Aragon is putting on its annual fall musical from Nov. 17 through 20. This year, the drama department is performing “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which tells the Biblical story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis.
After Joseph receives a colorful coat from his father, his 12 brothers sell him as a slave out of jealousy. The musical then follows a series of misadventures in Joseph’s life after being sold into slavery.
Drama teacher and musical director Shane Smuin put on “Joseph” this year because he had a perfect cast for it.
He says, “[I have] always loved the show. It’s always fun and I wanted to wait until I had enough boys to do the parts because you need a dozen brothers, a father and you need a couple other male roles. So last April, when we were trying to figure out what to do, it looked like we had enough boys, and sure enough, we do.”
Senior Gabriel Igtanloc plays Joseph in the show, and enjoys his own similarity to the character. He explains, “I really like how he is a dreamer. He and I share one thing in common and that is that we are both dreamers.”
Senior Grecia Arana, who plays Simeon, one of Joseph’s brothers, as well as Levi’s mother, one of Joseph’s fathers’ wives, says, “I like how we are making it more contemporary. I love how it’s all colorful and it’s really high energy.”
The musical is known for being completely sung-through, with very little spoken dialogue.
Senior Kiernan Manu plays the role of the Pharaoh, a major character that Joseph meets towards the end of his misadventures. Manu says, “The musical is very fun, it’s very upbeat. It’s short and it’s fast so you get there, watch it, and feel good about yourself.”
The short length of the musical is a unique factor. Smuin says, “Some shows are two and a half hours long and and some of them are great, and some shows are 85 minutes long and they are too long. This one is short and sweet, gets to the point, and is a lot of fun to see and be in.”
Since rehearsals started, Igtanloc says, “We [were] in rehearsals for two to three hours everyday after school to learn music and dances, but then it [got] really hard because it [was] run-through week, when we [started] running through the whole show. Then it [was] tech week, which [was] even harder.”
Smuin says, “Anything like this, any really, really big project you can only do it one little tiny piece at a time. So that’s really what rehearsals are … you see how those parts fit together, and eventually you end up with a show.”
Arana adds, “[The rehearsals went] really well. Even Smuin is surprised sometimes by how well we [did] with learning the songs and learning the dances, because it is pretty much all singing and all dancing.”
“Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” plays at the Aragon Theater on Thursday, Nov. 17, Friday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 20.
