Research and Concept

The story of Joseph ATATD was written during an era of exploration in the late 1960s. This fantastic musical is the first success and making of a many decades long career for both composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. Rice, only 20 years old at the time, and Lloyd Webber, a mere 17 years of age, were commissioned in 1965 to pen a musical for an all-boys preparatory school, the Colet Court School, that told a bible story set to pop music. This musical tale originally only 22 minutes in length was a hit among the audience of 200 parents. One of those parents happened to be a music critic for the Sunday Times describing the performance as “irresistible” in an article that caught the attention of a noteworthy record label. Rice and Lloyd Webber’s work immediately underwent an expansion and has gone on to win the hearts of musical theatre goers across the globe for nearly 60 years. 

Director's Vision and Chronology

This is a play about drawing back the curtain to reveal our dreams . . . we find that some are lucky, some are not. In doing so, we manifest the courage to reach for the stars because “if we think it, want it, dream it, then it’s REAL.” We tell the story of Joseph realizing his dream because he could be you.

This biblical story of Joseph and his multi-color coat is reimagined through the late 1960s early 1970s explorative artistic lens with an eclectic use of song styles, character types, visual spectacle, and humor. As we draw back the curtain on Joseph’s dreams, we will bring about the aesthetic of these groovy times alongside the musical’s themes of resilience, forgiveness, and family. Our story begins with a triad of Narrators presenting the exposition of our story and representing the three primary colors. They tell us about our story’s patriarch, Jacob and his twelve sons. Jacob, also known as Israel, openly lauds Joseph as his favorite son and buys him a technicolor coat as a symbol of that favor. Our Narrators launch the action of our story as they unite their colors in this impactful transaction and a multitude of colors splash across the stage to invigorate our tale.

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Music Score Study and Style

From piano, to orchestra to stage, great Music Direction is a process.