Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Parent Guide

I have wanted to share more than the soundtrack of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with my children ever since I saw the stage performance a few years ago while on a business trip. So I was excited about this video release.

For those unfamiliar with the story, the script is loosely based (meaning the names are the same but the characters have been changed to protect the innocent) on the Old Testament account of Jacob (Richard Attenborough) and his twelve sons. Jealous of their father’s preferential treatment of Joseph (Donnie Osmond), the eleven other brothers decide to ‘do him in’. Taking him into the desert, they strip him of his multi-colored coat (a special gift from his father), and sell him as an Egyptian slave. Splattering goat blood on the coat, the brothers tell their father that Joseph had a fatal encounter with a ferocious beast.

In Egypt, Joseph is falsely accused of having a sexual relationship with his master’s wife (Joan Collins), and finds himself in jail. But through divine intervention, he takes an express trip from the dungeon to Pharoahs’s palace, where he will eventually become the king’s right hand man and lead Egypt through a seven-year famine.

While this title is billed as a biblical movie, keep in mind that the intent of this rollicking production is to showcase the talent of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The biblical concept is used merely as a backdrop on which they spoof various musical and fashion trends.

This video version of Joseph feels more like a movie because the camera can roam the “stage”. I was able to see many details that I missed while sitting in the far reaches of the theater, including some very seductive costumes on the female players. While everyone is fully clothed, the tight-fitting costumes include extra ornamentation in some very provocative places.

However, if you’re looking for a way to experience this zany musical performance with your family, it won’t get any easier (or cheaper) than this. (And if you’re worried about the costumes, maybe you could sit forty rows back from your television.)

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.