Theater
Sir Andrew Gives Us a 48Hr Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Try On for Size.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is giving us 48 hours to try on his Joseph to see if it fits, and boy does it ever. He’s helping us stay home safe and sound every Friday with these offerings as he gifts us with the opportunity to stream a few of his stage-to-screen musicals on the new YouTube channel: The Shows Must Go On for free, which is just so glorious. Go, go, go, Andrew! Last weekend on that page, I was able to find the beautifully filmed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond, that was the first of many to premiere on this awesome channel. But you have to be on top of your game because unlike the National Theatre’s own streaming-from-home presentations that are available for one week, these Andrew Lloyd Webber shows are free of charge for only 48 hours. So pay attention and schedule it in, so you don’t find yourself mimicking me, who forgot, and had to pay YouTube $4.99 CAN to watch it Sunday night when I discovered I had missed my chance. But I wasn’t going to let that get the best of me because Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, surprisingly, is a show I have heard about, basically forever (although more specifically when I saw the ALW compilation show, Unmasked at the Paper Mill Playhouse), but never seen live. Nor have I seen this well crafted filmed version. But after watching the clip below of Osmond and the glorious Maria Friedman singing “Any Dream Will Do“, I felt watching was a sorta must-see event. It’s a completely disarming and charming number winning me over quickly and easily, that if I wanted to continue calling myself a true theatre junkie, I better do what I needed to do. And seeing Joan Collins in a frumpy wig playing the piano is just an added bonus one has to indulge in. Big hug Alexis,
“If you think it, want it, dream it, then it’s real“, says the utterly sweet and feisty narrator, played beautifully by the engaging Friedman, glowing radiantly within its absolute charm. The deliciously rainbow cuteness of this filmed version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is infectious, much to my surprise. It is a simpler, more kid-friendly comedic musical when compared to that other biblical tale set to music, Jesus Christ Superstar (which will become available this coming Friday for 48 hours over Easter Weekend on the same YouTube channel), but that comparison doesn’t really seem fair. It’s a whole different bag of tricks, and with lyrics, once again, by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, this “coat of many colors” tells “the tale of a dreamer, like you“, following the optimistically joyful Joseph, played lovingly by the impressive Donny Osmond, straight from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. The large family photo of father Jacob, touchingly portrayed by Richard Attenborough, isn’t as mutually loving as he would like to believe. His other sons, all eleven of them, aren’t as pleased with Joseph as their father is, and when Jacob gives his favorite son, Joseph, that cloaking work of art, the totally amazing Technicolor coat, their goat, and ire, is got, and bad things happen to good people when jealousy reigns, shoving and selling Joseph far away from his loving father and not-so-loving family of son siblings.Powered by wordads.co
This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical that was actually performed publicly (their first collaboration, The Likes of Us, was written in 1965, but not performed until 2005). And in its innocence, we find the beauty of this fun simple piece of musical theatre, and the lessons to be learned. Watched over by an auditorium full of uniformed schoolchildren brandishing smiles, candles, and good cheer, the kids are thoroughly engaged, just like us, eagerly wanting to join in and bring youthful colorful excitement to a piece made just for them. There is a celebration, even in the grieving of the brothers, And when the rich Potiphar, played with glee by Ian McNeice, and his beautiful, but decadently evil wife, gloriously portrayed by the very game Joan Collins, find Joseph at their beck and call, Joseph’s good luck shifts from bad to good and back to bad once again. Things don’t go well for Joseph at the end of that seduction. He is locked up in a cell, caged (and looking pretty darn good) but finds the optimism to lovingly sing his sad pretty song beautifully. “Go, go, go, Joseph“, is what is he is cheered on by his fellow man, and utilizing his nack at dream reading, with or without his Dreamcoat, good fortune comes knocking once again in the form of the Butler, joyfully played by Alex Jennings. That Butler definitely did do it, and specifically for Joseph’s ultimate salvation. Sorry about that Baker though, played hilariously by Christopher Biggins. His opportunity cake is definitely not on the rise like Joseph’s.
When the perfect Robert Torti enters with an Elvis swagger and sting as the mighty Pharaoh, you better get down on your knees with joy. There’s a run of crazy dreams out there, and Joseph is asked to interpret gloriously in the “all shook up” “Song of the King” that rocks forth seven fat cows, seven skinny (and vile) cows, seven healthy ears of corn and seven dead ears of corn for our hip-swiveling pleasure. It’ll “flip your lid“, this number, particularly within Torti’s madcap deliciousness. So Joseph, here’s the punchline: that crazy dream’s meaning once again is the thing that elevates your luck up and beyond once again, but this time to the heights of what was first dreamt of at the beginning of this fun and sweet-natured musical tale. The whole candy flossed thing is guided by the wonderful Friedman narrator, bringing quirky flippant responses all the while sipping margaritas at Joseph’s side, to great comic effect.
“We read the book, and you come out on top“, she wisely tells us and him, and thanks to the eleven brothers’ newly found honesty and honor when things look bad for the sweet angelic Benjamin, played glowingly by Nick Holmes, the tide is turned and all is forgiven. The show actually has only a few spoken lines of dialogue and is almost entirely sung-through with glee, like a silly Magic Flute without all that messy opera to alienate the kids. The family-friendly story is graced with familiar and satisfying themes anchored by catchy music and lovely performances. It was first presented in 1968 as a 15-minute “pop cantata” at Colet Court School in London and recorded in an expanded form by Decca Records in 1969. But it was only after the success of Jesus Christ Superstar, the next Webber and Rice conceptual biblical piece, that Joseph was given the chance to secure its place in theatrical history through a number of staged amateur productions in the US starting in 1970. In 1972, it was given a professional veneer as a 35-minute musical at the Edinburgh International Festival by the Young Vic Theatre Company, directed by Frank Dunlop, paired with another, more talk heavy biblical tale. And even as it was undergoing major modifications and expansions, the musical premiered in the West End. Finally, Joseph was presented in its modern, final longer form at the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester several times through 1978, pretty much never looking back. The musical was brought over to Broadway in 1982, garnering several major award nominations, just like it did every time it has been revived in the West End, which is many, unlike Broadway, which it has yet to revive since its first production.
This particular version, the 1999 direct-to-video film adaptation, directed with pleasure on his mind by David Mallet and based on Steven Pimlott’s 1991 London Palladium production, spins its many colors out with joyful childlike glee. I wasn’t prepared to like the filming so much, but going in with low expectations served it well. Completely fun and entertaining, the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat film brings us smiling out from our self-isolation and whisked me playfully into its heart and joy with ease.Powered by wordads.coSeen ad many timesNot relevantOffensiveCovers contentBroken
It brings with it so much fun, even though, I must admit, I am looking forward with much more excitement to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s next stage-to-screen release, Jesus Christ Superstar on The Shows Must Go On. YouTube channel this Friday for 48 hours over Easter Weekend. That show is one of my all-time favorites since I was a kid listening to the cast recording on my record player in my living room. Dancing and singing up a storm, without really understanding the biblical base. I guess I’ll be doing that again this weekend, as I hope to watch this version and the NBC live version that will be rebroadcasted on Easter Sunday night.
Continuing beyond this particular Superstar Friday, Andrew Lloyd Webber will be releasing a full-length musical each Friday, including the most important one (to ALW), his disaster musical, By Jeeves, a show he is very very fond of, and one I’m curious to see. And just for the record, it is there, for you and me to watch for free! So bravo ALW! I know where I will be on Friday or Saturday this and every week going isolating forward. “It won’t be easy. You think it’s strange. When I try to” squeeze in all the wonderful entries into this ever-expanding world of online theatre: the London National Theatre’s streaming of several of their NT Livetitles on their YouTube channel including Jane Eyre (April 9), Treasure Island (April 16), and Twelfth Night (April 23); Feinstein’s/54 Below’s launch of its concert streaming series #54BelowAtHome; the live-streaming of Melissa Errico’s Sondheim Sublime concert at Guild Hall; Seth Rudetsky & James Wesley phenomenal fun support of The Actors Fund with the Stars in the House play reading every Saturday (and Wednesday which I can’t do-I’m working, silly) at 2pm (along with their now-staple show every single (wow!) day at 2 and 8pm); and the upcoming Friday night screening of the new musical, Pride and Prejudice on Streaming Musicals, all gloriously being presented on YouTube. (I’m sure I’m missing some things, so be good and inform me). It’s a theatrical streaming feast, and I’m gonna eat big and happy during my self-isolation. But please, #StayHome #StaySafe #StaySane and, more importantly, #StayEntertained.
For more, go to frontmezzjunkies.com
Lolita Chakrabarti’s Life of Pi, the new drama adapted from the novel by Yann Martel. opens tonight at the Gerald Schoenfeld theatre. T2C sat down with Rajesh Bose who plays Pi’s father.
Rajesh Bose is an actor whose work includes regional and Off-Broadway. He worked for Bedlam in The Crucible andPygmalion . Played Henry VI for NAATCO), Against The Hillside at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Indian Ink at the Roundabout, Oslo at St. Louis Rep, Mary Stuart at Folger Theatre, Guards at the Taj at Capital Stage, Disgraced for the Playmakers Rep, Huntington Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre – Connecticut receiving Critics Circle Award and IRNE Nomination. The Who & The What atGulfshore Playhouse, and The Invisible Hand at both Westport Country Playhouse and Hartford TheaterWorks.
His film and television work includes “Quantico”, “Blue Bloods”, “Elementary”, “Blacklist”, “Damages”, “Nurse Jackie”, “Madame Secretary”, “The Good Wife”, “Law & Order: SVU”, “Criminal Minds”, the series finale of “The Sopranos”, and the Academy Award nominated film Frozen River.
Tonight he makes his Broadway debut.
Video by Magda Katz
The Radio City Rockettes are having an open call audition for the 2023 Christmas Spectacular on Thursday, April 20 at Radio City Music Hall, with callbacks on Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22, 2023. Audition for male identifying auditions will be held April 26th.
You have to be proficient in jazz, tap and ballet. You must be between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10 1/2 inches tall and You must be at least 18 years of age.
The Radio City Rockettes are a world-renowned dance company known for their athleticism and iconic precision style combining elements of ballet, jazz, and tap, as well as techniques of modern and contemporary dance. In addition to the Christmas Spectacular, the Rockettes perform annually in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree lighting, and have appeared on some of the biggest events in entertainment, including the Tony Awards, the MTV VMAs, the NYC Pride Parade, and “Saturday Night Live.” Most recently, the Rockettes were featured in the Hallmark movie “A Holiday Spectacular” and performed with Mariah Carey in her holiday special filmed at Madison Square Garden, “Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All!”
As a Rockette, dancers have access to excellent benefits, including year-round health insurance, a competitive 401K, and a tuition assistance program for accredited and approved courses, as well as a reimbursement plan for many voice, dance, technique, wellness, and fitness classes.
Audition registration for the Radio City Rockettes, ensemble and more is officially open for the 2023 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes presented by QVC. Audition to be a part of New York City’s favorite holiday tradition and you can register today. Click Here.
Dancers auditioning for the Radio City Rockettes will also be considered for Rockettes Conservatory, the dance company’s invite-only, week-long training intensive, which serves as the main talent pipeline for the line.
Female Identifying Dancers*, Voice Ensemble and Principal Roles will be cast through invited agent calls only – there will be no open call audition for these roles.
*Includes gender expansive identities (trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming and gender queer.)
Magis Theatre Company will present a revival of their critically acclaimed production of *mark, a solo performance of the Gospel of Mark. Originally produced at La MaMa ETC and directed by Luann Purcell Jennings in 2014, it features original music composed by internationally acclaimed, award-winning composer Elizabeth Swados. Actor George Drance will again perform the role of the storyteller. *mark will be performed at Theatre 315 located at 315 W. 47th St. New York, NY. The show dates are as follows: Wednesdays, April 12 and 19 at 7PM; Thursdays, April 6, 13 and 20 at 7pm; Friday April 7, 14 and 21 at 8PM; Saturday April 8, 15 and 22 at 2PM. Tickets are available at Eventbrite: tinyurl.com/36h7rzdt. The production is directed by Jackie Lucid.
The Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the four gospels, had an early tradition of being performed aloud from start to finish. It was finally written down during Nero’s brutal persecution of the followers of “the Way.” Recited in its entirety to give courage to this community of quiet rebels, their radical compassion put them in danger because their inclusivity threatened the Empire’s status quo. Today it is rare for an audience to hear this gospel performed in its totality, or to experience it with the immediacy of that dangerous period of oppression. In his contemporary solo performance, Drance, reclaims the urgency of the words as when they were first spoken. He examines the message of commitment and love through the eyes of a street artist, using drawings to illustrate and illuminate the text.
Magis Theatre Company, founded in 2003, is an ensemble of actors and teaching artists who came together out of desire: desire to teach, desire to train, and desire to act. The company has produced a variety of actor driven, physically based theatre productions that explore the human condition. Recent productions include: Thornton Wilder’s The Alcestiad performed at FDR Four Freedoms Park; Calderon’s Two Dreams, presenting both the 1636 comedia and the 1677 auto sacramental of Life is a Dream; Leslie Lewis’ Miracle in Rwanda, testifying to the transformative power of prayer and forgiveness. Their adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s fantastical spiritual tale The Great Divorce was hailed by the New York Times as “thought provoking… long on theatrical skill and remarkably short on preachiness.”
Actor George Drance, Artist-in-residence at Fordham University, has performed and directed in over twenty countries on five continents. He has served as artistic director of Theatre YETU in Kenya and artistic associate for Teatro la Fragua in Honduras. Drance has been a guest artist and lecturer at Columbia University, Cornell University, Marquette University, Marymount Manhattan College, Hebrew Union College, and Boston College. In March, Drance, who is Ukrainian, will appear at LA Mama in Radio 477!, a new show created by Yara Arts Group and Ukrainian artists about the city of Kharkiv, its jazz history, and how it stood up to Putin today. With texts and lyrics by award-winning Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan, music by Anthony Coleman, it is directed by Virlana Tkacz.
Perhaps best known for her Broadway and international smash hit Runaways, the late Elizabeth Swados (1951-2016) composed, wrote and directed issue-oriented theatre for over 30 years. Some of her works include the Obie Award winning Trilogy at La Mama, and Alice at the Palace with Meryl Streep at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Her awards include: Five Tony® nominations, three Obie® Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Ford Grant, the Helen Hayes Award, a Lila Acheson Wallace Grant, PEN, and others.
Visit the Magis Theatre Company online at: https://www.magistheatre.org
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