Joseph and His Dreamcoat Splash Bryce Valley Theater with Color

“Welcome to Egypt, Joseph!” said Elvis-based Pharaoh Jonathan Platt just before breaking into song for the audience in Bryce Valley’s theater. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with its rock and roll, go-go and country mashup, took the stage at Bryce Valley High School April 18-20, 2024.

And, though the musical was a challenge, Bryce Valley had a lot of fun with it.

The musical, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Tim Rice, is based on the story of Joseph in the Bible book of Genesis — that is, if the story were to take place back and forth and all over the 20th century.

Bryce Valley rocked favorite songs like “Benjamin Calypso,” “One More Angel in Heaven,” and “Song of the King.”

Characters and Cast

There are two major characters in the show, plus Pharaoh, who is quite memorable. In Bryce Valley’s production Eli Beesley (junior) played Joseph, Jonathan Platt (freshman) played Pharaoh, and Bradi Gates and Taylor LeFevre (both seniors) shared the part of Narrator. Each role is great, but there is a lot of singing.

Eli said he prefers to sing a lot. As it was, Joseph was the perfect role for him.

Joseph’s character growth also struck a chord with Eli. “In the beginning my character is pretty arrogant,” he said. The famous Bible character goes from being his father’s favorite son, to eventually being forgotten about in jail. Finally, after interpreting dreams, Joseph makes his way up and becomes Pharaoh’s second-in-command.

Though his character gets a lot of power, Eli sees Joseph as a changed man in the finale. “Then I think he’s a lot more humble and even though he’s in a really nice circumstance, he understands from before how humble he needs to be,” he said.

Pharaoh, on the other hand, is and will always be portrayed as the popular king of rock and roll: Elvis Presley. Jonathan Platt took his role as Egypt’s top guy very seriously. His personal favorite song from the musical, though, was “Canaan Days,” sung by Chris Beesley (freshman). “Chris is so good at it,” he said.

Chris, playing Levi, was one of three of Joseph’s brothers who each got a song in the spotlight. Xander King (senior) playing Rueben sang “One More Angel in Heaven.” And Luis Corrales (freshman) playing Judah sang “Benjamin Calypso.”

Growing Into the Musical

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat wasn’t the directors’ first choice, and it turned out to be the hardest play Bryce Valley has ever done.

“We grew with this play,” said Holly Willis, who co-directed the musical with Nathan Platt and did the choreography. The kids “had to work harder on developing their characters, and I had to figure out how to transition between the dances.”

One role that was a little new for Bryce Valley this year was the role of Narrator. But the two seniors were able to figure it out.

“The narrator is unique because she is not really a part of the story,” said Bradi. “Rather, she guides the audience through the story purely by song. It is a fun role to have as I can interact more with the audience and the characters on stage in different ways. There was definitely a learning curve to it, but it is so much fun.”

The talents of many came together in the song that gives the musical its name: “Joseph’s Coat.” The two narrators and the ensemble had to memorize the order of the colors in that song, and it took a lot of work. “Now I won’t forget it,” said Bradi!

Unlike a lot of people, this cast now knows all the words that come before “and blue!”

Making the Musical Come to Life

Of course, Joseph and his Dreamcoat could not have come to life at Bryce Valley if it weren’t for outside contributions, which were not slight.

Producer Pete Peterson wrote in the program that “Buffi Flake created the coat without any pattern and did so with a, ‘I got this!’” Jeanie Shakespeare and Denise Pierson filled in the seams with dresses, skirts and any other costumes the crew could ask for. The result was splashes of color everywhere. Truly, as some narrators would say, this “astounding clothing took the biscuit.”

So many others took care of sound, makeup, lights, set and stage management that cannot be listed here.

Holly said her favorite part of doing the musical is watching how it bridges the gap between the kids that do all the extracurriculars and the kids that have less confidence to get out there and do things. They all work together to create something great. “If this person shines,” she said, “then this person shines and we just all shine together.”

“The kids have such beautiful voices,” she added. “And Mr. Platt pulls something out of them when he teaches them music.”

Leaving Its Print

The perfect way to end was with what’s called the megamix. It’s the scene that takes some of every piece of singing and choreography throughout the whole musical and puts it into a 10-minute recap at the end.

“I was really proud of the megamix,” said Holly. “It was the most daunting, but the kids just totally killed it. It was a really fun way to end.”

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will surely leave its colorful dye all over Bryce Valley for years to come. Here’s to something, Elvis, Calypso, “and blue!”

– by Abbie Call

All images courtesy of AJ Martel, The Byway.

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