THE evergreen musical Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat returned to Belfast this week with a weight of expectation and no small amount of hype behind it.
This is the touring production of the show made famous (or should that be even more famous?) through the reality TV programme Any Dream Will Do.
Eventual winner Lee Mead took the lead role in the West End revival of the musical, but it’s the touri
ng counterpart which arrived in Northern Ireland, with third-placed contestant Craig Chalmers as the title character.
As with all musicals, Joseph is light on story and narrative, and the lyrics of the songs don’t stand up to a great deal of scrutiny.
It’s down, therefore, to the performers to carry the show and make it convincing, with an even-handed director needed to ensure that the world on stage is not only believable but entertaining as well.
Thankfully, this production comes together with style and bravado in a production that is charged with energy and vibrancy.
Craig Chalmers is more the centre of the show than its outright star, but he puts in an engaging performance as an everyman Joseph that is admirable for being slightly understated.
He could have been a prima donna, but any suggestions of that are, thankfully, dismissed when he opens his mouth and an Edinburgh accent comes out.
It is the chorus of his 11 brothers who drive the story in the early stages, and they manage to shine throughout both as a collection of performers and a series of individuals when they break into their respective roles.
This is a production that doesn’t take itself too seriously, that’s not to say it isn’t polished or professional, but there’s an endearing tone of levity throughout.
Through the various musical changes – with scenes aping country and western music, French accents, calypso and glamourised versions of the play’s ancient setting – proceedings rattle along at a cracking pace.
The result ensures that there is always plenty happening on stage to engage the crowd – you will be too entertained to go hunting for flaws or feel the need to pick apart the production.
The ending is perhaps a shade overdone, with numerous curtain calls and grandstanding songs, but the audience couldn’t get enough of it.
And that’s the point – the whole experience of Joseph is uncynically uplifting, a feel-good piece of family theatre that succeeds as spectacle and leaves a pleasing afterglow.
Phil Crossey
n Joseph runs at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, until August 30.
The full article contains 437 words and appears in News Letter newspaper.
