Amazing Joseph Revival at the Adelphi

After so many previous West End stagings and numerous UK touring productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat", one could be forgiven for being sceptical about yet another presentation at the Adelphi. But somehow this production succeeds in making the piece seem fresh and new. At every turn there is a huge amount of energy and vitality pouring out from the stage. And there is the added bonus of a brand new song for the Pharoah - "King Of My Heart" - a tuneful pastiche ballad by Rice and Lloyd Webber that you could easily imagine having been sung by the "King" himself. 

Even more cause for scepticism surrounds the "Phantom Lord"'s decision to cast his leading man via yet another reality TV show (BBC's "Any Dream Will Do"). But, yet again, this seems to have worked: on the whole, Lee Mead delivers a first rate performance. Though not totally convincing as the younger, naïve and rather pompous Joseph - and his rendition of "Close Every Door To Me" lacks perhaps the pathos and vulnerability that the moment requires - still Mead possesses immense stage presence, moves very well, produces a winning smile right on cue and when he sings he is a true vocal powerhouse.  

The rest of the cast are also first rate, notably the superb Dean Collinson as Pharoah and Preeya Kalidas, who follows her previous fine West End performance in "Bombay Dreams" with a simply sensational performance as the Narrator.   In the wake of the relatively disappointing success of the recent revival of ALW's "Evita" at the Adelphi, the "new" Joseph seems destined for a lengthy stay on the Strand.