If ever there is a show that’s commonly staged, it is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  I’ve been part of two productions myself and can’t recall how many I’ve sat through others while in the audience.  Every time I hear of yet another production, I cringe.  And yet, much like my experience seeing Circa 21’s production, I sit through the entire show with a smile on my face and leave singing the songs.  That’s the sign of a good show.

Thankfully, director/choreographer Ann Nieman chose to change things up a bit for Circa’s production.  There’s the usual children’s choir, Pharoah as Elvis and the other commonly included elements of Joseph.  Circa’s show doesn’t feel like all of the other productions, though, which is refreshing.  It’s nice to see an all too familiar show in a different way, keeping it interesting and enjoyable.  This doesn’t feel like seeing Joseph yet again.  It feels like renewing a liking for a show that only gets tired because it’s so often produced.

One of those changes includes the way in which the children’s choir is used.  Circa’s is the first production I’ve seen in which the children don’t simply sit and sing their parts.  These kids are incorporated into scenes, becoming waving wheat in one scene (or was it stalks of corn?) and surrounding the jailed Joseph in another.  It’s not merely the inclusion of children to have them, but makes good use of their presence on stage.  This children’s choir makes sense!

There are a few minor sight gag choices of which I absolutely did not like.  For instance, there’s a sight gag on the line “threw him in a pit.”  The female ensemble enters at that point dressed as a Nascar pit crew and pretend to change Joseph’s tires.  It’s quite a stretch and a lot of effort put into well made costumes for such a lame joke.

Other than the pit crew gag, there’s not much else to dislike about Circa 21’s Joseph.  The actors playing the brothers are so individually talented, I’m certain I missed some hilarious physical movement choices watching one while not seeing another.  While Tom Walljasper plays Pharaoh too subdued for my taste (I mean, he’s Elvis!  He should be the grandest character of the show and Walljasper, at least on the Saturday performance I attended, chooses to play it at a more realistic level than at a showstopping one.), the cast seems to be having fun with the show, infecting the audience with a similar feeling.  This is a production that isn’t as much about the biblical story as it is about the smile-inducing, toe-tapping, humor of the songs and performance.

That said, Gregory Hiatt’s costume, particularly for the brothers, are too good for the material.  He’s outfitted the brothers in very colorful, Middle Eastern with a touch of Asian styled garments.  While Joseph’s coat may be technicolor, the brother’s clothes are psychedelic.  They’re gorgeous and fun to see, but they take away from the point of the technicolor dreamcoat.  Joseph’s coat represents Jacob’s favoritism of him over his brothers.  With the brothers equally colorfully dressed, the coat’s significance is diminished.  In fact, there were a few of the brothers’ costumes I would’ve chosen over Joseph’s coat, even though Joseph’s coat is an impressive styling of colors and patterns.  I can’t quite call this a fault, though.  It may be wrong for the material, but it’s oh so good aesthetically.  (Hiatt’s ensembles for Potiphar and his wife are also perhaps the most stunning I’ve seen in a production of Joseph.)

It’s really hard to go wrong with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  I think you could have the cast stand still and simply sing the songs and the audience would still be delighted.  Circa’s cast, however, does not stand still.  They’re colorfully dressed and seemingly having a blast playing up the fun of the show, which makes for a night of theater that’ll have you singing all the way home.

For more information, go to Circa21.com