"Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" - DMTC's Young Performer's Theatre (YPT)

Left: Chris Petersen as 'Joseph' in his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.


Nice show, with some curious choices, which work well, for the most part. The show continues next weekend, and the weekend following, at DMTC.

Below are some pictures of the "Megamix" and Bows.







Left: Andrew Lemons reprises his 'Pharaoh' role in the Megamix.













Bows - Left to Right in the front row: Andrew Lampinen, Carver Simmons, Zachary Machado, Scott Sablan, Mark Lillya, Kennedy Wenning, Caitlin Humphreys, Chris Petersen, Rebecca Rudy, Meeka Craig, Nora Unkel, and Cass Olson.









More Bows. Here my knowledge beins to fail. Left to right, xx, Lisa Parente, xx, Kiyo Nishiyama, Catherine Williamson, Maya Abramson, Madelyn Roblee.

Background, xx, Joey Lemons, and his brother Andrew.








More bows. Benjamin (Matthew Fyhrie) is evident at the left.



There were some choices that I was prepared to not like in this show, such as having three Narrators, as opposed to just one, but Rebecca Rudy, Kennedy Wenning, and Caitlin Humphreys did such a good job, I think I now prefer having three Narrators, as opposed to just one.

There were three choreographers, which makes distinguishing who did what somewhat hard. I was especially glad to see the jive sequence, where two couples (Mark Lillya, McKinley Carlisle, Kiyo Nishiyama, and, I think, Logan Capps) flipped the girl dancers. Perhaps Emily Jo Seminoff did this part, since she said she was getting more interested in ballroom dancing, but Erin Carpenter could have done it too (and presumably Katie Quiring or Tyler Warren too). DMTC has long-needed to develop this kind of couples dancing expertise, and I worry the expertise will flit off with this show and will have to be redeveloped again later. The only choreographic flaw was that it looked like some of the weakest dancers in the back needed more attention.

Andrew Lemons performed 'Pharaoh', and his energy was fun to witness. He was gracious enough, when he came into the audience, to drape me with one of his sashes! How fun! The screaming teenagers who greeted Pharaoh were more than convincing - Nora Unkel, in particular, looked like she was going to pieces!

Mark Lillya was especially impressive as Levi, particularly in the 'Canaan Days' section. Somehow I failed to see either 'Grease' or 'Aladdin', so his theatrical skills came as a surprise to me. The lighting was particularly good in 'Canaan Days' (Nic Candito's work), and the staging of the opening tableaux was excellent.

Left: Here is Meeka Craig (in a not-very-good image, but one that nevertheless illustrates her physical expressiveness).

Meeka Craig played Benjamin Calypso. You could tell that she could not wait to take center stage. She is just amazing - her physicality and emphatic energy are perfect for the stage. I hope she continues performing evermore.

Nora Unkel sang the 'One More Angel' solo in Act I. I remember liking what I heard, but unfortunately during Act I, I was having wakefulness issues, after a long "Pirates" day, so the performance part I can't comment on with any authority.

I liked McKinley Carlisle's interpretation of Mrs. Potiphar. She remained quite poised, despite what looked like potentially rough handling.

The Dreamcoat itself was quite nice! Very colorful and nicely built! Chris Petersen did an excellent job as Joseph.

The only parts I had trouble with were costume choices, such as switching into jeans and white shirt for the "Megamix", rather than back into various costumes. I didn't like the use of the sleeveless T-Shirts, sometimes referred to as 'wifebeaters', because it reminded me of ....... well, wifebeating. I also thought that miking some people was ill-advised, since the mikes didn't work that well, and were cutting in and out.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, Joseph generally sings about his Dreamcoat at the very beginning of the show. That did not happen here, but it should have, for clearer exposition of the story.

Oh, and before I forget - great music from Erik, Ben, and the rest of the crew!