A Colorless ‘Joseph’

It’s difficult to understand the appeal of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s first musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

It’s a juvenile piece of work, written when both were very young, for a boys’ school audience. It takes the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, his adventures in Egypt and his glorious return to an adoring father, and treats it with the disjointed lack of focus that earmarked too much theater in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

The show does have some flashy moments. All of these depend entirely on the director, choreographer and musical director. It also helps if you have a firecracker performer playing Joseph.

Alan Palmer, who plays Joseph in this staging at Buena Park Civic “Theatre Under the Stars,” has played the role eight times before. It looks as though he’s been playing it longer. His every move, his every glance up into his spotlight, even his vocals, seem computerized.

He also has a very light voice, which has no trouble reaching Webber’s big moments, but doesn’t ring with the energy the vocals need. If his coat were as colorless as his performance, the story wouldn’t get off the ground.

On top of that, director Kevin Calvin, choreographer John Charron, musical director Andre Oei and costume designers Sharell Martin and Anthony Padilla, don’t seem to have gotten much of a grasp on the show’s few theatrical advantages.

This is the same team that put together a bang-up staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar” a couple of seasons ago, but it seems to have been sitting this one out.

The direction is scattered, with Calvin mistakenly hoping the show will stand on its own two feet, and the choreography is a sort of slap-dash affair that never comes together.

Oei’s small orchestra is loud, but early Lloyd Webber needs more than that; this show came before he started borrowing melodies from other composers, and part of the conductor’s job is to provide a musical logic that isn’t written in.

The costumes are even more dismal. They look cheap and tossed together. Several patrons overheard at intermission commented on the odd costume choices for Joseph’s many brothers. In one scene they look like the chorus boys in “Singin’ in the Rain,” and in another they look uncomfortably like the Village People.

*

In a huge cast of varying ability, a few of the performers rise above the lack of direction and its attendant disciplines.

Brooke Wilkes is fine as the Narrator, smooth and charming, and pretty much in touch with the text of her numbers. Vil Towers doesn’t have much to do as Joseph’s father, Jacob, but he stands out whenever he’s called upon, and Jonathan Valentine is a strong Pharaoh, both in presence and vocally.

* “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Buena Park Civic “Theatre Under the Stars,” 8150 Knott Ave., Buena Park. Fridays and Saturdays, 8:15 p.m.; also Aug. 15, 22 and 29, 8:15. Ends Aug. 31. $12. (714) 562-3844. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Brooke Wilkes: Narrator

Alan Palmer: Joseph

Jonathan Valentine: Pharaoh

Vil Towers: Jacob

A Buena Park Civic “Theatre Under the Stars” production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical, produced by Joane Evans. Directed by Kevin Calvin. Musical direction: Andre Oei. Choreography: John Charron. Technical direction/lighting design: Jim Book. Costume design: Sharell Martin, Anthony Padilla. Sound design: David Edwards. Stage manager: Susan Rydeen.