Biblical story comes to Broadway, NPAC

One of Broadway’s finest tandems of modern time, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice teamed together to produce a wonderful story taken from the book of Genesis in the Bible.  Chapter 37 of Genesis tells the story of Joseph, one of Jacob’s many sons, as a matter of fact, his favorite son.  As would be expected, his brothers became very jealous of their younger brother who received favorite treatment from their father.  Because of his extreme love and admiration for Joseph, his father gave him a tunic or coat of many brilliant colors.  This was taken as a sign of favoritism and drew even more hatred to Joseph from his brothers.

You can read Genesis 37 to get the rest of the story, but it’s a fascinating story of love, hatred, redemption and forgiveness.  We should all strive to be more like Joseph in this story.

In 1969, Lloyd Webber experienced great success with the rather controversial Jesus Christ Superstar.  On its coattails and even presented as a “follow-up” to Superstar, Weber and Rice teamed to release what would become a superstar Broadway show in itself entitled, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  After several years of performing and adjusting, Joseph eventually came to public admiration when Donny Osmond performed the lead role of Joseph.  It became a huge hit and the rest is as they say, (Broadway) history.

Since its inception, it is estimated there have been well over 20,000 performances throughout the world. London’s West End, Canada’s notorious Toronto Theatre, New York’s Broadway, and thousands of high school and amateur theatre groups have performed Joseph.

In less than two weeks, we are bringing the national professional tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to the Niswonger in Van Wert. It is a wonderful story told with lots of color and amazing music that will stick with you forever.  Of course, it’s Andrew Lloyd Webber!

I remember seeing it in Chicago in the early 1990s. My wife and I traveled with the Van Wert High School choir to see a performance with Donny Osmond as the lead.  I believe it was my very first Broadway show and I was amazed and hooked. The pageantry of especially this show, the color, the music, the singing, and special effects, were something to behold.

I cannot recommend this show more highly!  We are so fortunate to bring this to Van Wert for two shows: 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 17. If you had asked me, as I was sitting in the Chicago theater back in 1993, if we would ever see something like this in Van Wert, I would have thought you were crazy!  Well, here we go, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat right here in Van Wert, Ohio, in a beautiful theater: the Niswonger.

Get your tickets now for either the afternoon or evening show. Our box office is open Monday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. Online orders can be placed at NPACVW.ORG.

I am so pleased and proud to have us offer Joseph to you. There is comedy, laughter, music, and even a little Elvis (not confirmed to actually be in the Bible, as far as I know!)  But hey!  It’s Broadway!  I hope to see you on the 17th.

FINÉ.