Joe McElderry, who shot to fame from appearing on The X-Factor in 2009, plays the energetic lead in this rather colourful and upbeat musical about the biblical tale of Joseph, the 12th and favourite son to Jacob.
The story is set in a time frame in which the narrator, Lucy Kay, is telling a story to some children, encouraging them to dream. She tells them the story of Joseph and how his brothers were jealous of him for his coat of many colours. To get rid of him and to stop his dreams from coming true, they sell Joseph as a slave and he is taken off to Egypt.
Whilst McElderry is not known for his acting he plays the part of Joseph well, although at times he had a tendency to become a little too ‘cheesy’. His vocal ability and range shined through in the first few numbers and before long the energy was raising the roof and he received lots of whistles and cheers from the audience.
The set and lighting were great, with lots of colourful costumes shown and a great use of lighting used. With many old favourites such as ‘Go, Go, Go Joseph’, ‘Close Every Door’ and ‘Any Dream Will Do’ it created a great atmosphere and it had me humming the songs for the rest of the evening!
At various points in both Act 1 and 2, the sound quality did appear to suffer as well as some of the diction, which subsequently made it harder to understand what was being sung.
The Narrator, Lucy Kay, who appeared on talent show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ gave plenty of fantastic vocals and was barely off stage during the evening.
Joseph is a well choreographed show that even after several decades, is still entertaining theatre goers. The show ends with the ‘Joseph Megamix’ and had the audience on their feet singing along and enjoying this joyous musical. Joseph is a little cheesy but it’s a fantastic treat for both children and adults alike!
Reviewed by Sam Harler
Photo: Mark Yeoman
Playing at The Churchill Theatre Bromley until Saturday 5th March and continues its UK tour until July 2016
