Theater Review—

An Amazing ‘Joseph’ At Downtown Cabaret

By Julie Stern

BERIDGEPORT — Twenty-eight years ago my mother gave us tickets to take our son Bill to see a Broadway show for his eighth birthday. The show was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and it absolutely blew his mind, becoming his all time favorite theatrical experience.

By now he claims to have seen it 22 times, and when he came home for Thanksgiving I was able to take him along to review it in its current version at Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theater (where it had its American premiere in 1980, two years before we saw the New York production).

This time he said he wanted to have the chance to watch his nieces and nephews experience it for the first time, and so we went — a procession of four adults and four kids, lugging sodas and pizza — down to Bridgeport. Talk about déjà vu all over again: the kids were whooping and cheering and clapping with the same excitement that I remembered from all those years ago.

And it was totally deserved. Andrew Lloyd Webber may have made more money from Cats, which played on Broadway forever, luring in the tourists and the out-of-towners, but Joseph is such a better, richer, show. The Biblical story of Joseph, who was sold into slavery in Egypt by his jealous brothers, only to rise to become the Pharaoh’s right-hand man, saving the region from famine and reconciling with his brothers in the process, is turned into a cornucopia of  musical styles from bubble pop, country-western (“There’s one more angel in Heaven”) and Jewish folk melody (“Close Every Door”) to Elvis (“Pharaoh’s Story”), French chanteuse (“Those Canaan Days”) and West Indian Calypso (“Benjamin”). There isn’t a dull number in the two dozen that comprise the show.

Director-Choreographer Scott Thompson has done great stuff with his large cast of young, enthusiastic and definitely talented performers. Kris Stock as Joseph and Jodi Langel as the Narrator have great voices and terrific stage presence. The chemistry and interaction between Langel and the other players is both funny and effective.

Beyond that, the dancing is phenomenal, especially a remarkable tango inserted into “Those Canaan Days.” I liked the fact that the dancing provided a chance to repeat many of the songs, and there were clever little jokes and original touches woven into the production. There’s no stinting; you really get your money’s worth with this group.

Even the curtain call became a “mega-mix” which reprised many of the songs one more time to the audience’s obvious delight. Jesse Lutrell as the Elvis-Pharaoh was back. So was Jerrial Young (whom you may remember from Smokey Joe’s Cafe) doing the Benjamin Calypso again.

Lesley Neilson-Bowman’s inspired costuming, and Hugh Hallinan’s lighting add to the richness of the entertainment.

This is a joyful holiday concoction that should appeal to any and everyone. My son was right to want to bring the kids — and there were lots of other youngsters in the audience, equally transfixed — but it is just as much a treat for adults, especially when it is done with the DCT perfectionist attention to detail. I’d be happy to go back and see it again tomorrow.

(Performances continue weekends until December 19, as well as a special New Year’s Eve show planned. See the Enjoy Calendar or call 203-576-1636 for curtain and ticket details on all shows.)