Cute kids set the scene for new play

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Feilding Civic Centre, Wednesday, June 22.
Directed by Pat Snoxell.
Reviewed by MICHELLE DUFF.

The children from Manchester St School choir absolutely stole the show last night.

They were enlisted by director Pat Snoxell for the Feilding Civic Centre Trust production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

They rimmed the stage with brightly coloured T-shirts and beaming smiles, belting out the songs with a series of earnestly performed hand actions.

The biblically based story goes like this: Joseph receives special attention in the form of a designer coat from his dad, Jacob.

His brothers are jealous and fake Joseph's death, selling him as a slave.

A woman's treachery sees Joseph flung in jail, and he escapes by interpreting the Pharoah's dream and saving the kingdom from starvation in the drought.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which premiered in 1973, was modernised last night by the use of contemporary props and costumes and a young, energetic cast.

Jenna Baxter is one of those singers you can trust not to miss a note. She played the principal role of narrator with a kind of warm confidence, drawing the audience in with her dulcet tones.

UCOL performing arts graduate Richard Scott was a likeable Joseph, strutting across the stage with a defiant and playful purpose. A couple of songs tested his vocal range, but it was opening night.

The dancers, with their numerous costume changes and cheeky moves, pulled the show together.

Definitely worth a look. Those kids are just too cute.

- © Fairfax NZ News