Andrew Lloyd Webber sure is getting a lot of play around town this summer. "Cats" came through town (again) in June and "The Phantom of the Opera" is enjoying a four-week run at the Civic. Surely the dancing felines will find their way to Moonlight's outdoor stage in Vista someday, and a little creative staging could make "Phantom" possible (just where would that chandelier go though....?). In the meantime, North County audiences will have to make do with another revival of Lloyd Webber's earlier hit, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." It's about as enjoyable an evening as one is likely to get from the relentlessly saccharine show, so if it's family-friendly fun you're after, grab the kids and a picnic basket and make a summer night of it.

James Royce Edwards as Joseph

Copyright©2008 Ken Jacques

To say "Joseph" has been a popular title for Moonlight is an understatement. With two previous adult-cast productions in the last 17 years, plus the two youth-theatre mountings, no other show has been produced as often in the history of Moonlight Stage Productions.

This time around, the director's and choreographer's duties fall into the hands of Carlos Mendoza, who in a recent interview stressed his desire to tame the ridiculousness that has been a feature of other productions and "bring back some of the heart." It has plenty of heart, that's for sure. The khaki-clad youngsters providing choral accompaniment and constant cuteness make sure of that.

As for the ridiculousness, there's just no escaping the daffy nature of "Joseph" (and that amazing technicolor dreamcoat of his). Written by a young Lloyd Webber before he got heavy-handed and serious, the score is a fun and eclectic hodgepodge of musical styles, aided by Tim Rice's bouncy lyrics. A light-hearted retelling of the Biblical story of Joseph, it's traditionally been a showcase for spectacle and a buff young man running around in a loincloth (played most famously by Donny Osmond both on stage and in the 1999 film).

Filling those skivvies here is another smiley-faced, musically gifted Mormon, James Royce Edwards, and if those last few high notes of the big solo, "Close Every Door," sounded a little pinched on opening night, he remains a strong singer for the most part. What's more, singer-actor-personal-trainer Edwards more than surpasses Osmond in the beefcake department. Mendoza and wig designer Peter Herman have mercifully shelved the Fabio-length tresses for Joseph used in many productions in favor of Edwards' short, contemporary 'do.

Stephanie Burkett Gerson as the Narrator

Copyright©2008 Ken Jacques

As the narrator who sings most of the show, Moonlight newcomer Stephanie Burkett Gerson is all Vegas in her slim red sequined outfit and glittery glam makeup, with a powerful voice that wows up to the highest reaches of the Act Two opener, "Pharaoh Story."

Paul Clausen hams it up to no end as Jacob, Potiphar, and the Elvis-impersonating Pharaoh, and if Mendoza was looking to rein in some of the ridiculousness, Clausen's indulgent trio of caricatures may have been a good place to start. The chardonnay-fueled ladies seated in front of me, though, hooted and hollered at his hip-swiveling, pompadoured King, so what do I know...?

Other standouts include the long-legged Brenna Fleeman-Delay doing what she does best as Potiphar's wife, and the three of Joseph's brothers who are given substantial solos. There's the lanky Mitch Lewis as the Hee Haw brother and Fernando Acevedo as the mustachioed Gallic one, but it's the bigger-than-life Bryan Barbarin who steals the limelight as calypso-happy Caribbean brother Judah.

(L-R) James Royce Edwards, Paul Clausen, and Stephanie Burkett Gerson

Copyright©2008 Ken Jacques

Mendoza's choreography is good, clean fun but not nearly as showy as Sharell Martin's Nile-goes-Vegas costumes or Rick Aglietti's scenic design (both from Fullerton Civic Light Opera). The Hoedown, in particular, seems to go on and on without reaching any sort of climax, and the Apache Dance (usually known for its violent eroticism) for Joseph Glaser and Deborah Fauerbach was on opening night more tentative than seductive.

Luckily, Christina L. Munich's flashy rainbow-hued lighting helps mask any of the more lackluster moments of staging.

What it can't hide is the cast's peppy, show-choir enthusiasm for the material, so if it's tasty midsummer English cheese you're after, this "Joseph" (and that garish ochre-fawn-mauve-russet-cream-colored vestment of his) should satisfy the palate.

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