Joseph and the Technicolor dreamcoat thoughts

Interesting. I haven't really had an experience like that when I've seen shows. Maybe that could happen but who knows

Tim Rice talked about the development of the show on his podcast recently (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-onto-my-cloud-the-tim-rice-podcast/id1510790109?i=1000475747951)

I've never been a big fan of the show, but learning how it was originally written to be performed by schoolchildren made more sense. Tim Rice says that as the piece grew into more of a full-fledged musical, he tried to make changes (like to some of the more preposterous half-rhymes like "pajamas/farmers" but by that point he was met with resistance from people who had already grown fond of the piece as it was.

Personally, I've never been much of a fan of the show, though I do understand why many people love its unapologetically high-energy mode of storytelling. I am a much bigger fan of ALW's and Rice's work on Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, though, again, I don't think their film adaptations are anything special. I guess that's actually true of all of ALW's musicals--that their film treatments are less than exemplary...

I really enjoy this show, not totally sure why lol, because it is a bit of a hot mess. When I was in high school I saw Cheyenne Jackson as Joseph in a Washington State regional theatre production, and he was outstanding, so maybe that colors my view of it a bit. I like a lot of the music and find it pretty funny, all things considered. As it's been 20 years since I've seen it live, I'd love to see it again.

It's tremendous fun to me, but it may be past its expiration date for younger people? The fun of the show is a laid-back, slang-ridden pastiche built around a supposedly serious work (the Bible). Now that most people's interaction with that text isn't through a centuries-old translation (King James) and now that the pleasure pop culture references was sort of exhausted by my generation (X), it may be fairly dull.

But I think, more than most works, it's really dependent on the recording/performance. My favorite is the MCA studio recording ("first recording of the complete work!" as the LP jacket claims) from '74.

I saw the Michael Damian revival but caught that version on tour with Sam Harris. Harris blew the ceiling off the theater when he sang "Close Every Door." That last note held was beyond incredible. Didn't get a standing ovation but it stopped the show for a bit.

I wasn't sure what to expect of the musical as I was not real familiar with the music or the show, but my friends and I really liked it a lot.

And the Joseph Megamix at the end was great. Out of their period costumes and in more contemporary garb....I just remember that was one good-looking cast. When they were out of costume, you saw them for what they really looked like. Again, really good-looking cast.