“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” pop culture’s musical seminary about the Biblical tale of Joseph and his brothers, has always been a popular show for community theater, and High Street Arts Center’s current version is entertaining, with plenty of top-notch vocal performances and snazzy choreography to go around. High Street’s production made its debut May 29 and continues through June 28 at the center’s theater in Moorpark.
First-time director Melia Bacon has done a fine job in casting, with Yaniv Snir appearing as a likeable Joseph. Snir is a charismatic singer and provided effective moments, most notably his solo on “Close Every Door.”
On the night we attended, Rebecca Curci (understudy for Lucy Daurio) played the narrator, garbed as a pirate. The Narrator is designed to inject herself into each scene and she does so with charm, even donning a beret as she observes the brothers in the “Canaan Days” number.
Snir and Curci hold down the show well, surrounded by a large cast including an enthusiastic children’s chorus, who serve as a framework for the story. The use of the children varies from production to production, but this one gives them more to do as they are seen not only on stage but also in the theater’s twin balcony wings on either side of the stage.
Bacon’s exemplary work as a music director for a variety of companies is reflected by the outstanding vocals in the cast, especially Kit Runge, whose booming voice highlights his dual role as the patriarch Jacob and the wealthy Potiphar.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s score feature some of their most memorable and catchy melodies, performed in a dizzying variety of styles, anachronistically including ’50s rock, vaudeville, calypso, and even French cabaret. The musical absurdity gives directors carte blanche to be equally absurd on the more visual aspects of the show, and this is where this production falls short. Some productions have fun with the Egyptian theme incorporating silly props, signs or other physical shtick, such as the Pharaoh’s palace being turned into a desert-styled Las Vegas Strip, with signs for the Dunes and the Sands and “Toot Uncommon” as a headliner.
The antics of Joseph’s brothers call for Keystone Kops-like physical comedy, but High Street’s bunch plays it more or less straight, even in the “Those Canaan Days” cabaret and “One More Angel in Heaven” hoedown sequences, both of which are rife for all-bets-are-off sight gags and bits of business. So, any extra touches of fun or absurd humor wouldn’t be out of line and only contribute to the light-hearted anarchy of the show.
With a variety of Elvis incarnations to choose from for the part of the Pharaoh, it was decided to go with the white-jump-suited Elvis of the 1970s (played by Joe Mulder) instead of the swaggering young Elvis of the ‘50s or the sleek, black leather comeback-Elvis (Joseph was written in 1968 so Elvis had not yet descended into the bloated “thank-you-very-much” caricature of his later years).
On the plus side, Bacon and husband Chris’s expert vocal ensemble direction and Melina Ortega and Paige Pensivy’s choreography are both top-notch. The crisp sound system makes every word clearly heard and understandable, and Patrick Duffty’s innovative lighting design makes the production colorful and attractive viewing.
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” plays through June 28 at the High Street Arts Center. For tickets, visit HighStreetArtsCenter.com.
