TOM TITUS -- Theater Review

When Cecil B. DeMille was making biblical screen epics a half-century

ago, he would bill them as boasting a “cast of thousands.” Scale that

down to community theater proportions and you have “Joseph and the

Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse.

There are no fewer than 33 characters populating the medium-sized

stage, often simultaneously, in this revival of an early work from the

careers of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It takes the talents of four

choreographers, along with director Damien Lorton, but somehow it works,

and often it works beautifully.

Spectacle is an often-overused term, but what transpires on the Costa

Mesa stage is spectacle in spades. Flash and dash, with a magnum of

splash, punctuate this modern-dress version of the Old Testament story of

Joseph and his coat of many colors, cast out by his jealous brothers to

become a demigod in Egypt for his powers of dream interpretation.

Backed by a driving five-piece band under Lorton’s baton, “Joseph”

truly rocks. Its production numbers are mind-boggling in sheer terms of

logistics alone. That such an overflowing ensemble can mesh into a

smoothly functioning unit while each member retains a modicum of

individuality is a tribute to Roberta Kay, Victoria Berrett, Scott Weber

and Shani Barrett, who combined to stage the intricate numbers.

At the center of this ancient tale is its ubiquitous narrator, the

superlative singer-actress Adriana Sanchez, who weaves the story together

with a twinkling eye and a rapturously melodic voice. Sanchez interacts

beautifully with the other characters and the audience simultaneously,

while -- as so well put in “My Fair Lady,” -- oozing charm from every

pore.

Brandon Ibanez scores splendidly in the title role, enduring his

character’s many trials and tribulations with a humble dignity that soon

replaces his earlier narcissism. Ibanez projects a sinewy strength beyond

his muscular physique that sustains his character nobly.

The 11 brothers -- only 10 were present for Saturday’s opening night

-- are given nominal character traits, but function best as an ensemble,

and the absence of one due to a prior commitment scarcely marred the

overall effect. The tribe consists of Edward Gusts, Duane Allen Thomas,

Gary Trinidad, Mark Velarde, Marc Davila, Scott Weber, Tyler Schatzlein,

Darrin Caskey, Ruben Rodriguez Jr., Ryan Bean and Robert Argueta, with

Kenny Jagosz offering weepy moments as the father and Tanya Gallo as his

wife.

The show’s only weakness is in the performance of Emilio Maximum as

the Pharaoh, a role written as a sendup of Elvis Presley but delivered

more as a punk rocker by the actor who played the Elvis-type character

in “Bye Bye Birdie” last year. Maximum’s contribution is kept to a

minimum by his soft and inarticulate vocalizing.

Assisting Sanchez in setting up the story sequences are the fetching

temptresses, Deborah Bushman and Gabrielle Mann. Weber and Davila double

as Joseph’s fellow prisoners pouring out their dreams, while director

Lorton does a Hitchcockian turn as Potiphar, Joseph’s master, under the

pseudonym of Michael Banks --- the “Mary Poppins” character that was

Lorton’s first role in his youth.

Musically, “Joseph” has a little bit of everything from ‘50s rock ‘n’

roll, to Jacques Brel-style mourning to country and western to calypso

celebration. It’s a prolific potpourri of musical and visual artistry

blended into a most enjoyable ensemble.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

WHAT: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

WHERE: Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse, 661 Hamilton St., Costa Mesa

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays until March

25

TICKETS: $15

PHONE: (949) 650-5269