Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

The day we arrived in London – August 3rd, 2007 – was also the day we went to see Joseph. We both were excited as we would finally see Lee live on stage! After cheering for him at the ‘Any Dream Will Do’ series (a BBC contest looking for the lead in Joseph) and the looong wait, it would finally happen.

I was feeling nervous when the lights in the theatre dimmed and the show began… The children and narrator were on stage singing, when one of the backdrops slowly went up and we could see the silhouet of Lee through the remaining backdrop. Manon bumped my arm with her elbow… there he was, ready to go on stage. When Lee ‘floated down’ the crowd went mad, they cheered, shouted, applauded, whistled, it was crazy! And Lee smiled a huge smile, obviously enjoying the moment.
Oh it was wonderful, I felt goosebumps all over and felt happy for him. He deserved to win. He came, saw and conquered!

I assume most of you know the story of Joseph and his Dreamcoat and the songs in the musical as this is – or so I’ve been told – one of the most performed musicals at schools.

The cast was superb! Funny, alert, great voices which blended so well. The kids on stage enjoyed themselves and Manon said she’d give her right arm to be on stage with them.

As noisy as the audience was, you could hear a pin drop when Lee sang ‘Close Every Door’. I have to admit, I cried – which to me is a sign that something is good. I either get goosebumps or have to fight keeping the tears in. I let them go this time and it felt wonderful. I couldn’t stop thinking about how it must be for Lee. Fulfilling your dream, winning the part you’ve always wanted to play… I’d be speechless. Luckily, Lee wasn’t 🙂
I saw many handkerchiefs appear in the public, so I wasn’t the only one being touched by Lee’s emotional voice… it was either that or the happiness of seeing Lee in a loincloth (which he wears for the bigger part of the show) *grin*

Preeya Kalidas, the narrator, is definitely not my choice. In comparison to the narrator I saw many years ago – Linzi Hateley – Preeya lacks personality and her voice was shrieky in the high notes. I know many people like her, but as always opinions will differ, no hard feelings!

A huge bow for Dean Collinson, who plays Pharaoh. I always thought it was a pity that Pharaoh had just one song, a great one, but still it’s just one. For this production a new song has been added: ‘King of my Heart’. Dean won the audience with a single movement of his hips and wiping his head with a white scarf – Elvis hasn’t left the building!

I love all the songs, you just can’t sit still while listening to the music. The Joseph Megamix at the end got the public to their feet and everyone, sang and danced along. Again loud cheering and shouting when Lee rose almost to the top of the auditorium on (what looked like) a very wobbly platform. I felt sad when the last applause died down, knowing it will be quite some time before I will see the show again.

But it wasn’t completely over yet. We knew Lee would come out after the show to hand out picture cards with printed autographs and – time permitted – signed some programs too, so we got in line and waited…. When he came out it was madness, again. Never have I seen or heard a crowd shout that loud. (To get an idea, view this YouTube video) Poor guy, must be frightening going out every night. Unfortunately they didn’t think of the kids and after I took some pics and looked next to me I saw Manon crying because people were pushing and shoving her and she was afraid she’d fall. So I grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the crowd, to a safe spot and we looked from there. I got a pre-signed pic and decided that would have to do as there was no way I’d get myself into that crazy crowd again.
I heard since then that they now invite the kids to come forward and ask the adults to step back and don’t push! Good for them, but unfortunately this wasn’t the ‘happy end of a wonderful evening’ we’d hoped for.