Here’s what you need to know
Starts at 2:00pm
We’ll be in the Visual Arts Wing at The Arts Center
This event is FREE
No experience necessary
Fun and informal: You can sit and listen or participate as much as you want
We will read the musical “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” led by Tyler Peaden. More information about the play and table reads below.
About the Musical
“Sha la la, Joseph, you’re doing fine! You and your dreamcoat, ahead of your time!” One of the most enduring shows of all time, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a reimagining of the Biblical story of Joseph, his father Jacob, eleven brothers and the coat of many colors.
Told entirely through song with the help of a main character Narrator, the musical follows preferred son Joseph. After being sold into slavery by his brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the amorous advances of Potiphar’s wife. While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled, Elvis-inspired, Pharaoh. Joseph’s solution to Egypt’s famine elevates him to Pharaoh’s right-hand man and reunites him with his family.
History of the Musical
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was first written for a children’s concert by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It proved so successful that the piece, originally 15 minutes long, was expanded to a full-length professional musical. The first amateur production in America was in May 1970 at the College of the Immaculate Conception in Douglastown, New York.
Professionally, Joseph premiered at Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival in 1972, and transferred to London’s West End the following year. The Broadway opening, with the late Laurie Beechman as the first female to take the Narrator role, was in 1982 and garnered six Tony nods, including Best Musical. It has been staged numerous times since, with a new production touring the U.S., directed and choreographed by Hamilton Tony winner Andy Blankenbuehler. A 2019 summer revival at the London Palladium was a smash hit and returned to the venue in 2021.
About Table Reads
The Play Selection Advisory Committee of Athens Community Theatre hosts several opportunities to read plays and musicals for fun each season. Participation in a table read is a great way to “dip a toe in” to see what working with ACT is like. The play is read casually: you can let us know if you want to participate or just listen in. And you can change your mind at any time.