The celebrated Broadway musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" exploded on the Wharton Center stage this week with a dazzling array of wonder, excitement and enough sugarcoated, whimsical pizzazz to inflict a breakout of instant diabetes.
The story is a classic and simple biblical tale of mercy and compassion set with a backdrop of ancient Egypt. Joseph, played enthusiastically by Patrick Cassidy, is sold into slavery by his envious brothers.
In learning how to interpret dreams, the play loosely chronicles how Joseph is quickly thrust from the disposition of a lowly slave to a rank of glorious prestige under Egypt's funky pharaoh, portrayed by Todd DuBail.
Being curiously light in narrative, the play both thrives and suffers.
On one hand, it is immediately refreshing to find yourself observing a production that doesn't jump into vain attempts to add layers of convolution or intrigue to something so insatiably pure. In this light, "Joseph" is as beautifully simplistic as the quintessential children's story.
Silly, lighthearted and purposely frivolous, the musical does an excellent job of conveying a simplistic message through over-the-top numbers and kooky comedy.
The play is filled with hilarious absurdity including golfing enthusiast Egyptian elites, neon pyramids, French coffee shops, square dancing and B.C. model cell phones and laptops. There is even an Elvis impersonator as the pharaoh. Not your standard Sunday Bible study tale.
At times, though, the content is a little lacking, even if it is intended to be a children's story. The two-hour musical contains a remarkably faint story line, which will be fairly obvious to nearly all viewers. If you strip away those meaty segments of story-free dance numbers, you're left with a narrative that could easily be summed up in 15 minutes or less.
Thankfully, award-winning music from composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics from Tim Rice make the rhythmically saturated segments intensely enjoyable.
Sadly, viewers hoping to see American Idol contestant Amy Adams in the role of the narrator will be disappointed as she remains on medical leave for the rest of the week because of vocal damage. However, stand-in Natalie Hill gives an adequate performance as a strong secondary lead.
If you're expecting an epic story line, you might be a little let down. But those going for a colorfully lighthearted tale rife with over-the-top production values, incredible sets and talented performances will leave with an appropriately large smile.
"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" will be showing at the Wharton Center until Sunday.
