'Joseph' at Concordia features a light-hearted touch

By PEGGY BLIZZARD
(Irvine World News - April 26, 2001)

The choice of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" to cap Concordia University's 25th anniversary celebration Saturday night could not have been better.

The evening ended spectacularly with a lighted, sparkling-topped three tiered cake replica on stage and colored confetti shot into the air followed by a cake reception in the plaza.

The production of "Joseph" was just as spectacular as one of the largest musical productions ever put on by Concordia at the Nelson Outdoor Amphitheater on campus. And although people were bundled up in the cold night air Saturday, the musical did warm the heart and touch the funny bone.

Although the Saturday night performance capped the 25th anniversary celebration, it fortunately did not cap the run of the production, which continues this Friday and Saturday night.

Director Michael Shackelford and musical director Rob Blaney, both Concordia graduates, had a lot of fun with the show, emphasizing the comedy in both the acting and in the many genre of songs.

The musical tells the story of Joseph (Nick Hanson) from the book of Exodus in which Joseph's 11 brothers become jealous of him after their parents (Peter Rosenberry and Renee Wacker) give him a multi-colored coat, and especially after he tells them of his dream in which he heads a civil ministry and they all bow down to him.

The brothers throw Joseph into a pit from where he is sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. There, he is favored by one of the Pharaoh's ministers, Potiphar (Matthew Molinari), but soon falls out of favor when Potiphar's wife (Melanie Lorenz) tries to seduce Joseph.

Joseph is thrown into jail, but after explaining the dreams of the Pharaoh's butler and baker correctly, Joseph comes to the attention of the Pharaoh (C.J. Lason) who asks him to explain his dreams. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that there will be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine and is named by the Pharaoh to head the ministry to distribute and to store food wisely, which he does.

At first, it doesn't sound like there is much room for comedy, but the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice score and book manages just that and the cast executes it well with a light-hearted touch under the direction of Shackelford and Blaney.

The whole cast has a great deal of fun with the different genres of music, especially Luke Hennings who is a standout as the eldest brother, Reuben, who leads the country-style "One More Angel in Heaven" to tell his parents that Joseph is dead, and the French-style "Those Canaan Days," a la Maurice Chevalier, with his brothers as they recall better days in Canaan before the famine.

As Joseph, Nick Hanson captures the hearts of the audience with his performance that starts with him being full of himself, leading to his brother's jealousy, and going from the top of the world to the bottom and back again. Hanson presents an air of sincerity in all aspects of his character, resulting in great likability.

One of the biggest crowd-pleasers of the night was the rock 'n' roll number "Song of the King" in which C.J. Lason, as the Pharaoh, takes on the personality of Elvis as he asks Joseph to interpret his dreams.

Amanda Eckels and Kelly Kemner are wonderful as the Narrators, keeping the audience apprised of the action in song throughout the show.

Choreographer Melanie Jacobson has created movement and dances that, while not highly difficult, work well with the many styles of music and are executed beautifully by the cast.

The show opens with a roomful of rambunctious children in day care who have the Narrators tell them the story of Joseph. The A-B-C building block motif is carried through by costume designer Andrea Galante with the brothers' overall costumes, each with the initial of the first name of the brother on the front.

The cast of brothers makes a wonderful ensemble with Cara Bonar as Benjamin, James Glowinski as Simeon, Alisa Haase as Judah, Adam Kluth as Gad, Mathew Molinari as Dan, C.J. Lason as Zebulon, Chad Ortega as Issachar, Samuel Senft as Napthali, David Strussenberg as Asher and LeRoy Wood III as Levi.

And the combo, center stage just behind the set, did an excellent job under the direction of Blaney. In addition to Blaney and Patricia Riffel on keyboards, it included Rob Savitt, trumpet; Rob Graves, saxophone, flute, piccolo and clarinet; Andy Dodd and Chris Davidson, guitar; Matt Kroona, bass; Jeremy Reinbolt, drums; and Joslynne Blasdel, percussion.

The whole evening from beginning to end is very enjoyable. And the weather forecast for this weekend appears to be much warmer to match this very warm and light-hearted show.


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