Beauty and The Beast

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Beauty and the Beast is MCHS' eigth musical production and will be performed during the first week of March, 2010.


Contents

Director's Notes

TBD

About BTB

History

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor' Dreamcoat was the second musical theatre show written by the team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. (The first was "'The Likes of Us", a show which was written in 1965 but which did not receive its first stage performance until 2005). Based on the story of Joseph from the Bible, this light-hearted show was first presented as a cantata at the Colet Court school in London on March 1, 1968 and lasted twenty minutes. Both the orchestra and the singers consisted of pupils of Colet Court, whose head of music had commissioned the work. The second performance, also by Colet Court boys, was on May 12, 1968, at Central Hall, Westminster. This was picked up by a review in the Sunday Times, The third performance was at St Paul's Cathedral on November 9, 1968. It had by then been expanded. Due to its success, Rice and Lloyd Webber decided to release a small album of the show in 1969. The album didn't do well until Lloyd Webber and Rice released their second musical album, Jesus Christ Superstar. an immediate hit. The original recording then enjoyed 3 months in the charts, Joseph was finally produced at a professional level in 1972 by Frank Dunlop, and its success transferred it to bigger theatres and wider audiences. It was finally produced on Broadway on January 27, 1982 at the Royale Theatre, where it remained for 747 performances. Credited to its family friendly storyline, universal themes, and catchy music Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor" Dreamcoat is one of the most dependably profitable titles in musical theatre history, particularly when producers feature a headlining star. It is often successfully mounted by amateur groups, and according to the Really Useful Group, it has been mounted by over 20,000 local schools and amateur theaters, According to Broadway World News Desk. The current Top Three ranked audience drawing stars in the world in the title Joseph character are Donny Osmond, Patrick Cassidy, and Rikki Lee Travolta. All three hail from well known entertainment families. Other top ranking stars include Jason Donovan, Michael Damian, Darren Day, Sam Harris, Ian Watkins, Stephen Gately, Jon Secada, and original Broadway star Bill Hutton. In addition, young Andy Gibb played Joseph on Broadway, but died of heart failure following the show's run.

Reprinted from Stageagent.com

Synopsis

The Biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to vibrant life in this delightful musical parable. Joseph, his father's favorite son, is a boy blessed with prophetic dreams. Whenhe is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and taken to Egypt, Joseph endures a series of adventures in which his spirit and humanity are continually challenged. He is purchased by Potiphar where thwarting advances from Potiphar's wife lands him in jail. When news of Joseph's gift to interpret dreams reaches the Pharaoh (wryly and riotously depicted as Elvis), Joseph is well on his way to becoming second in command. Eventually his brothers, having suffered greatly, unknowingly find themselves groveling at the feet of the brother they betrayed but no longer recognize. After testing their integrity, Joseph reveals himself leading to a heartfelt reconciliation of the sons of Israel. Set to an engaging cornucopia of musical styles, from country-western and calypso to bubble-gum pop and rock 'n' roll, this Old Testament tale emerges both timely and timeless. This version features extended songs and dances.

Reprinted from the MTI shows web site

Cast

Cast to be announced 11/23/2009


Crew

Crew to be finalized in February 2010


Production Staff

Pit Musicians

Selected in January 2010

BTB Stories

Crew

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