Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at HCT

My friend Scott, who teaches high school theatre, says, rather derisively, that Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the most overdone musical of all time. He has a point, as I have seen it performed countless times, but it is so popular because it is usually so fun and entertaining. It tells the well-known Bible story of how Joseph rose to become the Pharaoh's second-in-command after his brothers betrayed him for being their father's favorite with songs that span every musical genre. Each production adds their own special touches and Hale Centre Theatre's version, which I saw last Saturday night, is no exception. In "Journey to Egypt" the Ishmaelites are portrayed as a motorcycle gang, in "Potiphar" the title character plays miniature golf trying to hit the ball into a Sphinx-like feature (which I thought was hilarious), in "Go, Go, Go, Joseph" the dancers emerge from psychedelic VW buses, "The Song of the King" is performed as a Las Vegas floor show complete with showgirls and waiters offering cocktails to audience members, and the "Megamix" is performed in a nightclub with Mrs. Potipher as the DJ spinning the tunes. These were all really fun touches and both Joseph (Zack Wilson) and the Narrator (Amelia Rose Moore) have incredible voices, but I didn't really like this production. Perhaps my friend Scott is right and it is overdone because I have seen much better versions. First of all, the lighting is way too dark, relying on colored lights and illuminated stars strung throughout the theatre to light the action. Sometimes I had a hard time seeing what was going on. Next, there was a lot going on. The stage at Hale Theatre is small and intimate and this is a big show with a large cast. There were many times when the action seemed to be a bit unwieldy, and even messy, with the moving on and off of set pieces and props and those set pieces and props were so completely over-the-top that they detracted from the action. Finally, I did not like the costumes at all. I thought they were dark, edgy, and a bit too avant-garde for my taste. In my opinion, they should be fun, colorful, and whimsical. My complaints all have to do with style; the music is, as ever, what makes this musical so popular and the cast does a fantastic job with all of the songs. I'm sure that most people will enjoy this production more than I did.