Product: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 1.0
A sad injustice to a sweet show
I saw this show on broadway as a child. I loved it. I listened to the original broadway cast album over and over and loved it. The songs were charming and smart, the message was honest and true, and the narrator was sung by one of the finest voices ever to grace the American stage. On the stage, the sets were minimalist and simple and supported the cast and story rather than overpowering or outshining them.This video production of the show sadly misses the spirit of the show and just doesn't have the best people singing it.This show was originally created to be preformed by students in schools. It was a low budget production that showed off talent and concepts, and splashy production wasn't required or desired. This video version is all splashy production, with very little substance or soul. It's glitzy and glittery and you end up thinking about how pretty it looks rather than feeling involved in the story or the music.Maria Friedman does a competent job as the narrator, although the role was written for a man and was, I believe, only changed for the female voice for performance by the immortal Laurie Beechman, who is sadly no longer with us. Maria is likeable enough, she'll do. Perhaps if I hadn't heard the role sung by the best, I wouldn't be so critical of her in comparison. Donny Osmond does a good job *acting* the role of Joseph, but doesn't sing it as well as the gentleman who I remember on Broadway. The rest of the cast is, well, *there*. I've seen the DVD twice and I can barely recall any of their faces, so I suppose they could be referred to as *forgettable*.I do have to admit I was amused by Joan Collins's cameo. As she sings all of one sentence, her voice is not at issue.I also particularly disliked that they've moved the song "any dream will do" to the beginning of the show. It was written for the end of the show, and doesn't make any sense at the beginning. It's out of context, and also I believe it was intended as an expression of angst and confusion and loss, and yet it's played as a cheerful happy song, which *really* doesn't make sense to me.This production makes me feel like Andrew Lloyd Webber has forgotten what the show is about.If there was any other version of this show available on video, I would not have bought this one.