In hopes of performing a concert-style musical, the LT Theater Board will put on a split cast production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” director Mike Kuehl said.
It is a bright and colorful show depicting the story of Joseph and his run in with the law, slavery and a powerful pyschic gift, cast member Rachel Carlin ‘23 said.
The show will be held in the NC Reber Center, Feb. 17-20, starting at 7 p.m. each night. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for seniors, LT students and students from other schools. Cast and crew rehearsed almost everyday after school and on occasional weekends since Dec.17, running over choreography and musical numbers in preparation. The decision to double cast as done in past musicals like “Spamalot” was part of the Theatre Board’s failsafe against COVID-19.
“You never know when one of our students is going to be forced to quarantine, so we wanted to have someone ready and able to jump in if needed,” Kuehl said.
While amid a surge of the COVID-19 variant, Omicron, the show’s COVID-19 policies are a bit up in the air, cast member Sophia Joyce ‘22 said. It is expected that the cast as well as the audience will be required to wear masks. In addition, for the first time in LT history, this musical will use standing microphones instead of wired microphone sets. This will limit contact between cast members, who in the past would share mic packs.
Unlike past productions, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” is more of an operatic story since all of the action takes place through the music, Kuehl said. This musical was not the Theatre Board’s first choice, having wanted to perform the story from the late ‘90s hit movie “Titanic,” yet ultimately not being able to secure the rights to perform it. Nonetheless, Kuehl and the cast are still confident that this musical will live up to past musical productions, they said.
“‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ is exactly what we need in these dark times,” Kuehl said. “It’s got a wide variety of musical styles, big glitzy chorus numbers, traditional ballads, country a calypso [and so much more].”