"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - 2023 Toronto Tour" As Amazing as the Technicolor Dreamcoat
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If I told you that someone made a musical rendition of the classic bible story involving Joseph and his twelve brothers filled with humour packed to the brim, your first thought would instantly go to VeggieTales, the Christian animated series involving a loveable cast of vegetables. Now, before you start raising pitchforks, keep in mind that I actually think the comparison between VeggieTales and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is quite apt, and frankly high praise considering I loved VeggieTales as a kid, because I think Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat brings the same family fun with a lot more flare.
To be honest, when I first heard of this musical, I was a bit skeptical, I mean as someone who grew up in a religious household, I've seen religion shoehorned in quite possibly all facets of life, from odd plates, to conventions and even poorly made animated films (not VeggieTales), so I had my doubts. Not to mention, I've only seen three other musicals done by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and when your range goes from Phantom of the Opera to Cats, it's difficult for me to get a good gauge on what I'm actually about to see.
Nonetheless, online I constantly saw people raving over this musical and putting it in their top musicals, eventually piquing my interest enough to buy rush tickets when a production of the hit musical finally graced my not so humble city of Toronto. And I'll have to say it was well worth the $64 I paid, even if I'm pretty easy to please with musicals and this was only the second one I've actually seen live. In fact, I really only have two complaints a rarity as of late as while I do feel as if my reviews have improved, they are typically quite critical and rarely leave praise as anything other than scraps.
In fact, one of the complains I'd argue is pretty easily fixable, or it could just be an issue I have because I have been told I'm a bit deaf at times. It's just I felt that the mixing could have been better? I actually really enjoyed the music all around, and frankly it hardly sounded as if an orchestra was below the stage the entire time, but I did feel as if it was overpowering compared to the actual voices, which I had trouble understanding more than a couple of times throughout this musical. Personally, I felt as if Jac Yarrow, who played Joseph, could have used a bit less vibrato in his singing, but that's only because I wanted to hear his voice more clearly and frankly that's more of a personal preference than anything else.
On the other hand, the other big issue I had with this musical isn't quite so easily remedied, especially because editing the bible would probably cause an uproar of proportions too great to handle. At a solid two hours altogether, intermission included, this musical is on the shorter side, and even then it feels like it could have been shorter. What I mean by this is that the second half felt shorter, and definitely felt a bit paddy at times. I mean no disrespect to Benjamin, but did we really need an entire song singing about how he's as straight as a stick of bamboo?
To be honest, when I first heard of this musical, I was a bit skeptical, I mean as someone who grew up in a religious household, I've seen religion shoehorned in quite possibly all facets of life, from odd plates, to conventions and even poorly made animated films (not VeggieTales), so I had my doubts. Not to mention, I've only seen three other musicals done by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and when your range goes from Phantom of the Opera to Cats, it's difficult for me to get a good gauge on what I'm actually about to see.
Nonetheless, online I constantly saw people raving over this musical and putting it in their top musicals, eventually piquing my interest enough to buy rush tickets when a production of the hit musical finally graced my not so humble city of Toronto. And I'll have to say it was well worth the $64 I paid, even if I'm pretty easy to please with musicals and this was only the second one I've actually seen live. In fact, I really only have two complaints a rarity as of late as while I do feel as if my reviews have improved, they are typically quite critical and rarely leave praise as anything other than scraps.
In fact, one of the complains I'd argue is pretty easily fixable, or it could just be an issue I have because I have been told I'm a bit deaf at times. It's just I felt that the mixing could have been better? I actually really enjoyed the music all around, and frankly it hardly sounded as if an orchestra was below the stage the entire time, but I did feel as if it was overpowering compared to the actual voices, which I had trouble understanding more than a couple of times throughout this musical. Personally, I felt as if Jac Yarrow, who played Joseph, could have used a bit less vibrato in his singing, but that's only because I wanted to hear his voice more clearly and frankly that's more of a personal preference than anything else.
On the other hand, the other big issue I had with this musical isn't quite so easily remedied, especially because editing the bible would probably cause an uproar of proportions too great to handle. At a solid two hours altogether, intermission included, this musical is on the shorter side, and even then it feels like it could have been shorter. What I mean by this is that the second half felt shorter, and definitely felt a bit paddy at times. I mean no disrespect to Benjamin, but did we really need an entire song singing about how he's as straight as a stick of bamboo?
I mean I get it, you can't really go past that point in the bible, because then you'd end the musical on the story of slavery, and Moses, which is too long to cover in any musical, but when the shorter, second half of your musical includes songs that aren't that necessary, and multiple reprises to all the other songs, you're definitely stretching something. I mean as a bible purist (this is a joke I'm not that serious about religion) I felt like perhaps the scene where the brothers get mad at Joseph for his dreams, or Reuben trying to secretly save Joseph from the well, not realizing he'd been sold into slavery, or perhaps just stretching out the scene where Joseph see's them again?
While none of these are perfect, I do think that they could have perhaps helped improve the musical in ways that I thought it fell short in, though in the musical's defense, the reprises at the end were darn fun. Everyone was clapping along and standing up while the cast once again did their rendition of the songs from this musical and for a part that was clearly padding it was still very enjoyable.
Speaking of standing up, none of that would be possible if it wasn't for the real star of the show, Vanessa Fisher, who played the narrator. While the show may be named after Joseph, there's a reason that the Narrator came out last when it came time for audience applause because it felt like she stole every scene. From her dancing, to her singing, everything was on point and she had the entire audience wrapped around her finger like she was the Pharoah herself.
Not to mention, the musical actually implemented kids well? To be honest, I was skeptical at first at the inclusion of kids in this musical, frankly I felt like you'd have to really work around them and that it simply wouldn't be worth it, after all having Potiphar be an adult wouldn't be egregious or anything, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well they performed. Yes, at times they were a bit of a gimmick, used for comedic purposes such as having outlandish beards or being put in comic roles such as Potiphar, but these kids can perform, and both the small singing and dancing roles they were provided in had no complaints from me.
Another aspect of the musical that really impressed me was just the production value. Thanks to my rush tickets, my seats were relatively close and I felt that I really appreciated everything that was going on stage. In high school I took my share of theater courses so I think it helped in my appreciation of the design, but from the creative use of a bicycle as a camel, to the giant animatronics with guitars and turning heads, to the stars in the sky, I felt like the crew did a good job of utilizing the space provided. Especially because, the stage didn't even look or feel that big, but because they masterfully used layers to help scenes such as the Pharaohs throne room look more grandiose, it didn't really matter, I mean with the lighting effects that seemingly shone from every corner of the stage, it really felt like I was watching a show.
Lastly, of course it'd be impossible to talk about a musical without mentioning the music, which I once again adored, like almost everything with the show. I'm not quite sure if I have any standout songs, but the way it seamlessly shifted through genres was great, especially the Elvis style performance by Tosh Wanogho-Maud, it seemed as if he could do no wrong while he was up there on stage. The same could be said about the dancing, especially the one scene involving tap dancing, which I felt was super tight and well executed by the cast.
Final Score: 85/100
While none of these are perfect, I do think that they could have perhaps helped improve the musical in ways that I thought it fell short in, though in the musical's defense, the reprises at the end were darn fun. Everyone was clapping along and standing up while the cast once again did their rendition of the songs from this musical and for a part that was clearly padding it was still very enjoyable.
Speaking of standing up, none of that would be possible if it wasn't for the real star of the show, Vanessa Fisher, who played the narrator. While the show may be named after Joseph, there's a reason that the Narrator came out last when it came time for audience applause because it felt like she stole every scene. From her dancing, to her singing, everything was on point and she had the entire audience wrapped around her finger like she was the Pharoah herself.
Not to mention, the musical actually implemented kids well? To be honest, I was skeptical at first at the inclusion of kids in this musical, frankly I felt like you'd have to really work around them and that it simply wouldn't be worth it, after all having Potiphar be an adult wouldn't be egregious or anything, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well they performed. Yes, at times they were a bit of a gimmick, used for comedic purposes such as having outlandish beards or being put in comic roles such as Potiphar, but these kids can perform, and both the small singing and dancing roles they were provided in had no complaints from me.
Another aspect of the musical that really impressed me was just the production value. Thanks to my rush tickets, my seats were relatively close and I felt that I really appreciated everything that was going on stage. In high school I took my share of theater courses so I think it helped in my appreciation of the design, but from the creative use of a bicycle as a camel, to the giant animatronics with guitars and turning heads, to the stars in the sky, I felt like the crew did a good job of utilizing the space provided. Especially because, the stage didn't even look or feel that big, but because they masterfully used layers to help scenes such as the Pharaohs throne room look more grandiose, it didn't really matter, I mean with the lighting effects that seemingly shone from every corner of the stage, it really felt like I was watching a show.
Lastly, of course it'd be impossible to talk about a musical without mentioning the music, which I once again adored, like almost everything with the show. I'm not quite sure if I have any standout songs, but the way it seamlessly shifted through genres was great, especially the Elvis style performance by Tosh Wanogho-Maud, it seemed as if he could do no wrong while he was up there on stage. The same could be said about the dancing, especially the one scene involving tap dancing, which I felt was super tight and well executed by the cast.
Final Score: 85/100
Keep in mind, this musical never really takes itself too seriously, I mean there was a hamburger hieroglyph in the background of the Pharoah scene, which really amused me. If you're just looking for a fun family friendly musical I can think of one no better than this one. Even if it is about a religious story it's never really in your face and at times it feels like it pokes fun at the absurdity of the story in general. On a side note I never really realized how much of a pompous ass Joseph acts like as a child, it reminds me of a certain author who thinks he's more important than everyone else. I mean what more could I say, no disrespect to VeggieTales but this is like VeggieTales on steroids and it is bound to please anyone who is lucky enough to have it grace their eyes.
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