On April 3rd, 4th, and 5th, the WHS Theatre Department performed the classic story Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was attended by the biggest audience the WHS auditorium has seen in several years and was an unequivocal hit. It’s opening night closed to thunderous applause. John Van Bloem complimented the orchestra, which was a mix of current students and alumni. He said it was the perfect accompaniment to the singing, which was spectacular as well. Another audience member said, “The vocals definitely stepped up a notch this year, there weren’t any issues with the sound, and the addition of ‘extras’ from the middle school really added to the power of each scene. I felt Joseph’s despair in the prison scene. It was definitely time well spent for me.” Grace Kneller mentioned the great costumes, ensemble cast, and Drew Stepherson’s Elvis style as some of her favorite parts of the play.
This colorful story is an old bible story- with a fun twist from Andrew Lloyd Webber. It’s often been a childhood favorite for many, and as Dominic Napper (playing Joseph) states, “When I started vocal lessons, the first song we worked on was any dream will do, and I used it to audition for my first show: Spelling Bee. Getting to perform it on stage felt like a full circle moment to me, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to do so.” However, it wasn’t all easy, as Dominic adds, “Definitely the songs were challenging. I knew them well before the show; it was just a matter of practicing and getting them as perfect as I could”.
The story of Joseph is a complicated story – going all the way back to a small sheep farm in the Land of Canaan, with Joseph’s father, Jacob, who had 12 sons with different wives. However, Joseph’s mother was Jacob’s absolute favorite wife, which led Joseph on to become his father’s favorite child while also leading his brothers to become jealous and hate Joseph. Joseph also had a special talent: dream interpretation. Joseph’s dreams told him he would one day be above all his brothers, which did not improve their relationship.
One fateful day, Jacob bought his favorite son the most fabulous and elegant coat in all the land, with gold lining, dozens of colors, and fashionable flare. This rubbed Joseph’s brothers the wrong way, as they, with their sheepskin vests, felt underappreciated. So they decided to throw him in a well, fake his death to his father, and sell him into slavery in Egypt. This landed Joseph as a lowly servant in the home of a wealthy man named Potiphar, who although strict and mostly busy, Joseph ended up liking. Joseph was promoted to a higher status after working his best for a long time, but his success was short-lived. Potiphar’s disloyal wife tried to cozy up to Joseph which didn’t go over well with Potiphar. Poor Joseph was once again, dragged off in chains, and this time into a dim and hopeless prison cell.
Meanwhile, down in Egypt there was a Pharaoh with some troubling dreams that just didn’t make any sense – something about fat cows and skinny corn. A butler who was recently rescued from jail remembered Joseph and told the pharaoh about this prophet who was really good at making dreams make sense. Joseph was brought out of jail, and after an extravagantly festive pep-talk, he helped the Pharaoh figure that there would be seven years of plenty and growth followed by seven years of desolation. Pharaoh could see that Joseph was extremely talented, so he followed his advice to make it through the crisis, with the end result being that Joseph became Pharaoh’s right-hand man.
Although Joseph’s dream had finally come true, the brothers and Jacob had struggled as shepherds on their small farm after the many years of drought, starving and scraping by- so they decided to travel to Egypt to beg help from the Pharaoh. They found themselves pleading at the feet of Pharaoh’s right hand man, who they didn’t recognize as the brother they thought they had killed. Joseph took this opportunity to test the brothers and see if they had changed since those years ago, deciding to give them sacks of food, but placing a golden goblet in one of the sacks, and blaming his youngest brother, Benjamin, for stealing it.
The brothers, feeling sorry for themselves for what they have done and even more for their brother, blame themselves for the theft. Joseph saw that his brothers were now honest and caring of each other, so he decided to reveal to them who he was. He gave them a home in Egypt and was reunited with his father, and continued to live as the Pharaoh’s second.
This year’s show brought in over 1,100 patrons, more than in the past seven years. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s recreation of this extravagant Bible story includes many different styles of music, incorporating the classic “Elvis” style, calypso, country, 70’s go-go, French ballads, and more. But it takes more than skill to put together a play; it takes dedication. It wasn’t just something they threw together – the cast and crew of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat worked for over two months in rehearsals, the longest being seven hours after-school, on 
top of twelve-hour production days on the weekends. Other than the actors, the tech had a massive part in making this play come together. Max Meech helped to design the complicated set, which includes a eight by ten foot tall pharaoh head that went up behind the 6’ tall set and five (or more) sets of stairs for the second act. “This musical was slightly different from Spelling Bee last year in the sense that the set itself was actually semi- bland without the lights. The lights added a lot more effect to the set, and I really love how it all came together, ” says Meech. “Even though without the lights, the set looks kind of bland, you can tell that there’s so much detail and time put into the painting”.
This year, the story is told by two narrators, Guadalupe Peralta Orellano and Celia Alspaugh. They tell the story of Joseph, portrayed by Dominic Napper, along with his many brothers, Reuben (played by Clark Bailey), Levi (Iris Inskeep), Naphtali (Dylan Broker), Issachar (Eugene Lambert), Dan (Conor Reeves), Zebulon (Matthew Geisbert), Benjamin (Cora Lebo), and Judah (Annalyse Miranda-Ramos). These brothers are accompanied by many wives, played by Sam Froude, Ivy Karg, Bella Altman, Sam Ambrose, Marie Kleimola, Sanrin Mollet, Claire Mott, Breanna Kendall. The father of these boys is played by Gage Chronister, who played the role of Mr. Potiphar, accompanied by Sanrin Mollet playing Mrs. Potiphar. The hip-swinging pharaoh is Drew Stepherson, with his attendants played by Gage Chronister and Brendan Wolfe. Joseph’s companions in jail were played by Marie Kleimola (butler) and Breanna Kendall (baker). Three hairy Ishmaelites made a short appearance for one song, played by Drew Stepherson, Brendan Wolfe, and John. There was also a surprise dancer for one of the musical numbers, “Canaan Days”, played by Bella Altman.
Mrs. Van-Gilder Martin is the lead director, accompanied by Mrs. Hall (production manager) and Mrs. Humphries (choreographer). The ech team was led by Autumn Hall (lighting), Jake McNeish (sound), Jake McNeish and Esther Odu (stage managers), Mackenzie McGraw (costumes), Samantha Leggieri (props), Max Meech (set design), Brandon Etzler (stage crew), and Celia Alspaugh (marketing), along with their many assistants and crew. The photographer for the show was Cdyney Ramsburg, who took the amazing shots you see in this article.
The cast and crew would like to thank all those who supported WHS high school theatre this spring! In case you missed it this year, make sure to join them for next school year’s play coming to you in the fall of 2025, or if you’re interested, look out for auditions for next year’s fall play. As always, the WHS Theatre Department hoped you enjoyed their show!
