A pair of local theater groups, Prairie Fire Theatre and Studio Connect, are partnering for their first-ever collaboration on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat — in a show for the whole family.
The musical is an extravagant retelling of the biblical story of Joseph, his father's love, his iconic multi-colored coat, his jealous brothers and an Elvis-inspired Pharaoh.
Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the sung-through musical explores universal themes of family and forgiveness that the cast and crew hope will resonate with all audiences.
“Joseph forgiving his brothers carries throughout the whole show,” said actor Nate Douglas, who plays the title role. “They 'do him dirty' a lot, but there's [the message that] you never turn your back on family, [which] shines through at the end. This is a really redemptive story from the Bible, and it's all about redemption, forgiveness and treating others well. I hope that people walk away with that, and that kids who are coming to the show take something away from it … adults too.”
The two-weekend run premiered on Aug. 7 and its second weekend includes four shows running Aug. 14-16. The performances take place at the Astroth Community Education Center Theater at Heartland Community College, 1500 W. Raab Road in Normal.
A show for everyone
The joint production is credited to the friendship between the founders of two local nonprofits: Prairie Fire Theatre founder Bob Mangialardi and Katie Henderson, founder of the Music Connections Foundation [MCF].
Henderson’s daughter, Grace van Donk, is the new MCF director and pitched the collaboration as an opportunity for children at MCF’s Studio Connect program to participate in a professional production alongside local performers.
The cast and crew is made up of young performers, seasoned professionals and teachers from the foundation.
Nate Douglas, a theater teacher at MCF, first joined the production as a director for the children’s chorus and then went out for the lead role as Joseph.
He got the part.
It was a longtime goal of Douglas’s to put on a show with his students. He views the experience as a chance to set an example — and prove that he knows what he’s doing. But he has found that his students need little supervision.
“A lot of these students who chose to do this are really dedicated,” Douglas said. “It's hard to ask a young student to be here sometimes for three or four hours, because attention spans and just being a kid, they get squirrely. But they have been awesome and have behaved so wonderfully. They've learned really quickly, sound amazing and it's been really unique to not be their director, but to be in the cast with them.”
Kristie King, Joseph and Studio Connect choreographer, began working with MCF in 2021 after putting her children in lessons. As a dancer and former actress, she has a passion for getting children involved in the arts.
“I had this love of teaching kids, helping them build their skill set and their confidence, because I just think it's so important, no matter what you do in life, to have a foundation of the performing arts,” King said. “It sets them up for success wherever they go.”
For Joseph, King created simpler choreography for the students, giving them a chance to be immersed in the whole experience of performing. The adult cast was given more diverse choreography, exploring multiple dance styles while maintaining a focus of storytelling through dance.
Musical Connections
True to the MCF’s name, connections run deep throughout this production — and even transcend state lines.
Prairie Fire and MCF’s production of Joseph marks music director Mark Fearey’s 5th time working on the show. Fearey lives in Phoenix, Ariz. and was asked to come and direct the music by one of the musical’s producers, van Donk.
“I was one of her teachers and music directors, so when they were putting together this co-production, she thought it would be really great if I could come up and music direct this, and put this all together with them,” Fearey said. “I came [to Normal] a few weeks ago, taught all the music and rehearsed the orchestra, and then I went back home for a couple weeks. Now I'm here for [tech] week and all the shows.”
Fearey’s experience working with all ages allowed him to work with the orchestra and diverse cast efficiently. The live orchestra met only three times leading up to tech week.
Joseph director Lori Adams said that working with live musicians for the first time can be an adjustment. However, after 25 years of directing The Pantagraph’s Holiday Spectacular, Adams noted how valuable the experience can be.
“What a wonderful experience for any actor/singer to work with a live orchestra,” Adams said. “To some [extent], they follow you, but even so, you have to be disciplined enough to know how to use them. And so it's a big learning curve.”
The live orchestra takes the audience from song to song, without any dialogue, rapidly switching styles. The quick pace of the show can make it challenging to execute, but its range is also one of the things that draws in many types of audience members.
“One thing I think that's really fun about Joseph is that there's five or six different styles: everything from jazz waltz to rock ‘n’ roll, like the whole Elvis kind of thing, pop style, a little more music theater style,” Mark Fearey said, noting the Pharoah role, who dresses and sings as an Elvis impersonator.
“I like the variety of styles; it's very entertaining," he said. "There's the little hoedown, country western thing. I think there's a little something for everybody.”
A timeless tale
The original musical for Joseph was written in 1968, and after nearly 60 years, the high-energy show continues to attract audiences.
“I think the draw about Joseph is it's a story the majority of people are probably somewhat familiar with,” Douglas said. “It's a story from the Bible that you've heard, but it's so family friendly, [which] was big for us.”
Even those who have seen Joseph before are in for a unique production.
Along with the original choreography and the fresh cast, this collaboration inspired new interpretations of the source material.
Douglas and Ellie Landes, who played the narrator, allowed their real-life friendship to shine through their performances.
“I think the relationship between me and Ellie, our narrator, is really unique,” Douglas said. “Her and I lean heavily into the friendship or clear camaraderie that those two have, Joseph and the narrator. In some productions, Joseph never interacts with the narrator, kind of ignores her. She's just this omnipresent person telling the story. But for us, there's a lot of interaction, but not too much. I'm still living Joseph's story, but I think a lot of the uniqueness is just her and I are great friends, and I hope that shows because we've been having so much fun doing it.”
The first-ever collaboration attracted large audiences, selling out all three of the opening weekend performances. After adding a Saturday matinee on Aug. 15, the cast and crew are preparing for their final four performances.
“It's a show for any age, and so you can bring your kids, you can bring the grandparents,” Adams said. “Everyone will enjoy it [and] you don't need any prep. You just need to come with full heart and [be] ready to enjoy yourself for a little bit less than two hours.”
The final performances of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat run Aug. 14-16 at the Astroth Community Education Center Theater on Heartland Community College’s campus. Tickets are priced from $4.50 to $22.50 and can be purchased at prariefiretheatre.org.
