BWW Reviews: JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Ovewhelms PPAC Stage with Spectacle

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a musical that lends itself to a wide range of production styles and interpretations. Having seen it done in a very minimalistic and simple style, the show can be very impactful and effective when done in that vein. At the far, far other end of the spectrum is the Broadway touring production currently in house at Providence Performing Arts Center. Anything but simple or minimalistic, the production turns Joseph into an overloaded, bloated, overwhelming spectacle of light and sound.

Webber's musical, with lyrics by Tim Rice, tells the biblical story of Joseph, a son of Canaan, one of twelve siblings but the favorite son of his father, Joseph. As told by an omnipresent narrator, the story follows Joseph as his eleven brothers plot against him and eventually fake his death while actually selling him into slavery. Our hero survives the ordeal of slavery and servitude, eventually winding up in the palace of the Pharaoh in Egypt. He then becomes a powerful aide to the Pharaoh and is given the chance to teach his brother's a lesson or two when they show up in Egypt seeking help.

Anyone seeing this production, though, wouldn't really get much of that story. That's because actually telling the story, focusing on the important themes and messages, is way down on the list of priorities. In some cases, that would be just fine. There are many musicals where the story isn't all that important or integral to the show. Shows where there really isn't much of a plot, theme or message and it's really just about the entertaining singing and dancing. And this production clearly made the decision to turn Joseph in to that kind of show, one where the singing and dancing (and lights and costumes and special effects) are the most important thing and who really cares if the audience never gets the messages or themes inherent in the story or plot.

As for the singing and dancing, it's first rate, no doubt, but in some cases it comes at a cost. The narrator who relates the story to us is played by Diana DeGarmo. She has an undeniably beautiful and powerful voice, easily handling the vocal performance. On the other hand, the rest of her performance is flat and uninteresting. She never seems to actually feel anything about the story she's telling. Never seems to really relate to it or interact with it in any meaningful way. She just stands there and sings beautifully, with little or no passion or emotion about what she's saying.

Playing the titular Joseph is DeGarmo's real-life husband, Ace Young. He exhibits the same exact qualities as his on-and-off-stage partner. Young certainly has a great voice and can belt out a song with skill. But, other than his lovely voice and impressive six-pack abs, there's nothing extraordinary about his performance. He never really digs deep as Joseph, never really gives us any truthful or believable emotions or feelings related to what he's singing about. Again, it's just another beautiful person with a beautiful voice, standing there and singing at us.

Truly, this production could have been renamed "Joseph and His Amazing Brothers." It's really the gang of brothers who own this show. They steal every moment in a hundred different ways and create all of the show's highest points. As Reuben, Brian Golub leads the first highlight, "One More Angel in Heaven." Golub is hilarious in this big number, as he leads the ensemble in a song about how much they pretend to miss Joseph while actually celebrating his "death." Equally brilliant is Paul Castree as Simeon, who leads the brothers in the song "Those Canaan Days." As they moan and wail about their state of affairs and how much they actually miss Joseph, Castree and all of the brothers perform a perfectly executed musical number. It is exactly the kind of magnificent, show-stopping piece of musical theater you hope to see in a Broadway touring production.

Another highlight, towards the show's end, is "Benjamin Calypso," led by Max Kumangai as Judah. With a winning smile and wonderful voice, Kumangai leads the ensemble in another perfect musical number. When this ensemble is all together, they work effortlessly, like a well-oiled machine, and it's a pleasure to watch. There are a few others among them who get outstanding solo moments, such as Ryan Williams as Pharaoh and William Thomas Evans as Pothiphar. Both make the most out of small roles and do a fantastic job.

One unfortunate problem for those solo moments, and some of the big ensemble ones as well, was the sound quality. The cavernous space at PPAC does tend to devour sound and often makes it hard to hear the lyrics, especially when drowned out by the orchestra. That happened a number of times, especially during the Pharaoh's big solo number, when it was really hard to tell what exactly he was saying. There may have also been a problem with the hand-held microphone he was using, something which seemed to plague the narrator, who also relied on a hand-held mic.

Still, the poor sound quality was just one of the problems with this production. And just one of the reasons why so many moments got lost amidst the whirlwind on stage. Yes, the costumes are bright and colorful and beautiful. The set is also bright and beautiful. There were numerous beautiful video projections, only some of which were necessary or really helped to tell the story. But there was just too much going on, constantly, in a sensory overload of epic proportions.

Another problem was typified by the bows at the end of the show. In one of the most obnoxious decisions ever, they basically replayed the show's highlights, offering an abridged version of certain scenes all over again, recreating bits of songs and dance numbers. It's as if they really wanted to make sure we understand just how awesome they are. "Hey, did you see how awesome we are? No? Ok, we'll do it again, just to make sure you know we're REALLY awesome." Making it worse was the most unnecessary and over-the-top light show ever created on stage as a backdrop.

While they were so busy demonstrating how much color and light and sound they could put on a stage, they forgot to create characters we care about or tell a story that means something to us. Which, in the end, isn't what this production is or what this production is trying to do. It's just trying to be a big, bright, loud musical filled with beautiful people singing with beautiful voices while lit and dressed beautifully. And in that regard, being that kind of show, it's certainly an amazing technicolor success.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat runs through November 9th and Providence Performing Arts Center at 220 Weybosset Street in Providence, RI. Show times are 7pm on Wednesday, 7:30pm on Thursday and Friday, 2pm and 8pm on Saturday, and 1pm and 6:30pm on Sunday. Tickets range from $50 to $77 and are available at the PPAC box office, online at www.ppacri.org and by phone at 401-421-ARTS (2787). Box office hours are Monday through Friday, 10am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 2pm, and at least two hours prior to all curtain times.

Pictured: Diana DeGarmo. Photo by Daniel A. Swalec.

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