Product: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 2.0
Where's Sam Harris when you need him?
I may be the only person on this whole thing that does not like this version of Joseph, but I'll survive. First of all, I just want to say that I actually love the musical, and between me and my sister, we have nine different cast recordings of Joseph. So I am not reviewing the musical, but rather this presentation. First of all, I love Maria Friedman, but I feel that she was totally miscast for the part. Her voice is a totally different register, suited to singing arias and ballads over the psudo-pop presentation needed by the narrator, however, I really can't think of someone else to play the narrator (maybe Elaine Paige (Grizebella in "Cats"?). Second, Donny Osmond? Just because he played Joseph the longest (and mostly in Canada) doesn't mean he was the most popular. Come on people, anyone who saw the US touring cast with Sam Harris knows that Sam has a voice that hits high notes better than Donny. Oprah basically said that his voice could move God. That and I think that he's better looking than Donny. My third quibble is the horrid makeup job. When doing film, one does not need to apply the layers of stage makup as seen on those actors. I also missed some of the accentuation seen in some casts (the US cast recording pulls off the Country, French, and Elvis accents better), but then again, the entire cast was English, so I guess I can't complain too much. And lastly, the redone megamix is HORRID! There were a few things I liked about it though. The stylized Potiphar/Jailcell/Go, Go, Go Joseph scene setpieces were well done, and if I was directing a version of Joseph, I would try to emulate their style and simplicity. Second, it was nice of them to include a making of documentary, though at times, it focused too much on the little school productions when I wish it would talk more about the presented versions. Anyways, if you are a Joseph fanatic, then you probably want to get it. If you are not, wait for them to revive the show again and hope it tours to your town, you're not missing much.