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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Thurston Middle School’s seventh and eighth grade students may be young, but they are bursting with talent. They proved that with their performances of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at Westwood High School from April 5 to 7.
The middle school thespians followed the script of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical based on the Joseph’s story in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Though it is a well-known story, the musical adaptation challenged the students to tell the tale primarily through song (accompanied by a live band) and with very little dialogue.
Thurston Middle School’s Ryan Canale strikes an Elvis-inspired pose as he plays the Pharoah in ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.’ Photos by Laura Drinan
With the help of the show’s three narrators played by Lexi Bean, Grace Buza, and Lucy Vitali, the audience learned of Jacob (Sean Fitzgerald) and his 12 sons living in the land of Canaan. Jacob, a successful farmer, did not hide his favoritism for his son Joseph (Alex Mansour), the recipient of the “coat of many colors.”
Envious of Joseph, whose coat made him into “a walking piece of art,” and enraged by Joseph’s dreams of ruling over the siblings, the brothers orchestrated a plan to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites and tell Jacob that “there’s one more angel in Heaven” with a western-themed song.
Taken to Egypt as a slave, Joseph finds himself in a jail cell, but quickly rises to the position of the Elvis-inspired Pharaoh’s (Ryan Canale) right-hand man after interpreting the his dream of an impending famine. Thanks to Joseph, Egypt was prepared for the famine. His brothers, however, were suffering in Canaan and decided through a French ballad to head to Egypt.
Unrecognizable to his brothers who had come to grovel for food, Joseph planted a golden cup in one of the bags of food, which his brother, Benjamin (Ryan Kaplan), tried to steal during a calypso-inspired number. Though he initially ordered that Benjamin be imprisoned, Joseph realized how his brothers had changed when they begged for forgiveness and offered to take Benjamin’s place in prison.
Soon reunited with his father, Joseph celebrates a happy ending to the story with his coat and family.
While the musical is one that people of all ages can enjoy, the costumes adorned by the Thurston Middle School students helped to vivify the production. From Joseph’s floor-length coat to his brothers’ colorful vests to the Egyptian-inspired outfits, the show’s costumes transported the audience to a primeval time.
The show’s intense choreography also wowed the audience as the students moved across the stage as they sang. At the end of the performance, the entire company came to the stage to perform a medley of all of the production’s songs and dances, which showed the audience how much time and effort the students dedicated to the musical.
With a successful production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in the books, it is certain that the future of Westwood’s Performing Arts department will be safe with the Thurston Middle School students.
