Long before composer Andrew Lloyd Webber became known for musicals about felines, an Argentine social climber and a Parisian phantom, he began his theatrical career with tales from the Bible. He and lyricist Tim Rice were commissioned by a British prep school to create a show for its student choir and the result was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, based on the Old Testament tale, now on view at Boca Raton’s Wick Theatre.
In case you weren’t paying attention in Sunday school, it is the story of the title character, favored by his father Jacob over his 11 older brothers and given a snazzy, multi-hued coat, which only increases his siblings’ jealousy. They get Joseph thrown in jail on trumped-up charges, where he develops a knack for interpreting dreams. That draws the attention of Egypt’s pharoah, who appoints him to be his right-hand man — not bad for a nice Jewish boy. Joe ingratiates himself further by saving the people of Egypt from famine and forgiving his brothers for their vindictive ways.
With tongues planted firmly in cheek, Lloyd Webber and Rice relate these events with a parade of musical parodies. The score bounces around from tunes with a country-western twang to a mournful French chanson to an exuberant calypso number. And when we eventually meet the pharoah, he is represented by a hip-popping Elvis impersonator.
All of this giddiness is framed by a henna-haired narrator (Leah Sessa) who belts the saga to an octet of tots. They provide vocal backup before lining the sides of Jack Golden’s twin staircases, which keep changing technicolors throughout the evening. She is soon overshadowed by Broadway veteran Stephen Christopher Anthony (Joseph) whose standout vocals include “Close Every Door,” the penultimate number of each act.
Directing and choreographing this romp of a production is London’s Simon Coulthard, who matches the song’s musical stylings with breezy, anachronistic dances like energetic disco, angular Egyptian moves and, especially, an acrobatic Apache pas de deux. Coulthard keeps the show moving and the stage traffic flowing, no easy task with a cast of more than 30. A crowd of that size requires a huge supply of costumes — both period and contemporary — and Ricky Lurie raids the Wick’s wardrobe and augments it with panache.
The production should end on a high note with a reprise of the score known as a “Megamix,” but it runs out of steam instead, an unfortunate fizzle of a finale instead of the needed flash.
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, The Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton. Through Sun., Dec. 22. $89-$119. 561-995-2333 or visit thewick.org.
