REVIEWS

"What Happened in Boston, Willie"

Reviews of Current Productions

Go, Go, Go

Reviewed by Beverly Creasey

The Reagle Players, for the most part, present gorgeous replicas of beloved “old fashioned” musicals so it’s a lovely surprise to find a hip, contemporary show like JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT kicking up its heels in Waltham (for two more weekends). Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first successful musical irreverently, but sweetly, follows the Old Testament story of Jacob and his favorite son, Joseph. You may remember that his eleven jealous brothers sold him into slavery and told their father he was dead. Then he began interpreting dreams for the Egyptians and became indispensable politically and economically.

If you’ve not seen the show, now is the time….but the Reagle version is not your grandfather’s JOSEPH. Susan Chebookjian has tweaked the original, added oodles of delightful touches----like Joseph’s hilarious travel slides of his trip to Egypt (via Boston landmarks)----or the ‘60s guru in the go-go, hully-gully number who looks like Ozzie Osbourne. Chebookjian’s production is a high voltage affair with jaw dropping choreography (based on the original production). Every moment pops, thanks to an electric cast who can sing and dance as well as any Broadway company you will see.

Eric Kunze is by far the best Joseph I’ve seen. He camps it up when the script calls for it and then takes your breath away with his despair when he sings the rapturously beautiful “Close Every Door.” Also wonderful is Jose Delgado’s huge, letter and choreography- perfect children’s choir. Ayla Brown makes a pert, spunky narrator and Jeffrey Max gets lots of laughs as the heart throb Pharoah with blue suede shoes. Matthew Kossack is a standout as the Butler and Colin Liander stops the show with “Those Canaan Days.” Gayle Sullivan’s costumes are divine, right down to Joseph’s gold combat boots. Dan Rodriguez’ orchestra keeps the pace lively and you’re caught up in the happy momentum.

"Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (12 - 21 June)

REAGLE PLAYERS

617 Lexington Street, WALTHAM MA

1 (781) 891-5600

"What Happened in Boston, Willie"

entire contents copyright 2008 by Tony Annicone

"Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Reagle Players' first show of their 40th season is the biblical story of Jacob and his 12 sons in the musicalized version, "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". It is a spectacular presentation and stars American idol finalist Ayla Brown as the narrator and Broadway star Eric Kunze as Joseph. It was written in 1968 by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim RIce as a 15 minute cantata, this now 2 hour show is high energy from start to finish. The 31 performers plus a 70 member choir of children under the direction and choreography by Susan M. Chebookjian and musical direction by Dan Rodriguez with children's choir direction by Jose Delgado, have all the necessary ingredients to make this one of the best shows of this season. Earning them all, a well deserved standing ovation making "Joseph & the Technicolor Dreamcoat", a definite must see show.

The storyline is told by the narrator who interacts with her fellow actors and sings to and with the 70 children at various times in the show. Joseph has prophetic dreams and is the best loved son of his doting father, Jacob who gives him the coat of many colors. His 11 brothers become jealous of his prophecies and his splendid coat that they sell him into slavery in Egypt. There Joseph rises from house slave to become Pharaoh's second in command because of his gift for interpreting dreams. Director Chebookjian takes this story and creates many magnificent picture postcard moments throughout the show. She combines moments of shtick and pathos to deliver a well rounded show for the audience to enjoy. Susan also creates and uses a variety of dance styles including a hoe down, tango, the limbo, the swim and the 50's rock and roll. She taught the huge cast these dances and they all execute them perfectly and has the cast and children move around the enormous set with ease. Susan has a good eye for detail and this wonderful show is a prime example of it.

Since this soft rock musical is entirely sung, Dan Rodriguez as musical director not only taught the cast these songs but has the harmonies soaring within them. He plays the keyboard and conducts the beautiful sounding orchestra. Jose Delgado taught the children's choir their numerous songs and they sound incredible, too. Another outstanding aspect of this show is the scenic design by Peter Colao with his numerous setting of Canna and Egypt. The costumes by Gayle Sullivan and Mark Thompson including some gaudy looking 1960's jumpsuits(which are a hoot) are perfect while the lighting design by David Wilson shines through. Stage manager Karen Parlato keeps things moving during the show, making it flow seamlessly from one scene to the next.

The most important part of this show are the two leads. The Narrator is played by beautiful and statuesque 19 year old Ayla Brown. She has a fantastic soprano voice which soars in all her numbers including the Prologue, Poor Poor Joseph and Go, Go Joseph. She weaves her way in and out of the numbers with rest of the cast beautifully. Ayla can not only belt her voice but sings sweetly on her softer ones, too. She is a dynamic performer and she makes this role her own. Her talented partner in this show is Eric Kunze as Joseph. He has a fabulous tenor voice whether he is singing softly in "Any Dream Will Do" or with deep feeling in "Close Every Door" where his voice soars off the scale sending chills up your spine with its poignancy. His interactions with the other characters are handled as well as his warm, touching relationship with Jacob, standing out. You need two strong performers to lead the ensemble but in this case the rest of the cast lives up to the high standards set forth by Eric and Ayla.

The other 11 brothers have oodles of talent and they also shine in their singing and dancing prowess. The standout solos include the country western song "One More Angel" sung slowly and sadly to Jacob and then with wild abandon by Andrew Giordano in his lilting tenor voice, ( the sorrowful obligato is sung by Lenni Kmiec in her soprano voice), the "Benjamin Calypso" is sung by another powerful tenor Jason Michael Butler (who played the tenor soloist in last year's "Singin' in the Rain") and another voice that soars off the charts is Colin Liander in the French type song "Those Canaan Days". The other talented brothers include Paul Reynolds, Jason Gaffney (who I first saw in "A Chorus Line" years ago) Christopher King who also plays the doomed Baker, the athletic Stephen Cerf, Matthew Kossack who also plays the proper Butler, Cory Stewart, Scott Abreau and Matt Romero. Another stunning performer is Jeffrey King as the Pharaoh. He plays the part perfectly making the chorus girls faint at the proper moments. The brother's father Jacob and Potiphar are played by Gordon Baird. He shows his warmth and humor as Jacob and anger as Potiphar. The old man gets the dancing girl at the end of "Canaan Days" which is hilarious. Potiphar's seductive wife is played by Hilary Rushford where she seduces Joseph and gets him thrown in jail. The women have a lot more to do in this version of the show than in the original while they sing and dance up a storm. Another strong part of the show is the "Mega Mix" where the energetic cast reprises most of the songs from the show brilliantly. So go, go and see "Joseph" in Waltham for the Reagle Players 40th anniversary season to lift your spirits during the springtime and summer season in MA. It is like going to Broadway in your own backyard. Bravo!

Reagle has a very Technicolor 'Dreamcoat'

By David Brooks Andrews/DAILY NEWS CORRESPONDENT
Posted Jun 13, 2008 @ 04:59 PM

WALTHAM —

The Reagle Players are bringing more high-octane energy to the Robinson Theatre with their production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" than the space has seen in some time.

It's a show that calls for that level of energy as it delivers a comic send-up of the Bible story told in Genesis about a young boy who was given a coat of many colors by his father because he favored him over his 11 brothers. Those who remember their Sunday School or Hebrew lessons know that the spectacular coat understandably made Joseph's brothers jealous and set off a series of dramatic events that years later ends up blessing his father and brothers in life-saving fashion.

While the show follows the basic outline of Joseph's story, it actually offers far more Technicolor and hip humor than insights into the heart and soul of Joseph. It's as if the creators, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, saw the Bible story as a challenge to their comic and musical talents. No doubt, they also were inspired by their success with "Jesus Christ Superstar."

"Dreamcoat" went through a lengthy development process in the 1970s, but ever since it opened on Broadway in 1982, it has been a hugely popular musical.

It's framed by a narrator who, in a sense, tells the story to a large chorus of young children, while also mingling with characters in the story. The Reagle found a gem in 19-year-old Ayla Brown, whom they cast as the narrator. Since placing 13th in "American's Idol's" fifth season in 2006, the daughter of state Sen. Scott Brown and television news reporter Gail Huff-Brown has signed a record contract and performed in numerous shows and events. Don't think for a moment that the casting of her and the choice of this show aren't in large part about appealing to and developing the next generation of Reagle theatergoers.

It's hard to take your eyes off Brown in this show. She's a beautiful, tall, willowy girl who has an appealing stage presence and a lovely way of exchanging glances and flirtations with other characters on the set. She has a beautiful, high soprano voice that she belts out at times. As is often the case with young singers, one wishes that you could hear more of her words at times, but she's up against a very loud orchestra and musical.

She's not the only one who struggles with making her words heard; in fact, much of the cast does. This can be a bit of a problem with a pop musical that is sung through - that is, with no spoken words - unless you're familiar with the show or so caught up in the energy and spectacular dancing that director and choreographer Susan M. Chebookjian elicits from her cast that you're not so concerned about the words.

The one exception is Eric Kunze, who brings a raft of Broadway and touring experience to the role of Joseph. Not only can you hear every single one of his words, but he sings with real feeling and passion, particularly when he's thrown in Potiphar's jail, and he helps to center the show as the comic wildness spins around him.

Jeffrey Max is hilarious as Pharaoh, who thinks he's Elvis Presley. Joseph's 11 brothers create quite a band of ruffians as they sing "Poor, Poor Joseph" while dancing as if at a country ho-down, thrilled with the thought that Joseph must be dead by now. They're also very funny in the over-the-top number "Those Canaan Days," performed with faux-French accents in front of a beautifully and wryly painted screen of a decaying mansion set in a parched American desert.

This two-hour show is about spectacle as much as it is about energy. Peter Colao's elegant sets very much capture the feeling of Egyptian pyramids and Pharaoh's royalty. Gayle Sullivan and Mark Thompson's costumes are lush and gorgeous in their Egyptian feel, at times almost non-existent as in the loincloth worn by the trim Kunze, and delightfully modern in the flowing pants and crisp tops that Brown wears.

Non-stop spectacle, energy, humor, snappy dance moves and the vigorous cheerleading of Joseph tend to replace the subtleties of story and character that usually characterize Reagle's musicals. But these qualities are made-to-order for a high-octane younger audience, and hopefully they will be hooked for years to come.