Moonlight hopes to bring out heart in 'Joseph' musical

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:21 AM PDT ∞

There are several things you can usually count on in a production of the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" ---- lots of ticket sales, lots of children on stage and lots of silly comedy.

Carlos Mendoza, director/choreographer for the "Joseph" production opening July 30 at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, hopes you see lots of something else in his staging: Lots of heart.

"Every production of 'Joseph' that I've seen in the last few years has taken it to a different level of ridiculousness," Mendoza said. "I wanted to bring back some of the heart. I want to take the audiences on a different journey. I want them to feel sad in the sad moments and if there are too many comic bits, it gets distracting. The show was written for children, and I want to retain that, but I also want to put a more adult twist on it."

Kathy Brombacher, Moonlight's producing artistic director, said she's excited about Mendoza's interpretation.

"Directors can take this show any direction they like, and they often do, but what we're trying to do is to get away from the shtick and get to the heart of the fable. We want to make the story really clear, fun and accessible and make it meaningful in the end. It's such a joyous celebration, and its story is a life lesson for us all," she said.

Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1968, "Joseph" started out as a show for a London grade school. After finding success with another biblically themed musical, "Jesus Christ Superstar," Webber and Rice revisited "Joseph" and souped it up into a full-scale musical that arrived on Broadway in 1982. Wherever it's produced, it's always a big ticket-seller because of its broad audience appeal.

"Joseph" musically narrates the biblical story of Joseph, the self-centered, youngest son of Jacob of Canaan who brags to his 12 brothers that his dreams can foretell the future ---- a future in which he is their superior. In a jealous rage, the brothers sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt and tell their father that Joseph is dead. Meanwhile, Joseph's dream-reading ability has made him a favorite of Egypt's pharaoh, and that position leads to his eventual reunion with his family.

Although its subject matter is biblical, "Joseph" is a broad comedy. Musical styles range from disco to calypso to pop and country, and the comic elements include an Elvis-like pharaoh, Broadway-style showgirls and lots of physical comedy. The show's gimmick is Webber's use of various musical genres to tell the story in a fast-paced, funny way. Among the musical styles spoofed in the show are country/western, calypso, '60s psychadelia, French chanson, rock 'n' roll and even a hint of jazz.

Mendoza, who won a 2007 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle award for his choreography in Moonlight's "West Side Story," said he has enjoyed studying and choreographing the various period dances in the show ---- from a traditional cumbia for the calypso number to a Latin tango for the cabaret scene.

Mendoza has co-starred in six past productions of "Joseph" (the last time in 1998 in the role of Joseph) and he's brought to this show a lot of ideas from these past experiences, as well as many of his own ideas draw from running his own Latin theater/dance company, Hispanic Arts Theatre.

"I've been doing lots of homework and want to touch upon all the different dance styles in the show that I can," he said.

"Joseph," last produced by Moonlight in 1993, is especially popular with children's theater groups and family audiences because of its use of a children's choir onstage. For the Moonlight production, Brombacher tapped a real pro to assemble the 16-member choir (made up of local boys and girls, ages 7 to 13).

Chorus-master Becky Baird of Carlsbad spent two years as the children's choir director on the national tour of "Joseph" starring Donny Osmond. Baird left the tour to start J*Company children's theater in La Jolla, and she now directs and teaches all over the region. "She's amazing," Brombacher said.

San Diego-bred actor James Royce Edwards stars in the musical as Joseph, the dream-teller. Edwards has previously appeared at the Moonlight as the star of "Footloose." He also recently appeared as Conrad Birdie in San Diego Musical Theatre's "Bye, Bye Birdie" and played the dog Young Max in the Old Globe's 2007 staging of "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Stephanie Burkett Gerson, who has been touring internationally for the past two years aboard two ships for Holland American Cruise Line, stars as the show's narrator. And in an unusual bit of casting, L.A. actor Paul Clausen will play three different roles ---- Jacob, the Elvis-like pharaoh and the Egyptian slave owner Potiphar. And Brenna Fleeman-Delay stars as Potiphar's wife.

"Joseph" is the second production in Moonlight Amphitheatre's abbreviated summer season. The season will conclude next month with the regional theater premiere of "Les Miserables." After it closes Aug. 31, the old Moonlight stagehouse will be torn down to make way for a new, state-of-the-art theater complex scheduled to open in time for the 2009 summer season.

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

When: Opens July 30 and runs through Aug. 20; showtimes, 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays (gates open at 6:30 p.m.)

Where: Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista

Tickets: $22-$39

Info: (760) 724-2110

Web: www.moonlightstage.com

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