10 September 2004
icCroydon Online
Amazing pace
by
Laura Kendall
Many performers would be panic-stricken at being cast in the lead role of a musical just days before it opens. Not Richard Swerrun.
He was unfazed by having less than a week to prepare to star in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - because he has played the role of Joseph almost 3,000 times before.
Swerrun, who was cast as Croydon's Joseph six days before the show opened on Monday, first played the celebrated role in 1990 and has racked up countless tours and West End runs since. One tour lasted almost four years.
"I do know it like the back of my hand but there's always something to find in him, which is the reason I can keep returning to him," he says. "It's one of those shows you can never really tire of. The audiences come time and time again. Some of them were children when they first saw it and now they're bringing their children. They never get sick of seeing it and I never get sick of being in it.
"I don't know whether I've become Joseph or he's become me. I actually thought of changing my name at one point."
The first musical theatre show written by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Joseph premiered in London in 1968 and has been on stage somewhere in the world ever since. Swerrun attributes the show's enduring appeal to its timelessness.
"The wonderful thing about it is it never dates. Some musicals written during the 1960s and 70s, like Godspell, are very dated today. Joseph hasn't because it's people's favourite styles of music throughout. There's something there for your gran and something for toddlers," he says.
Based on a Bible story written for children, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat also continues to surprise audiences with its content, Swerrun says.
"People love it so much because it's a great surprise. It's a Biblical story so people think it's going to be religion-oriented and it is to a degree but it's so much fun," he says.
"Whether you watch it for the circus value and the prettiness and happy clappy (stuff) or on a deeper level - a song like Close Every Door has stuff about the Jews and the Nazis."
Indeed, perhaps more than any other musical, the songs in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat have transcended the boundaries of musical theatre to become popular in their own right. Hits include Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door.
"The music goes from tragic ballads to rock 'n' roll through to pop. It's got every element and it's such a very clever piece of writing," Swerrun says. "I start off as an 11-year-old boy and end up as a pop star. There's very few male roles in the theatre where you get to do so many different styles of singing and so many different elements of performance."
Music is all-consuming for Swerrun. He decided at an early age his future lay in musicals.
"It's something I've wanted to do ever since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I've always sung and always wanted to be in musical theatre," he says. "It happened quite naturally. I went to college and then was lucky enough to go straight into the West End and the rest is history."
When he's not performing in musical theatre --he has also starred in Oklahoma, West Side Story and Robin, Prince of Sherwood - Swerrun is singing in concert and cabaret. He has sung with the National Concert Orchestra, the Bangkok Symphony and on the liner QE2.
His solo show, An Evening with Richard Swerrun, toured the UK, including the famed Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.
"I have a fantastic band. I'm playing in New York at the end of this year, which is quite a big step but quite exciting. It's great fun (and) totally self-indulgent because I can sing what I like," Swerrun says. "I think (solo performances and musical theatre) go hand in hand. It's great to do my own thing but also to have the discipline of the theatre.
"They walk together, really. It's nice to do both - I don't think I'd ever be tied to one or t'other."
Rotherham Advertiser Entertainment Online
Sheffield Lyceum Theatre, 26/11/2004
Bright bold Joseph
TO HAVE got through 22 years of life and not seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat probably put me on par with an alien from outer space. How an acclaimed show which has been entertaining audiences for more than three decades had managed to pass me by I have no explanation. So finally, at Sheffield's Lyceum Theatre on Monday night, I took my seat for my first viewing of the show without any pre-judgement or expectations. And what I found myself watching was easily the brightest, boldest most energetic musical I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Which perfectly explains why this is one of the longest-running shows around. The storyline is pretty thin. Joseph has many brothers who hate him because he has magical dreams where they all bow down to him and of course he has his coat of many colours. They sell him into slavery and he ends up becoming Pharaoh's right-hand man and saves Egypt from famine with foresight through his dreams.
Later his brothers turn up begging for food and after a bit of hoo haa Joseph forgives them and they all live happily ever after. But the Biblical tale mixed with lively dance routines, strong songs and utter professionalism by all the performers proves a recipe for success.
The show was fast moving, sometimes laugh-out-loud and with music that I found myself humming hours after leaving the show.
Fronting as Joseph, Richard Swerrun was convincing and confident with a terrific voice thrown in for good measure. Abigail Jaye, the evening's narrator, was motivated and talented and Christopher Jay as Jacob, whether he was purposely a dead ringer for Osama Bin Laden or not, was also a big hit. Lee Mead gave it the Elvis treatment for his role as Pharaoh with hip-grinding, hand-clapping song and dance routines much appreciated by a packed-out Lyceum. And the orchestra also deserve a mention for their top-notch performance from beginning to end, playing the many musical favourites from Poor Poor Joseph, One More Angel In Heaven, Those Canaan Days and of course Any Dream Will Do. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat plays the Lyceum until tomorrow so, whether you are a virgin Joseph like me, or fancy a trip down memory lane, go and see it. It really is amazing.
December 2004
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Bradford Alhambra
I saw this musical earlier this year and was slightly bored. I wondered if after 20-odd viewings I'd finally tired of it.
But no, not in a million years, for this week I returned and felt the same mix of excitement and joy I've always felt.
I'm in the half of the population that loves the catchy songs, witty words and exuberant performances rather than the half that sees Joseph as corny, pointless and over-the-top.
I always wonder how people can resist the uplifting tale of a boy who rises to the top through his own talents and and learns humility the hard way.
It's a slender story told entirely through song, and each time it comes to the Alhambra or Grand there are visual or musical tweaks to freshen what is now a well-oiled theatrical machine.
These minor changes, and terrific performances from Richard Swerrun as Joseph and Celia Mei Rubin as the Narrator, led to big laughs and thunderous applause.
This is the second-best performance of Joseph I've ever seen. And if I remember rightly Richard was in the best one too!
David Knights
©copyright The Keighley News Online 2004
thisisleicester online
RICHARD IS BACK IN HIS DREAM ROLE
09 December 2004
Close your eyes, draw back the curtain, and see for certain ... that the musical Joseph is back at the De Montfort hall. Lizz Brain reports
Way, way back, many musicals ago, not long after Lloyd Webber began, Joseph entered the land of Kenwright, and the longest association in theatre began. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has played to thousands of people in hundreds of venues in the last couple of decades.
One of the most enduring performers to take on the title role was Richard Swerrun, a considerable showman who sings, dances and acts up a storm.
He reckons he's sung Any Dream Will Do more than 10,000 times throughout his career, but has made a return to the show for its current tour.
Now the touring production of the slightly Biblical musical arrives at De Montfort Hall, hot on the heels of rock 'n' roll show Little Shop of Horrors (December 13 to 18).
It's a great way to see two fabulous productions back to back in the run-up to Christmas.
Joseph features a host of musical pastiche numbers, ranging from country and western to calypso, choral big ballad to disco, with even a touch of gospel thrown in, as it tells the Biblical story of a young boy who faces adversity and rises from rags to riches, inadvertently helping his brothers become better people along the way.
"I love it, it's such a comfortable part for me and I have the confidence to be able to play with it because I've done it so often," says Richard.
"I first did it when I was 28, and I must have the record for the highest number of performances now!"
His only regret is that he has not been able to return to one number cut from the show - I Don't Think I'm Wanted Back At Home - a top hat and cane-styled Vaudeville number which previously featured when Joseph left home. "It's the only pastiche not in the show, but Andrew Lloyd Webber didn't write the music, although Tim Rice did write the lyrics, so it was cut.
"It's a shame because it was a great number and completed the whole pastiche thing. But the whole show is a really clever piece of writing, and people who haven't seen it before don't really expect it to be that good.
"It works on a lot of levels and so kids love it as much as adults. It's colourful, fun, lively and short - only a couple of hours including the interval - and it's emotive as well as amusing."
©copyright thisisleicester online 2004
Bradford Alhambra - 11/12/04
FANTASTIC! BRILLIANT! WONDERFUL!
He looked handsome He looked smart He was a walking work of art - the art of being the best Joseph ever!!!!!!
Yep - RS was, or should I say, IS Joseph. He took command of the role as I've never seen anyone else do. It was an incredible evening.
To be honest, as it's been 3 years since we saw him, I did wonder if he'd be as good and no he wasn't - he was better. His energy, clarity of singing and acting skills make him a Joseph second to none.
When the show ended the applause, shouting, cheering and whistling was deafening. The curtain went up that many times, for the cast to take their bows, that I lost count - certainly a most appreciative audience. And why not? The whole show was one of the best we've seen. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Lyn and Ian Boothroyd
BBC Nottingham Online
29 Sept 2004
By Carol Griffith
In my book, Joseph is one step up from a pantomime. It's light entertainment with a feel-good factor, where the cast enjoys audience participation of enthusiastic clapping.
Leaving a pleasant feeling of an evening well spent - the equivalent of sitting on the couch watching bland television for a couple of hours. So it never fails to amazes me the type of audience Joseph attracts.
Standing on of the newly liberated pavement outside the Theatre Royal I was fascinated by the amount of 'middle-aged' people eagerly entering the foyer to see a show many of them had already seen many times before. I suppose, it's like watching a repeat of your favourite show on the box.
So I took my seat in the almost full auditorium and waited with anticipation to see the delivery of this well-worn show.
Not disappointingly, the stage at the Theatre Royal was alive and ringing with the sound of a timeless show with good performances, and songs from a well-choreographed and rehearsed cast.
It would be pure bad manners to criticise Richard Swerrun who played Joseph, if as legend has it, he is the master of the role.
However, I did feel the stage was a little cramped with both him and his ego on it at the same time, but he was clearly delighted by the appreciative audience and produced the allocated encores well and with such enthusiasm that it was only when the curtain failed to rise finally did the audience contemplate leaving.
I felt the overall artistic interpretation was pushing the boundary limits set down by it's composers, although Messrs Rice and Lloyd-Webber must rub their rich hands together with glee that their timeless masterpiece is still going strong and attracting such large crowds.
3/5
Have Your Say
caz
i went to see the show and i am only a kid at the age of 14 so joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat is for all ages to make lughter, sadness and great happyness to all the family.
Anon
I was very surprised to read the review by Carol Griffith of Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcote on your review page/ I have seen the show 18 times so I must be one of the middle aged people she mentioned in her review. How many shows can come to Nottingham every year and fill the theatre for 2 weeks? - As a regulars visitor to the Royal Centre I can think of a lot of shows that were far below the wonderful standard of Joseph. Perhaps when she becomes middle aged - I assume she is not - she will start to appreciate real talent.
© BBC 2004
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
BBC Norfolk Online
5 Oct 2004
A vibrant splash of technicolor to chase away the winter blues (and every other colour). Go, go, go see this family musical making a welcome return at the Norwich Theatre Royal.
I close my eyes and now I can't stop humming that tune! I've always claimed not to be a fan of musicals, preferring more avant-garde theatre, until I worked out that actually, some of my favourite movies (my first love) are musicals!
David Lean's Oliver, The Wizard of Oz, White Christmas with Bing and Danny, Grease, shall I go on? So following this surprising self-realisation, I agreed to review Joseph.
I took along my 6-and-a-half-year-old daughter. It was her first trip to a grown-up show and I got the impression that many other juniors were going through the same initiation.
Joseph is based on the Biblical story of Jacob's favourite son, and his 11 jealous brothers. Fed up with their father's favouritism for Joseph and his irritating dreams, they plot to get rid of Joseph. The final straw comes when Dad, (Jacob) singles out Joseph and gives him a coat of many colours.
In a nutshell - the story sees Joseph dropped into a pit and then sold as a slave bound for Egypt where, after a spell languishing in jail, he finds the greatness that he dreamed about as an interpreter of the Pharaoh's dreams.
Forecasting seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, Joseph is promoted as the Pharaoh's number two.
Meanwhile his brothers, who've fallen on hard times in the fourteen years since "disposing" of Joseph, go to Egypt in search of sustenance. They and their Father, Jacob are reunited and all is forgiven.
Joseph the hero is vindicated, but I have to say it took me a while to warm to him because for a long time I totally sympathised with the brothers.
Joseph was insensitive and arrogant with his dreams and their interpretations. And what kind of father singles out one child for special treatment? You just don't do that! It's not good parenting and it will eventually lead to trouble but then of course we wouldn't have a story!
Casting aside the problems with the protagonist not being a very likeable character, how does it work as a show?
Very well I'd say. I enjoyed it much more that I thought I was going to.
Best performances were from the Narrator, Abigail Jaye who has a fine voice and just the right amount of understatedness.
Poor, poor Joseph - what's he gonna do?
As a performer Richard Swerrun (Joseph) opened a bit wobbly, but soon warmed up to give an enthusiastic and moving performance (great moves actually). His rendition of Close Every Door gave me goose bumps.
There were some genuinely funny moments. The slave sale with the camels - you had to be there- and Elvis/Levi proving that the King is alive and well and singing in Norwich!
I especially like the '20s flapper style interpretation of Potiphar's song. Highly amusing, especially the high-kicking "free loving" wife of Potiphar.
Top marks go to the Broadland Youth Choir who must have very sore bottoms sitting on the stage all night!
One niggle - the brothers' dancing could do with sharpening. I like the fact that they were every shape or size and not your typical chorus line, but at one point I thought some were going to run out of steam!
But saying that, they really came into their own for Those Canaan Days and One more Angel in Heaven (my daughter's favourite!).
The sets were imaginative. I especially like the epic-style Pharaoh set with the dogs - totally lavish! And as for all those costume changes you really experienced a global outing with those!
And what a finale. The audience could have sung and clapped all night. Truly an inclusive foot-tapping experience, so my advice is to let go and enjoy - I did!
Finally a note from the young reviewer - "Good actions to the dancing", and "the lady who sings the story was good" with a comment at the end, "Mum, can we see it again now?"
I don't think so dear....
By Mariam Issimdar
© BBC 2004
thisisnottingham.co.uk
MAGICAL MUSICAL IS A REAL DELIGHT
22 September 2004
It's a real old favourite, but who can resist Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when it comes to town?
Last night at the Nottingham Theatre Royal, the audience were dancing in the aisles and singing at the tops of their voices as the Rice and Lloyd Webber musical yet again worked its magic.
This polished and entertaining performance begins in Canaan with Jacob and his 12 sons, including Joseph who has been given a colourful coat by his dad because he's the favourite.
You know the story. Joseph is sold as a slave by his jealous brothers. He finds himself in Egypt and working for a rich man, Potiphar. When this all goes wrong, he winds up in jail, only to be saved when he correctly reads the pharaoh's dreams.
This musical moves along at an amazing rate and there are all the old classic songs: Poor, Poor, Joseph, Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door. How is it that I can still remember these songs from when I was seven? (Much to the chagrin of the people sitting behind!)
The set was dazzling and the costumes attention-grabbing, shifting from calypso outfits to American football suits.
Huge applause, quite rightly, went to Richard Swerrun as Joseph. Richard has been playing the lead in the West End production. He is only on tour for a short time, before he heads back to London, so this was a great chance to see him. He has a huge voice and was the ideal Joseph, playing the role with dynamism, while the talented Abigail Jaye, quite a newcomer, was an excellent narrator.
All the brothers were great fun - lively and full of humour. Lee Mead, true to tradition, played Pharaoh in vigorous Elvis style. Lee was a really exciting and sexy Elvis and several women in the audience agreed!
Full marks to Gareth Ellis, the musical director and Bill Kenwright, the director. The set design was by Sean Cavanagh and choreography by Henry Metcalfe, who did a brilliant job. The dancing from this large cast was superb.
Joseph comes around year after year, but never fails to fill the theatre and delight perhaps some of the same people again and again.
Last night was no exception. As Swerrun sang Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door, we all clapped and sang. And when Pharaoh appeared for the Elvis-styled Pharaoh's Story, everyone was having a wonderful time. After a stunning finale, the cast tried several times to go off stage, but the audience was having none of it - and so they stayed for several more songs, much to the crowd's delight.
© Northcliffe Electronic Publishing Ltd.
