JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
from 19 August 2009, QPAC Playhouse |
| Return season by popular demand! | |
With a crash of drums and a flash of light, Harvest Rain Theatre Company’s sell-out production of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT makes a triumphant return to the Playhouse stage!
By overwhelming popular demand, this spectacular Swinging Sixties show blasts back into the QPAC Playhouse in August, after a sell-out season earlier in the year. This powerful production features a massive cast of talented musical theatre performers, led by Queensland’s most outstanding young singers Angela Harding as the Narrator and Jordan Pollard as Joseph. Directed by Tim O'Connor and with stunning choreography by Callum Mansfield, this colourful retelling of the biblical story of Joseph, the boy with the dreams and the dazzling designer coat of many colours, sings out to young and old alike with a score full of wall to wall hits - including Close Every Door and Any Dream Will Do.
This all-new staging of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's family classic is ready to make its encore performance, with special guest star Sandro Colarelli appearing in a show-stopping turn as Pharaoh.
Audiences will need to go-go-go and book tickets now for this high-energy, all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza, as the first season sold out in a few short weeks. This toe-tapping musical treat hits the stage from August 18 at the QPAC Playhouse.
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SEASON
from 19th August 2009 to 30th August 2009
SHOW TIMES
Wed to Sat at 8pm / Sat at 2pm / Sun at 1pm & 6.30pm
VENUE
QPAC Playhouse
TICKETS
Adults $49.50
Concession $39.50
Child $32.50
Preview (Wed 19th) all tickets $32.50
Tickets available through QTIX - phone 136 246 or click on the BOOK ONLINE link to the right.
RUNNING TIME
1 hours and 40 minutes with interval
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What the critics have said..... | |
Sue Gough of The Courier Mail says "It was an astute move of QPAC director, John Kotzas, to invite the Harvest Rain Theatre Company to move in to the Centre. If you want proof, you only had to be at the opening night of JOSEPH. I've never seen an audience receive a show with such open-hearted enthusiasm. Harvest Rain seems to have an uncanny intuition for what people want......Angela Cornford does a mighty job with a voice that rises acrobatically to the occasion when needed. Michael Falzon's guest appearance brought the house down. Jordan Pollard steers an even course and sings up a storm."
Adam Brunes of Briztix.com says "...the creative team behind Harvest Rain’s latest blockbuster deserve only the highest accolades for this incredibly spectacular production. Director Tim O’Connor is the undisputed king of musical theatre in Queensland....Time after time he demonstrates an extraordinary ability to turn even the most meagre, dated scripts into theatrical magic, and this is exactly what he achieves with JOSEPH.....For this production, O’Connor has assembled his usual troupe of local creatives. Josh McIntosh’s 1960s Beatles-esque design provides a refreshing spin on the classic tale and is supported beautifully by Jason Glenwright’s brassy Broadway lighting design. The signature choreography from Brisbane’s favourite dancer Callum Mansfield is flashy (if not ever-so-slightly camp!) and the musical direction by Maitlohn Drew is first class......In a career-capping performance as the Narrator, Angela Cornford once again confirms herself as one of Queensland’s leading ladies of musical theatre. Her performance is completely unaffected, and the switch between gentle school teacher and sexy showgirl is effortless. But without question, the night belongs to Jordan Pollard. In the title role, 18-year-old Pollard is a revelation. He breezes over Lloyd Webber’s complex score and raises the roof with his extraordinary voice. His performance of the infamous Close Every Door is heartbreaking, and casts an eerie stillness over the enchanted audience. You will not find another vocalist who can sing this song better than he can. It would be an absolute crime not to mention the remarkable work of the JOSEPH band under the musical direction of Maitlohn Drew. In the same way that the show has been revitalised by director O’Connor, minor modifications by Drew to Lloyd Webber’s classic score produce an entirely new, epic sound which is executed flawlessly by the 12-piece onstage band.....This is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious productions to be staged at QPAC’s Playhouse in recent times, and all members of the cast and creative team are very deserving of the opening night standing ovation."
Katherine Lyall-Watson of ourbrisbane.com says "Harvest Rain were on to a winner when they decided to stage JOSEPH at QPAC. Opening night played to a packed house and a much younger audience than you’d normally see in the Playhouse Theatre. There were groups of school age kids and lots of people in their early 20s – exactly the demographic theatres are trying to encourage. And they loved the show, giving the performers a screaming, standing ovation at the end.....Jordan Pollard plays our squeaky clean hero....he has a beautiful and powerful voice. Jordan is just 18 and is an incredible talent to watch out for. Angela Cornford was the Narrator and, in my book, she had by far the most difficult role. Fortunately she sings like an angel and she was able to carry the story through all its convolutions as she kept the audience up to speed with what was happening, introduced characters and commented on the action. Michael Falzon is the show’s special guest star and he makes a fabulous Elvis – oops, Pharaoh! His pelvic gyrations were something to behold and were greatly enhanced by his fabulous costume....But the highlight of the night for me was the dancing. Callum Mansfield has done a brilliant job with the choreography and the ensemble cast handled the pace, changes, complex steps and go-go dancing with aplomb. This is a new look Joseph with a lot more dancing and a real sixties feel. And with 88 performers on stage (by my count) it’s no wonder the energy is high voltage."
Eric Scott of Absolutetheatre.com says "This is a show that only a company like Harvest Rain could do - it’s big, bold, exuberant and noisy with fantastic vocals, dance, music and characters. A vital part of a show like this is the ensemble, and on opening night it was the tops. No-one flagged for a moment. Callum Mansfield did an amazing job with the choreography. He deserves a medal for pulling the entire cast into shape. Eighteen-year-old Jordan Pollard, with his hair combed in 60s fashion was a Donny Osmond look-a-like but he has a great voice! Angela Cornford had the vital job of the narrator and she fitted the role like a glove. She was dressed in sexy gowns and looked gorgeous. Michael Falzon guested as Pharaoh and, we wondered before the show started: Would he do Elvis? And he did. His Pharaoh was a hip swinging Pelvis thrusting, Presley in bejewelled jump suit who brought the house down as he sang. Grab a ticket if you can find one!"
Jason Whittaker of Australian Stage Online says "Brisbane's Harvest Rain Theatre Company has sold out its spacious new venue, QPAC's Playhouse, for the full run of JOSEPH. Few are likely to be disappointed. A company that aims to make theatre accessible has injected the pop back into JOSEPH.....this is a toe-tapping, sing-along Joseph mega-mix in the gaudy, cracked-smiles tradition of high school Rock Eisteddfod.....Harvest Rain Artistic Director Tim O'Connor and Choreographer Callum Mansfield take it up a notch with a frenetic all-singing, all-dancing explosion of sequins and back flips.....The giddy enthusiasm is infectious and had the first-night crowd out of their seats for a finale that just about blew the speakers.....Jordan Pollard is irresistibly charming as Joseph. His trained voice rises above the massive choir to barely crack with nerves. The technicolour coat fits like a glove. As the chameleon Narrator, Harvest Rain regular Angela Cornford brings the pouting sex appeal with a versatile and stunning set of pipes that, like her legs, just don't quit."
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Past Shows
