'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' ★★★

"So is this with David Cassidy or Donny Osmond?" asked someone headed into the Paramount Theatre on opening night. It was a reminder of how much "Joseph" is a potent title in the affections of local theatergoers. Neither Cassidy nor Osmond don the Technicolor coat in Aurora; those honors go to the handsome and delightfully guileless Brian Bohr. While you might share my view that "Joseph" - a Biblical pastiche penned back when Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber were in short pants - commands more affection than it really deserves, you couldn't argue against the Biblical truth that the Paramount has knocked its second self-produced musical out of the park and halfway to Egypt. Director Stacey Flaster rules a fun, fresh and eye-poppingly spectacular show, a fine musical for families. What parent wants more from "Joseph?"
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<i>Through Nov. 20 at Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora; $34.90-$46.90 at 630-896-6666 or paramountaurora.com</i>

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( November 17, 2011 )

"So is this with David Cassidy or Donny Osmond?" asked someone headed into the Paramount Theatre on opening night. It was a reminder of how much "Joseph" is a potent title in the affections of local theatergoers. Neither Cassidy nor Osmond don the Technicolor coat in Aurora; those honors go to the handsome and delightfully guileless Brian Bohr. While you might share my view that "Joseph" - a Biblical pastiche penned back when Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber were in short pants - commands more affection than it really deserves, you couldn't argue against the Biblical truth that the Paramount has knocked its second self-produced musical out of the park and halfway to Egypt. Director Stacey Flaster rules a fun, fresh and eye-poppingly spectacular show, a fine musical for families. What parent wants more from "Joseph?"

Through Nov. 20 at Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora; $34.90-$46.90 at 630-896-6666 or paramountaurora.com