In mid-February, 9th graders were studying the Biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. In the story, Joseph’s brothers sell Joseph to an Egyptian pharaoh and eventually God uses Joseph to help his family during a famine.
“Joseph ends up … being able to help the region through a famine,” said sacred studies teacher Matt Ferris. “All of that happens because God’s doing something behind the scenes.”
Enter M.A. Players, Minnehaha’s theater department, who will be bringing this story to life the spring musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Nicholas Freeman, as director of MA’s theater program, chooses the performances, said this show gives the school a chance “to celebrate just being together as a community in a Biblically based story that’s uplifting and fun and inspiring.”
Freeman chooses shows with both audience and cast in mind.
“I always pick shows that catered to the core of who our current students are,” he said.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat holds a special place in theater history. It all started when 19-year-old Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a 15-minute “pop cantata” for a small school project. Following the success of the school performance, a recording was released as a concept album in 1969.
Surprisingly it took 14 years for the show to officially reach Broadway, opening on January 27, 1982. Now the composer and the musical itself are famous.
Freeman hopes students will pack the seats in April, similar to how they would support their classmates in sporting events. Not only should students support the actors on stage, it’s also equally important to support the crew backstage and in the orchestra pit.
“It’s important to support the work because of all the talent that you’re seeing, not only on stage, but off stage”, said Freeman.
Theater needs more than talented actors and a tech crew to be successful.
“You can’t do theater without an audience, so we need people to come see the show,” Freeman said.
Not only is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat a Biblical musical, it’s also a family friendly show suitable for all ages.
“I think it was high time to make sure we picked a story that really is accessible to all people, that we can bring together, both our Lower School and the Upper School, to celebrate just being together as a community in a Biblically based story that’s uplifting and fun and inspiring,” Freeman said.