Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Tour – Salford)

Any dream would not do for Keith Jack, the runner up in the  BBC’s search for a Joseph.
 
After a spell as narrator, (succeeded by Jennifer Potts, a performer with a sweet, if not strong voice), Keith’s dream came true when, three years after the TV series, he took on the title role in Bill Kenwright’s production of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
 
He has met the challenge, for Keith’s Joseph is as youthful and good as the bible story implies. His vocal chords ring loud and true in songs such as “Close Every Door to Me” and “Any Dream will Do.”  Plot wise – because he’s Jacob’s favourite son, his brothers are jealous and sell him as a slave in Egypt where he is condemned to Pharaoh’s prison. He becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and all ends well with a family reunion.
 
Off the supporting cast, Adam Jarrell gyrates his hips to an adoring audience as a Pharaoh with the Elvis touch. Jacob is played by Choreographer/Associate Director Henry Metcalfe who had a hand in Adam’s and everyone else’s dance routines. His Jacob adds an appropriately serious touch and I love his inflatable sheep.
 
A group of talented six-15-year-olds from Stagecoach Theatre School, Chester are constantly on stage singing their hearts out accompanied by a wonderful band whose only slip is to drown them out in their big number.
 
Joseph never loses popularity and the standing ovation on the night I attended illustrates this and it seems Kenwright will not be closing the door on this one for some time.
 
– Julia Taylor