'Joseph' launches Little Theatre season
From staff reports
ANDREW T. GALLAGHER/Standard-Times
special
Vanessa Raposa is the Narrator and
Joe Raposa plays the title role in
"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat," which Little Theatre of
Fall River is presenting beginning
tonight at BCC. |
 The Little Theatre of
Fall River raises the curtain tonight on its
production of "Joseph and His Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat," the musical by
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
The show, which opens
the troupe's 69th season, will be presented
at 8 tonight through Saturday and at 2 p.m.
Sunday.
"I thinkg it's going to
be a great show, a beautiful show," said
stage manager Kathy Castro, citing an
abundance of "wonderful voices."
In what Ms. Castro
believes is a first for Little Theatre,
tonight has been designated "Family Night."
Parents are encouraged to bring their
children to the performance, which runs
about 90 minutes with intermission. If you
bring your own camera, you'll be able to
take advantage of a "photo opportunity"
after the final curtain, posing your
youngster with stars such as Joseph, the
crocodile and the giraffe.
In addition, children
will receive tickets for a door prize raffle
of 30 copies of the Biblical story of
Joseph, which the lucky winners can have
autographed.
The Biblical saga of
Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to
vibrant life in this delightful musical
parable, which first was presented as a
full-scale production at the 1972 Edinburgh
Festival.
Joseph is a boy blessed
with prophetic dreams, and is 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.
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
Swansea's Joseph Case High School, where he
teaches English and drama.
Musical direction of the
production is by Chris Silva, with Janice
MacDonald as choreographer. Kathy Castro is
the production's stage manager, and Jan
O'Shaughnessey is assisant 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. As Joseph's brothers, the
production also features Richard Bento,
Mitchell Travers, John Costa, Ken Ettress,
Aaron Gendreau, Tim Reid, Eric Pereira,
Shawn Bolduc, Alan Rodrigues, Andrew Correia
and Matt Silva.
"Joseph and His 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 His 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 on
Elsbree Street in Fall River.
Single tickets are $15,
with discounts available for students,
seniors and groups of 20 or more.
Subscriptions are available at substantial
savings. For reservations and information,
call the Little Theatre box of fice at (508)
675-1852.
This story appeared on
Page C12 of The Standard-Times on October
23, 2003. |
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