony Award nominations, going on to play for 747 performances. It was revived on Broadway in 1993 at the Minskoff Theatre for an additional 231 performances. A London revival also mounted in 1993 starred Jason Donovan, and later Donny Osmond as Joseph. Osmond's performance of was filmed and released on DVD.

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has received three Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, an Oscar, an International Emmy, a Golden Globe Award, six Olivier Awards, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006. His works include thirteen musicals, two film scores, one song cycle, a set of variations, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Lyricist Tim Rice went on to write the lyrics for the musicals Chess and The Lion King (with Elton John's music). He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award in 1993 for the song "A Whole New World" from the film Aladdin.

This production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be appearing at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre through December 18, 2011. The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is a 550-seat, nonprofit, community-based Equity regional theatre belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, and the Florida Professional Theatre Association. This theatre employees both local and non-local Equity and non-union cast and crew members. The theatre is located at 1001 Indiantown Rd. (just off of A1A) in Jupiter, Florida. For tickets and complete information on the theatre's offerings, contact them by phone at 561/ 575-2223 or 800/ 445-1666, and online at www.jupitertheatre.org.

Cast:
Joseph: John Pinto Jr.*
Narrator: Jodie Langel*
Pharaoh/Issachar: Ryan William*
Jacob/Potiphar: Jeffrey Bruce
Mrs. Potiphar/Wife: Mary Elizabeth Rich*
Reuben: Ben Liebert*
Simeon: Carl Draper*
Napthali: Brian Padgett
Asher: Keven Quillon*
Dan: Ricky Nahas*
Zebulon: Nico Ramirez
Gad: Jo Patrick*
Benjamin: Nathaniel Braga*
Judah: Randy Aaron*
Levi: Dennis O'Bannion*
Wives: April Holloway, Julie Kavanaugh*, Lauren Sprague*

Crew:
Director/Choreographer: Mark Martino**
Music Director: Kim Douglas Steiner
Scenic Design: Dan Kuchar+
Lighting Design: Paul Black+
Sound Design: Marty Mets
Costume Design: Jose M. Rivera+
Stage Manager: James Danford*

*Designates a member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

**Designates member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.

+Designates member of the United Scenic Artists, a labor union and professional association of Designers, Artists and Craftspeople.

Photo: Linnea Brown

See the current theatre season schedule for southern Florida.

-- John Lariviere