So this evening *I* went with the wife and youngest daughter to see a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at The Hills Grammar School (THGS). The eldest daughter was in the chorus singing her little heart out along with 19 others… and a great job they did, conducted by Owen Nelson who tonight was Music Director.
The question you are possibly asking if you read the earlier sparse review gleaned from the wife’s reports is, was it as good as she suggested? The answer – an emphatic yes!
The Hills Grammar School has always had a thriving music department and over the years we have come to expect great things from them, despite the obvious changes in performers as the children leave school or pursue other interests. Nevertheless I think with this production they excelled themselves.
In some ways it’s unfair to single out any particular cast member because they worked as a whole to produce this mini-masterpiece. However extra credits *must* be given to Emma Woodworth whose voice as usual dominated whenever she sang, which luckily was for a large part of the performance. Her natural smile and shining eyes made it clear throughout how much she was enjoying herself. Emma is a naturally gifted performer.
Likewise, Charlie Cox who played Joseph is equally gifted and put on a wonderful showing. Whilst his voice might not have the range and clarity of Emma’s his acting abilities were *very* prominent and he truly brought the character to life.
These two, along with the remaining cast would have made Andrew Lloyd Webber sit up and listen and I’m sure many of them will continue to build a career in the performing arts!
Of course a vital part of a musical, is the music… and the way it is performed is critical to the success of the whole. After listening to the score performed by a band made up of students and a few teachers I understood why someone in last nights audience thought perhaps the vocalists were performing to a backing track… the
reproduction was exceptional.
As we were all leaving the wife remarked how professional it was, especially in comparison with productions from our own school days. My comment is that it would have stood up well against *any* professional group! They were quite simply that good!!
In fact the quality of the production brought into question just why the ‘run’ was limited to just two nights. Given more publicity even in the local area and I think it could well have run for many weeks yet (schoolwork allowing :)). As it was, all seats were filled on both nights and could well have been filled over again.
As we left we realised that although *we*, the audience, weren’t allowed to film the production some video equipment had been running. I hope that eventually a DVD of the concert is released by the school. I for one would be more than happy to sit and watch it several times more.
A simple ‘well done’ Hills Grammar School seems almost inappropriate for such a show, yet what more can one say other than that, except to say I’m eagerly looking forward to the next production! š
The Eclectic Interweb 