| Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat |
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| compositions by andrew lloyd webber | |
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Based on the story of Joseph from the Bible , this light-hearted show was first presented as a cantata at the Colet Court school in London on March 1 , 1968 and lasted twenty minutes. Both the orchestra and the singers consisted of pupils of Colet Court, whose head of music had commissioned the work. The second performance, also by Colet Court boys, was on 12 May 1968 at Central Hall, Westminster. This was picked up by a review in the Sunday Times . The third performance was at St Paul's Cathedral on 9 November 1968. It had by then been expanded. Due to its success, Rice and Lloyd Webber decided to release a small album of the show in 1969 . The album didn't do well until Lloyd Webber and Rice released their second musical album, '' Jesus Christ Superstar '', an immediate hit. The original recording then enjoyed 3 months in the US charts. ''Joseph'' was finally produced at a professional level in 1972 by Frank Dunlop and its success transferred it to bigger theatres and wider audiences. It was finally produced on Broadway on January 27 , 1982 at the Royale Theatre where it remained for 747 performances. Credited to its family friendly storyline, universal themes, and catchy music ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is one of the most dependably profitable titles in musical theatre history, particularly when producers feature a headlining star. MUSICAL NUMBERS The songs in the show are:
Notable in the composition of the music is the variety of styles used by Lloyd Webber, including parodies of French ballads ("Those Canaan Days"), Elvis -inspired rock and roll ("Song of the King"), western ("One More Angel In Heaven"), 1920's Ragtime ("Potiphar"), and Disco ("Go, Go, Go Joseph"). RECORDINGS Numerous recordings exist of the final show represented by the song list above. A roughly 30-minute version was released shortly after the success of Jesus Christ Superstar that omits several of the numbers listed above (Prologue, Any Dream Will Do (at the beginning), One More Angel in Heaven, Those Canaan Days, Benjamin Calypso) and rearranges many of the others into the cantata format originally used for the Colet School performances. Because this recorded version is longer than the Colet School performance, it must represent the 1969 version before the show arrived on Broadway. 1991 London This musical was revived in London by Steven Pimlott and two recordings debuted. These two recordings are the ones most likely found on store shelves today. They are entitled as “Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of…” At the start of this run, Joseph was played by the then popular music singer and pin-up Jason Donovan {Link without Title} . The orchestral credits, cover art, and running time are almost exactly the same, leading one to believe that the various casts recorded their vocals over the same prerecorded orchestral tracks. The difference between these recordings is the singers and the narrator. These productions also includes the "Joseph Remix" (also known as the "Joseph Megamix"), a nine-minute medley of themes arranged with a heavy beat. 1992 Canada The white cover is the 1992 Canadian revival recording with Donny Osmond in the title role, Joseph, and Janet Metz as the narrator. Donny Osmond was chosen for the 1999 video production. 1993 Los Angeles The black cover is the 1993 Los Angeles revival recording staring Michael Damian as Joseph and Kelli Rabke the narrator, with Robert Torti as Pharaoh Video It has also been made into a video in 1999 , starring Donny Osmond as Joseph, Maria Friedman as Narrator, and Richard Attenborough as Jacob. IN POPULAR CULTURE In The Simpsons (Episode HABF04) the devoutly Christian Ned Flanders is heard singing the ending of "Coat of Many Colors" when he finds his record of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in Marge 's Yard Sale . In the Seinfeld episode "The Wig Master," Cosmo Kramer is seen wearing this coat, which he borrowed from the Broadway production's wig master. In the Family Guy Episode P-TV, Meg is in a play called God and his super amazing rainbow suspenders. |
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