‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ opened last weekend at the Woodlawn Theatre and runs until December 23.  It is based on the “coat of many colors” biblical story of Joseph and is completely sung through with limited spoken dialogue.  Joseph was his father’s favorite and that made his 11 brothers jealous and they vowed to get rid of him.  Instead of killing him they sell him as a slave to traveling merchants who take him to Egypt.  Eventually he rises to power and ends up helping and forgiving his brothers despite what they did to him.

The story begins with the introduction of the brothers and their obvious dislike for Joseph for being their father’s favorite, especially after his father gives him a coat of many colors during “Joseph’s Coat.”  This disdain grows as Joseph tells them of his dreams which suggest that in the future they will bow down to him.  Travis Eades does an outstanding job of bringing the character of Joseph to life and his vocals are strong, especially during his poignant solo on “Close Every Door.”  The brothers work well together as a group and play off each other’s strengths during group performances like “One More Angel in Heaven,” “Those Canaan Days” and “Benjamin Calypso.”  The scene stealer of Act II is Trey Hoadley, who plays Pharaoh and gives an “Elvis-like” performance on “Song of the King.”  He even goes down to the audience and gives one of his scarves away while the audience cheers him on.   “Joseph Megamix” wraps up the night as the cast, now dressed in colorful tie-dye outfits, performs a medley of the night’s songs as they dance with the audience and file past them to the lobby.

Overall “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor” is filled with humor, catchy musical numbers and universal themes of family and forgiveness. The cast is big and sometimes the stage looks crowded but the family friendly story line makes it a must see for the season. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 7:30p.m. and Sunday at 3p.m.  Additional show dates are on Wednesday December 21 and Thursday December 22 at 7:30p.m.  Tickets are available online or by calling the box office at (210) 267-8388.