Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Review – Bradford Alhambra
By Steve Crabtree, October 2022
Well, it’d been a long time coming. A good few years in fact, as Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat had always been and gone before I’d got round to going to see it.
So this time, as it hit Bradford, there was no way it was eluding me. And I’m so glad I got myself there, as the two-hour show certainly won itself a new fan.
“Big, bright sets and wonderful costumes”
For those unfamiliar to the story, the musical follows the biblical story of Joseph. His brothers are envious of him for being a big dreamer and also his father’s favourite. So, his brothers sell him to slavers for money. Will they ever see each other again? What will become of Joseph?
Well, we were about to find out. And that famous, recognisable colourful logo greeted us as we took our seats at the Alhambra. Just seeing that gave us the first bit of excitement, more of which was to come.
Two hours of big, bright sets and wonderful costumes was to follow, alongside some incredible numbers, and epic dancing.
“Personality and mischief”
From a casting point of view, I think we were spoilt for this one. Alexandra Burke shone as an outstanding narrator. The former X-Factor winner proved that she has many strings to her bow in the showbiz world, and it was a pleasure to see her in action. She gave us a perfect balance of presence, subtleness and comedy, as well as vocal perfection.
The kids up there oozed personality and mischief, and Jac Yarrow was a also big hit in the lead role. Bobby Windebank did his bit of limelight stealing as the Elvis impersonating Pharoah. He could easily get his own show on the back of the way he owned the stage tonight.
In truth there was a sublimely talented bunch of people on stage. Every single person made the show the hugely enjoyable and colourful musical that it’s renowned for being. Joseph’s brothers were played soundly by a combo of children and adults, and his brother’s wives showed off some amazing moves in what I can only describe as wonderful choreography. The dancing ranged from tap, to disco, to the can-can. And the arrangements gave us a bit of hip-hop, reggae and pop, and also some rock n’ roll. I loved it!
“Terrific”
Everything about the production is strong. Set wise, Joseph’s backdrop is up there with anything else that I’ve ever seen at the Alhambra. It slick, and highly sensory. The Camel bikes also were terrific.
It’s a show that’s allowed itself to be subtly modernised over the years, such as bringing selfies into Canaan and Egypt, “way, way back many centuries ago, not long after the Bible began”. Nice touches like that run throughout the show, without losing the Joseph tradition.
The comic timing throughout the performance was spot on, and as a 100% sung-through musical, its pace is nice. With the range of songs and dance sequences, the story doesn’t get stuck at any point. And if you feel you might have lost the story anywhere, it’s not long before you’ve found it again.
Tonight’s performance of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was everything this show promises, and more. The audience lapped up every number, and by the time the megamix finale had arrived to close the show, the whole of the theatre were on their feet dancing and clapping.
Sheer brilliance. I’ll be making a point of watching the show many times again in the future. Fun, excitement and musical indulgence from beginning to end.
Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat runs at Bradford Alhambra until Saturday 22nd October.
No! They took out the best part of the ending!
Where they pull ribbons out of the beautiful coat and sing to the ever crescendoing music!
We were stunned that have been taken out. It was a fantastic show but we were gutted about the ending as we had told the children “wait till you see the last part!”.
Whoever made that decision got it wrong. Unbelievable