"Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat"

Erewash Musical Society.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

How many times have I seen this musical and why does it never get boring? I still love seeing this show which is a testament – if you’ll pardon the pun – to the wonderful writing of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice.

By now there surely must be no one who does not know the story and at least a few of the songs from this incredible soundtrack, so I do not need to outline the plot about Joseph, sold into slavery by his scheming and jealous brothers and his rise to fame.

It's one of the campest musicals, one of the most enjoyable, fun musicals ever written, it's a musical where you know practically every song in the score and will have your feet tapping and your hands clapping, especially in the "Joseph Megamix" right at the end.

The Narrator's role, which is a big one as anyone who has seen the show before will know, is shared by Louise O'Boyle and Isobel Parsons. It's not that often that you see both Narrators in the same show, and I think that's a shame, especially when you get a pair of Narrators as Louise and Isobel. They bounce off of each other perfectly and their voices work so well together.

Joseph is played by Ethan Fletcher. Not your archetypal Joseph, but Ethan gave us a brilliant Joseph with great entertainment value and just the right amount of camp. I'd forgotten what a strong voice that Ethan has for musical theatre, but he gets to showcase what a natural vocalist he is. The final "Dreamcoat" was as camp as a Christmas tree, and quite resembled one, and I loved it! The coat was created and designed by Abbi Oleshko and Steve Greatorex.

Jacob, Joseph's Father, is played by John Fletcher, who also doubles up as Potiphar. This show really highlights talents that some of the cast had not shown off as much in other productions, and in John's case, we get to see even more dancing from him. John is a brilliant comedy character actor and that also shines through in both roles.

Mrs Potiphar, the hussy who lusts after Joseph, causing him to be thrown into prison by her husband after she and Joseph are found in an uncompromising position, is played by Louisa Ward. This is a lovely saucy role, and I love her costume.

Pharoah is played by Evan Hagan, a young man who I've seen on several occasions in various productions. Not a big role in the musical but a big character who gets a big reception. As anyone knows who has seen the musical before, Pharoah is a pastiche of Elvis "The King" Presley, and "Pharoah's Dream" aka "Song Of the King" is a fun Presley influenced song that gives Evan chance to almost steal the show with plenty of hip thrusts and lip curling, and a wonderful growling delivery of the song.

When Joseph is thrown into jail, he is joined by two other jailbirds, a Butler and a Baker, who tell Joseph their dreams to see if he can pick any sense from them and predict their futures. The Butler is played by Louise Waters and the Baker is played by Abigail Lagou.

The brothers are as follows.....Lilli White (Gad), Jack Tuxford (Levi), Hannah Hirst (Benjamin), Paige Sisson (Judah), Chris Moss (Reuben), Drew Boswell (Naphtali), Laura Dawson (Dan), James McKinnon-Bowden (Simeon), Hayden Fletcher (Issachar), Megan Fennell (Zebulun) and Sue Hagan (Asher).

This band of brothers create such sweet music, especially in the songs "Oner More Angel In Heaven", "Benjamin's Calypso" and my favourite "Those Canaan Days". I must also mention the choreography for the brothers because Hayden has created some marvellous moves for them all, especially in the line dancing section in "One More Angel", and I'll also say that I loved the way the hands were all turned out and used for dramatic effect with the arm extensions.

The ensemble consist of Megan Asher, Aoife Clarke, Carolyn Briggs, Martin Briggs, Andrea Kemish, Christine Oakden, Vicky Byrne, Kathi Ludlow and Laurie Trott. And what a brilliant Ensemble they are. With the above cast members the harmonies are insanely good when the whole cast sing.

Directed by Hayley Wood. She filled every moment on stage with fun and entertainment. I had forgotten that the length of this show was less than most musicals, and even with that in mind, both acts just seemed to fly by. It's so fast moving, and even in the slower parts, like "Canaan Days", there's so much in that section that it's finished almost as soon as it's begun. Or maybe it's because I love this show and all I have to do is sit back and let it all flow over me. It leaves you wanting more, especially from this cast.

Musical Director is George Parkinson who also plays keys along with Gabryl Oleshko and Martin Lewis; Chris Renshaw (Guitar), Joy Gravestock (Violin), Jeff Widdowson (Bass), Dawn Bratby and Ali Bailey (Woodwind) and Jacob Hunt (Horn) complete a marvellous collection of musicians.

I mentioned earlier just how good the harmony side of this musical is and that is also due to the work put in by the Musical Director. The finale "Joseph Megamix" makes for a foot stomping end to a marvellous musical evening.

The soundtrack to this musical is one of the most recognised with classic pop songs like "Close Every Door", "Any Dream Will Do", my absolute favourite "Those Canaan Days", "One More Angel In Heaven", "Go Go Go Joseph", "Benjamin's Calypso" and more. It's one of my favourite musical scores which had my toes tapping throughout the whole show.

Choreographed by Hayden Fletcher. I've already stated what a choreographical success this show is, and given the size of this cast, this is no easy task, but it's the little finishing things with the arms, hands and feet that bring real style to the choreography side of this show. The quality of the dance is no surprise to me though because I've had the pleasure of experiencing Hayden's classy choreography over the years. As an actor he draws you into his character and his version of "One More Angel" is yet another highlight of the show.

Production assistant is Laurie Trott. If you've ever seen the film version of this musical, the church pianist is a returning figure throughout, and that role is replicated by Laurie as well.

Stage management is a biggie with this musical, especially in the song "Benjamin's Calypso" with all the various props that need to be propelled across the stage. Mark Robbins takes on this role superbly, making this show smooth and flowing all the way until the curtain closes.

The variety and quantity of Props are the responsibility of Anna Fitzpatrick.

Set design is by Mark Robbins, Bill Robbins and EMS Members and Friends. When this musical first took to the stage back in 1968, it was a very different piece of theatre as it was just a project for school children lasting fifteen minutes only, so basic scenery was all that was required. It then grew and expanded to thirty five minutes when it went to the Edinburgh Fringe in 1972. The staging and set design since those early days has only expanded slightly, but we don't need much set or scenery because of the strong storytelling by the cast. The built up stair section at the back allows a multi level stage for all of the cast to be seen with ease when they are all on stage.

The Video Designer is Chris Moss and is wonderfully cartoonish. If you are old enough to remember the opening sequences to "Dad's Army", it reminded slightly of that opening. A nice addition to the production.

Costumes and Wardrobe is thanks to Hayley Wood, Abbi Oleshko, Emma Barnes, EMS Members and Friends as well as Triple C Costumes who provided the feather fans used in the Pharoah sketch.

Lighting is by Stephen Greatorex and is as colourful as Joseph's Dreamcoat. The brilliance and the pastel lighting actually reminded me of the exuberance of some of the Bollywood films, who excel at bright lighting designs to create the appropriate atmosphere. The ending of the show is like a disco dancehall explosion of every bright colour you can imagine. It just makes you feel so happy.

Sound is by Granite AV Solutions Ltd and Dave Dallard. Every sound cue was spot on and I loved the volume of this musical. The sound was mixed perfectly with the sound division between the various on stage vocalists as clear as crystal. This makes the harmonies in the show a real joy to hear, giving ensemble vocals an almost choristic value. The sound quality at the Duchess goes from strength to strength. There was a time when I always commented on sound issues but they have been a thing of the past for a while now, thanks to the work put in by the Sound Crew.

A dream of a production which thoroughly deserved the standing ovation it received at the end. I hear that the rest of the run is sold out, as it was on Thursday night, so I feel quite spoilt to have a ticket gifted to me to review this show. Everything about it, the cast, the score, the choreography, the Production Team were like a jigsaw puzzle where every piece fitted perfectly, there was no way that this run of this show was going to be anything less than sold out.

"Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 10 October. Please be aware that there is currently reduced parking around the theatre with roads blocked off around that area as well.