Zac Efron Goes Technicolor in West End Dreamcoat???

Forget about High School Musical and Hairspray, rumour has it that Zac Efron – who starred in the big-screen versions of both musicals – is turning his attentions to Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Hollywood heartthrob is reportedly in talks to make his West End debut in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre.

According to the Mirror, Efron contacted Lloyd Webber after hearing that Any Dream Will Do victor would be leaving the role on 10 January 2009, at the end of the musical’s current booking period (See News, 18 Jul 2008). A “source” close to the British composer told the newspaper: “It is a marriage made in musical heaven. Zac loves the role and is keen to clock up some stage time in London. For Hollywood actors, a spell in the West End offers credibility and can be extremely lucrative.”

Mead has been performing the title role since the production opened at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre on 17 July 2007 (previews from 6 July). The new staging of the record-breaking 1990s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium, which was directed by the late Steven Pimlott, is designed by Mark Thompson and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast.

Joseph started life in 1968 as a 20-minute entertainment for an end-of-term school concert. By the time it received its Broadway premiere in 1982, it had been expanded into a full two-hour show. With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, Joseph’s popular score includes the songs “Any Dream Will Do”, “Close Every Door to Me”, “Go, Go, Go Joseph”, “Those Canaan Days”, “Benjamin Calypso” and “One More Angel in Heaven”.