The only thing wrong with Stages’ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is that it isn’t long enough. We wanted more … much more. Directed by Stephen Bourneuf, it’s a glossy, polished production that rollicks joyfully from one bubblegum scene to the next. The costumes are glorious, the sets are impressive, and the music—especially if you were a child of the ’70s—stirs the heart.
These Tim Rice lyrics never get old, and the jokes are still funny; the musical (adapted from the Book of Genesis by Rice and playwright Andrew Lloyd Webber) feels as current as it did some 40 years ago. Who knew, btw, that Joseph was presented for the first time in 1968 as a 15-minute pop cantata at a small private school in London, where Webber’s brother was a student? It was such a success that a second performance was arranged at Central Hall, Westminster, where a critic for The Sunday Times happened to be in the audience. His favorable review prompted a third performance at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The rest is history.
Jeff Sears is Joseph, and Kirsten Scott is the narrator. Both seem to enjoy themselves immensely, belting out the tunes and connecting amiably with the audience. But then, so does everyone, and, come the last scene—the ‘Joseph Megamix’ when the full company, out of costume, blitzes joyously through the numbers—the Mainstage at the Robert G. Reim Theatre at Kirkwood Community Center is the best party in town.
Joseph continues through July 2 and is followed by 9 to 5 (July 21 through Aug. 20) and South Pacific (Sept. 8 through Oct. 8). Seussical, Stages’ Theatre for Young Audiences, takes place through July 2 at Playhouse @ Westport Plaza.
upcoming shows
Union Avenue Opera’s 23rd season
July 7 » Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, starring Christine Brewer
July 28 » Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Aug. 18 » Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel
All performances begin at 8 p.m.
Fabulous Fox Theatre
July 28 – 30 » Mamma Mia!
2017–2018 U.S. Bank Broadway Series:
Nov. 28 – Dec. 10 » The King and I
Jan. 16 – 28, 2018 » School of Rock
April 3 – 22, 2018 » Hamilton
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ 2017-2018 Mainstage season
» The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
» Hamlet
» Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
» The Nutcracker
» The Marvelous Wonderettes
» The Humans
» Born Yesterday
Pictured: Joseph at Stages
Photo: Peter Wochniak