Have you ever wanted to see a Broadway play up close? Well, now you can, because West TAP will be performing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat February 5th through February 14th.

The biblical musical with lyrics from Tim Rice and music from Andrew Lloyd Webber was created and performed as a 15 minute cantata in 1968 at Colet Court School in London. After having success, the musical was later recorded in 1974 and then performed on Broadway in 1982.

Following the book of genesis the musical tells the story of one of Jacob’s 12 sons, Joseph the dreamer played by Hunter Leathers. Joseph receives a coat of many colors from his father which is a symbol of favoritism. The favoritism causes his brothers jealousy leading them to sell Joseph as a slave in Egypt.

Other characters include Sydney Cababa’s character, Mrs. Potiphar, who is a scheming but beautiful woman who tries to seduce Joseph. Although unsuccessful in seduction, she is successful in imprisoning him. Josh Warner plays the role of Jacob, the father of Joseph who is significant for recognizing his future calling. Out of the 12 brothers, one named Reuben, who is played by Zach Karolek, stands out as he is the only one that wanted to spare his brother from death.  

After interviewing the cast members, I got a better understanding of what the musical actually is and how it’s coming along.

This being one of the first musicals of the year, Hunter Leathers describes the hardships of it, “The whole thing is flat out signing and there’s no speaking whatsoever, which is pretty difficult to do.”

Although the cast is mainly upper classmen I was surprised to find out that there are three seventh graders that make up the amateur cast.

Seventh grader Connor Mckenzie sees the advantages of working with high schoolers. “I think it’s good because we have a different range of voices that can intertwine with each other.”

As the play draws nearer, narrator Jade Piper feels the play is going smoothly and will be energetic. “It’s going pretty well so far. It’s a lot of different mashups of different styles of music, and it’s fun to see how the choreography and the music all comes together in this crazy performance.”

Being West’s first musical of the year, the energetic and eager cast will make for an interesting performance. With rehearsals almost every day, the musical will prove to be one to remember.  Although this is a difficult musical to perform, the cast feels confident in their ability to put on an outstanding performance.