Friday 17 October, 2003 Home > News > Friday! > stage and film
stage and film
Little Theatre of Fall River to open 69th season
Herald News Staff
10/17/2003
FALL RIVER -- The Little Theatre of Fall River Inc., will present the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, to Saturday, Oct. 25, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.
The Biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to vibrant life in this delightful musical parable.
Joseph is a boy blessed with prophetic dreams, and his father’s favorite son. When he is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and taken to Egypt, Joseph endures a series of adventures in which his spirit and humanity are continually challenged.
Joseph is purchased by an army captain and lands in jail after thwarting advances from the captain’s wife. When news of Joseph’s gift to interpret dreams reaches the pharaoh, Joseph is well on his way to becoming second in command.
Set to an engaging cornucopia of musical styles, from country-western and calypso to bubble-gum pop and rock n’ roll, this Old Testament tale emerges both timely and timeless.
Tom Marcello makes his Little Theatre directorial debut with this production. He is best known in the area as the award-winning director of theater at Joseph Case High School in Swansea.
Musical direction is by Chris Silva, with Janice MacDonald as choreographer. Kathy Castro is the production’s stage manager, and Jan O’Shaughnessey is asst. to the director.
The production stars Joe Raposa in the title role, with Vanessa Raposa as the narrator. Highlighted in the musical are Matthew Morin, Brian McCann, Jennifer Morin, Jerusha Bjork, Frank Noble, David Tinkham and Shawn Elliot.
Tracy Gendreau, Mandi Owens and Lyn Soderlund provide "Joseph’s" vocal back-up. The production also features the following actors as Joseph’s brothers: James Fernandes, Richard Bento, John Costa, Ken Ettress, Aaron Gendreau, Tim Reid, Eric Pereira, Shawn Bolduc, Alan Rodrigues, Andrew Correia and Matt Silva.
"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was originally produced in 1968 as a 20-minute oratorio performed by children at a private school in London. An expanded version followed as a record album and was subsequently performed as a full-scale production in London in 1973.
"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was first performed in the United States in 1976 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It was revived on Broadway in 1981 in a production starring Bill Hutton and Laurie Beechman, running for 824 performances. Recent revival productions have starred Donny Osmond in Boston.
All performances of "Joseph" will be in the Margaret L. Jackson Arts Center at Bristol Community College, Elsbree Street. In order to encourage children as well as their parents to attend, Thursday, Oct. 23, will be Family Night and parents are invited to take photos of their children with the production’s stars after the performance.
Tickets are $15, with discounts available for students, seniors and groups of 20 or more. Subscriptions are also available. For reservations or more information, call the Little Theatre box office at 508-675-1852.
