PHOTO: A recent UK production of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’.
Durango Theatreworks at The Fort will present its inaugural season with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Saturday, June 4, 7:30 pm and Sunday, June 5, 2 pm on stage at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Dr. Michael McKelvey directs this semi-staged and choreographed “in concert” performance accompanied by a live orchestra.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a musical comedy with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly, and it’s a family-friendly retelling of Joseph, with familiar themes and catchy music… and has been performed in numerous stagings.
A collective of over 30 performers and musicians including local community members, FLC and area high school students are set to perform under the newly formed, Durango Theatreworks sponsored by Fort Lewis College. The cast for Joseph includes Jason Lythgoe (Joseph), Ben Mattson (Pharaoh) and a Durango and Farmington crowd favorite, Geoff Johnson (Jacob, Potiphar, The Butler). All will perform with a live eight-piece orchestra under the direction of Helen Gregory; Rebecca Thurston, Tayler Smith and Melissa Mossinghoff are the narrators for the evening. The ‘brothers’ of the cast include Travis Carlson, Gregory Palese, Conor Sheehan, Wyatt Krob, Oliver Kennedy, Mondo Yazzie, Ava Allen, Sadie Hanson, Liam Hahn, Luca Sandoval McCallum, and Richard Tsethlikai.
Durango Theatreworks is under the direction of faculty member Dr. Michael E. McKelvey, the head of the new Fort Lewis College Musical Theatre Program. McKelvey states, “starting a professional theatre company in collaboration with the new program will strengthen the performing arts at Fort Lewis College, while providing more theatre opportunities for the performers and theatre goers of Durango”.
The company will continue with two more productions for their inaugural summer season and host pop-up entertainment throughout Durango. For more information, go to durangotheatreworks.org.
Tickets for all performances are available online at www.durangoconcerts.com or by phone Monday through Friday, 12 pm – 5 pm at 970-247-7657. Lobby doors open one hour before showtime, and Concert Hall opens one half hour before showtime.