The ORRHS Drama Club’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was like a party on stage every night that spread an infectious good mood throughout the packed auditorium. Filled with vibrant colors, catchy music, and an enthusiastic cast and crew, the show enraptured many members of the Tri-Town community. In fact, it was so popular that Friday night’s performance was sold out.
“I think the show went really well each night,” said John Roussell, who played Joseph. “Everyone worked really hard and knew their stuff, and I hope that the audience thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the biblical character Joseph as his brothers sell him into slavery in response to Joseph being favored by their father and speaking of his dreams.
“Joseph lives in Canaan in the time of the Old Testament and has the ability to interpret what dreams show for the future,” Roussell added about his character.
While the show opened with a song sung by the local elementary school students who participate in the drama club, the rest of the show was narrated by the talented Sara Achorn and Elle Gendreau. The pair was onstage for nearly the entire two-hour performance, all of which was in song.
“My favorite song was when it cut back to the brothers in a French cafe (in the middle of the desert), and they are experiencing the harsh famine that has fallen over the land,” said Roussell. “I like it because the song is so over the top and ridiculous because everyone has a horrible French accent, and some of the notes they sing go on for minutes at a time.”
This piece seemed to be a hit with the crowd as well, especially with the improvised section that came not from a member of the cast, but from pit conductor Mike Barnicle. During one of the longer notes, Barnicle interrupts the actors to talk about himself and his infant son, comically forcing the singers to hold out their note for over a minute.
For the majority of those involved in drama, the finale was incredibly sentimental, especially during the last performance on Sunday. Being the spring show, this was the final production for the senior members, and the realization hit home for the entire cast and crew during the closing.
“My favorite has to be the ending song. It made me cry too much on the last show, especially because I felt like I was losing everything I stood for,” commented freshman Ryu Huynh-Aoyama, who played Joseph’s father Jacob.
As many attest, the group is like “one big family.”
“It’s a beautiful family,” Huynh-Aoyama said.
“Everyone is really nice and accepting, and it’s fun to hang out with all of them,” added crewmember Alexandra Nicolosi.
“My favorite part of drama was becoming close with people I was never really close with before,” said costumes crew member Ayana Hartley. “You create new bonds and you never want to let them go. I loved that.”
It isn’t just the members of drama who do not want to see their fellow classmates leave quite yet.
“I was impressed with how professional the play is,” said Ariane Uhlin, a member of the audience on one of the nights.
“They’re great actors,” commented Miyuki Dawson, another audience member. “The costumes are amazing.”
“The props, too; it’s all really impressive,” Uhlin added. “They have great voices; we’ve been checking if [the students] are seniors or not to see if there’s more time to see them in these plays.”
While many of the cast members will remain for at least another year, a good portion have had their final curtain call in the ORRHS auditorium, and what a play to go out with.
The following members of the high school drama club performed their final spring musical this past week: Sara Achorn, Katelyn Bindas, Callum Clapp, Olivia Correia, Garam Darwish, Libby Davis, Reese Donaldson, Griffin Dunn, Nick Ferreira, Colleen Garcia, Josh Garcia, Celeste Hartley, Camryn Kidney, Matthew Kiernan, Jonathan Kvilhaug, Abby Larkin, Hunter LaRochelle, Victoria MacLean, Dillon McCarthy, Jillian McCarthy, Davis Mathieu, Alexandra Nicolosi, Nicole Ochoa, Adam Perkins, Corynn Rinta, Mary Roussell, Lauren Valente, Maxx Wolski, Sienna Wurl and Riley Youngberg.
By Jo Caynon
