Joseph extends booking
Feature by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ONCE again Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead as Joseph, has extended its booking period at the Adelphi Theatre – this time by four months thereby taking booking to October 18, 2008.
And Mead, who has just scooped the prize for Outstanding New Talent at the 55th annual Variety Club Showbusiness Awards, will stay in the role until then.
The current cast of Joseph also includes Preeya Kalidas (as the Narrator), Dean Collinson (as Pharaoh) and Stephen Tate (as Jacob/Potiphar/Guru).
Previously Posted: In order to meet ticket demand, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead in the title role, has extended its booking period by five months – until June 7, 2008.
The move comes even before the show’s official opening night on July 17, 2007.
Previously Posted: Lee Mead’s dream of starring as Joseph in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat became a reality when he won the BBC’s talent show Any Dream Will Do.
Mead (25) from Southend, Essex, has previously appeared in the touring production of Joseph as Pharaoh and Brother Levi. He has also performed in the ensembles of The Phantom of the Opera, in which he understudied the role of Raoul, and Miss Saigon, in which he again understudied a leading role – Chris.
His other credits include Tommy, the touring production of Abigail’s Party (as Laurence) and Geri Halliwell’s It’s Raining Men video (as a dancer).
Speaking for the first time after the result was announced, Mead said: “I want to thank everyone so much. I’m going to go out there and give you a hell of a show.”
In the live final, more than three million votes were cast. Keith Jack (19), a supermarket customer services assistant was runner-up, with Lewis Bradley (18), a student and former boyband member in third place.
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Previously Posted: The role of Narrator in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which opens at the Adelphi Theatre on July 17, 2007, will be played by Preeya Kalidas.
Kalidas made her West End debut in June 2002 originating the role of Priya in another Lloyd Webber production, Bombay Dreams. She has also appeared on the big screen in Bend It like Beckham and Bollywood Queen.
Other confirmed cast members are Dean Collinson (Whistle Down the Wind) as Pharaoh, Stephen Tate (Les Miserables, The Witches of Eastwick, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Jacob, and John Alastair (Mamma Mia!) as Brother Reuben.
Meanwhile, the coveted role of Joseph will be decided on Saturday (June 9) in the final of BBC’s Any Dream Will Do. Still in the competition are Lewis Bradley (17), a student and former boyband member; Keith Jack (19), a supermarket customer services assistant; and Lee Mead (25) who has previously understudied the role of Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera.
Previously Posted: Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber said he will use the Diana Memorial Concert on July 1, 2007, to showcase his new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The show, with the winner of BBC’s Any Dream Will Do in the title role, begins previewing five days after the concert which means the people’s Joseph will make his stage debut in the role at Wembley.
And in all probability, he will sing Any Dream Will Do, one of Princess Diana’s favourite songs.
But who will it be? To date five would-be Josephs have been eliminated – Antony Hansen, Chris Barton, Chris Crosby, Johndeep More and Seamus Cullen – leaving just seven hopefuls.
Previously Posted: The twelve finalists in the contest to find a ‘Joseph’ for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, include four professional actors, two already with experience in the West End.
Daniel Boys (aged 27) has appeared in the West End productions of Grease and Rent, in the latter understudying Adam Ricketts’ Mark. He has also appeared in the touring productions of West Side Story and Sunset Boulevard, another of Lloyd Webber’s works.
And only last year, Lee Mead (aged 25) understudied the role of Raoul in Lloyd Webber’s evergreen The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Furthermore, he’s no stranger to Joseph, having played Pharaoh in Bill Kenwright’s touring production of the musical. His other credits include Tommy and Miss Saigon.
The two other professionals are Ben Ellis (aged 18) and Johndeep More (aged 23). Ellis has appeared in The Woman in Black and More was a quarterfinalist in the BBC’s Voice of Musical Theatre competition.
The other finalists are: student Chris Barton (19), student and former boyband member Lewis Bradley (17), former boyband member Craig Chalmers (25), clothes shop assistant Chris Crosby (18), London-based IT worker Seamus Cullen (35), student Antony Hansen (17), student Keith Jack (19) and builder Rob McVeigh (23).
Previously Posted: It has now been confirmed that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will open at the Adelphi Theatre on July 17, 2007 (previews from July 6).
Previously Posted: From Saturday, March 31, 2007, a new reality show to find an ‘unknown’ to play the coveted role of Joseph in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, will begin airing on BBC One.
The show, Any Dream Will Do, follows the format of How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, which successfully cast Connie Fisher in the role of Maria in another of Lloyd Webber’s productions, The Sound of Music. Graham Norton will once again host proceedings.
Since January, thousands have auditioned for the role of Joseph; only 12 remain. Aged between 17 and 35, they include two school pupils, a builder, an amateur performer and a professional actor. None have taken a leading role in a West End musical.
Viewers will be able to follow the audition process and the candidates’ time at “Joseph School” before the final twelve face the weekly public vote.
As well as Lloyd Webber, TV’s judging panel will include star of musical theatre and Torchwood‘s Captain Jack, John Barrowman; and vocal coach Zoe Tyler, both of whom appeared in How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?.
They will be joined by Denise Van Outen and Bill Kenwright who mounted the last West End production of Joseph at the New London Theatre where it ran for two-and-a-half years – until September 2005. The touring production continues around the UK.
Although neither venue nor opening date have been announced for the new production of Joseph, it’s widely expected to follow Evita (which closes on May 26, 2007) at the Adelphi Theatre.
Also casting in a reality show on ITV are the roles of Sandy and Danny in Grease.
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