Any Dream Will Do Recap # 7: The Final

With Lewis, Keith and Lee battling it out for a chance to perform in the West End, who would the public choose, now that the Lord was powerless? Glenn Meads guides you through the performances for one last time, in the final! 

The show opened with the ex Joes from previous weeks singing the group number, Go Go Go Joseph. It shows you how many contestants have walked through the doors. Every Joe hands their coat back to Graham, apart from our three finalists. V.T shows the final three sunning themselves on a trip to Majorca with Andrew. Slightly camp, this trip involves the three of them sat on a boat, topless! We then cut to a celebrity packed audience, including David Tennant, Louis Walsh and Jonathan Ross. 

Lewis is the first to sing. But before that we have to hear more about his 'journey.' As he is being portrayed as the one who has travelled emotionally; meaning he has cried a great deal! After what feels like hours of him saying: "I really want this so badly" - we finally get to hear the title of his first number. Will it be a musical number? Will it heck? It's the Prince/Tom Jones classic Kiss. What an opener; Lewis really gave it all he had. He was also able to show off his excellent dance moves. He displayed new found confidence and gave a great performance. This was slightly in vain though, as the endless footage of him crying may go against him. John Barrowman said he was a "showman." Bill said he was a "star in a final." Andrew banged on about the journey again, in case we didn't get it first time! 

Keith (right) sang For Once In My Life which proved one thing; these pop songs stunt this young performer. Why, oh why can they not sing songs from musicals? After all, the winner is going to be in one! These X Factor style choices do nothing for some of the performers. My worry is that sometimes, viewers vote for the song, rather than the singer. Keith looked nervous but he acted with more zest then ever before. Denise said he had gone from "superstore to superstar." Andrew almost sat on the fence saying: "I think you can sing wonderfully." The Lord has his eyes on another, clearly!

Next up was the hot favourite, Lee. He sang the Elvis classic, Devil In Disguise. The arrangement was very Las Vegas drinking den. It did though, show two sides to this performer. I noticed quite a few bum notes, but the judges brushed these under the carpet. John said that Lee was a "lead in disguise" and Zoe agreed saying that he was "stunning." Bill said that Lee made "songs his own." Denise (left) added that he was "sexy."

We next saw more clips of Andrew and the lads in Majorca. He had one to one chats with them in the style of X Factor/American Idol,when Simon Cowell invites them to his pad to discuss tactics. Lewis had a birthday cake and each of them received tips on what Andrew was looking for. This footage was hysterical as there were more cutaways of the boys staring into the sea, without tops on. Could this show get any camper?

Keith sang the Van Morrison classic Moondance. There was a nervous tinge to his voice again,but,for a lad so young, he was quite wonderful,vocally. He also looked like a rat pack sing, as opposed to a young brat. I have been impressed by his maturity throughout this series. Denise used John's line of: "hot, hot, hot." John applauded Keith's delivery saying he was the "best big ballad singer." Andrew nit-picked,saying he was "not the best dancer." As there is not much dancing in the show, I did not understand this comment. He also said a crass joke about his acting: "Checkout to Chekov, not sure." Not really helpful as this will stay with viewers at home. But hey….

Lee sang New York, New York, lending the song lots of emotion. He looked like a clear winner, like a homecoming king. I still found his performance very cold and clinical, like Connie. But even I could not deny that he was the best so far. The Judges raved about him. Bill said he was a "leading man." Andrew said he was a "fantastic performer."

Connie Fisher performed the title track from The Sound Of The Music. I was reminded of why I did not favour this 'Maria.' Vocally, she was perfect, but it was an emotion free zone. She looked cold behind the eyes. 

The 1^st Joe had to go, so who would it be? Lee was first through, Lewis was sent home, leaving Keith ready to fight once more. Lewis cried again and everyone referred the journey! "You will be in the West End" said Andrew. Yes, he will – in a musical called Journey, probably!

Part Two featured a recap of events so far. Then each of our two Joes had to pick their favourite performances and redeliver them. Keith chose Always On My Mind and you could see why. He gave a phenomenal rendition of this classic, proving that he was fighting back with relish and determination.

Then came Lee's fave, it was unsurprisingly, Paint It Black.  It was as good as the 1^st time,highlighting the light and shade in the song incredibly well. Was there a clear winner or was it too close to call? After these two performances, who knows as it seemed to be level pegging again. Even Jason Donovan played it close to his chest, not admitting whether he had a favourite.

Ensemble time, as the Joes sang The Boys Are Back In Town. Ben shone like a bright beacon. I realised I had forgotten about many of the others! Keith and Lee then came back one more time to sing the title track from Jesus Christ, Superstar. Keith was as commanding as ever and Lee was equally as convincing. There is a place on the stage for both of these terrifically talented performers. Andrew said that the two of them were "fantastic."

We were then shown the best bits of the series, whilst voting lines were about to close. Then it was time for Graham Norton to announce the winner. Who would it be? I kind of knew really. My favourite was great and I so wanted him to walk away with it, but the audience applause for the other guy gave you a clue really. The winner is……………………. LEE! 

Keith was incredibly humble in defeat. What a talent this young guy has! I wish him all the best. Credit where credit's due, Lee was excellent and deserved the part. He was left to sing Any Dream Will Do as the show finished. So Andrew said he was after a popier Joseph. He didn't get it, after all. So, why didn't they just pluck Lee from Phantom and be done with it? Well, because there would be no television show.

So, that's it! I have received emails from NY, San Fran, Bob Downe (see pic on left) and Keith Jack's people. So, thanks everybody for reading. Good luck to all the Josephs. With regards to Lee and my take on him, I am willing to be proved wrong. If the producers of Joseph want me to review the show, I will happily do so and report back here, for broadwayworld.com. Until then..Go Go Go, Joseph!

CONGRATULATIONS, LEE!

For more information on the show itself, 

http://www.reallyuseful.com/rug/shows/joseph

Booking is now open. The show opens at the Adelphi on 6th July. Press night is on 17th July.