Brookwood’s production of ‘Joseph‘ set to wow audiences

Thomasville Times-Enterprise, Staff Report
An ensemble made up of Brookwood School students of all ages — from four-year-olds to high school seniors — has been hard at work this week at the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium, where they will present their production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The musical is based on the biblical story of Joseph, found in the Book of Genesis. The title character is Jacob’s favorite of all his 12 sons. Jealous and resentful, Joseph’s brothers plot to kill him, and he finds himself enslaved in Egypt. Adventures ensue.
Brookwood School produced the play some 10 years ago, when many of the older students on stage were quite small.
To longtime cast members Brianna Beach, a junior; Elise McPherson, an eighth grader; and Lauren Ryan, a sophomore, reprising this particular musical on the Brookwood stage brings back memories of their burgeoning theatrical interests. Each plays one of three narrators — leading roles, along with Joseph, played by senior Trenton Newman.
Beach said the show was the first Brookwood musical she’d ever attended, and she remembers how she had insisted her family return for a second performance.
“I loved it so much,” she said. When the show was over and her parents showed her the 1999 movie with Donny Osmond, “I was like, ‘This isn’t nearly as good as what I saw at Brookwood.’” It’s kind of sentimental,” she said.
McPherson recounted a similar experience: “I was staring up at the stage, and I looked up at the red narrator, and I said, ‘I want to be that when I get older,’” she said.
McPherson was cast in this year’s production as the blue narrator, “But that’s OK,” she chuckled.
Director Krystof Kage returns for his second year at Brookwood.
“We decided to go back to a show that I’d never directed,” he said. “It was important enough to tell this story again and to build even bigger crowds and more excitement among the Brookwood students.”
Audiences who are not familiar with the production should expect a few surprises, Kage said. “One unique thing about this show in particular is that it isn’t just biblical,” he said. Multiple music and dance genres will be represented. “I mean, we put in some Bob Fosse in the middle of this one. There’s a country number. There is a calypso number.”
The magic that happens onstage is just as important as what happens during the months leading up to the performance, they agreed. The camaraderie that is formed between the older and the younger kids is truly something special.
“In our everyday lives, we don’t get to hang out with (smaller) kids — even in those in Middle School. It’s a really awesome community,” Beach said.
What’s more, McPherson said, the school musical draws a like-minded crowd, regardless of age.
“They’re sort of like you,” she said. “They have your same interests. They’re all here, in one place. You wouldn’t have otherwise met this little person.” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will be McPherson’s ninth Brookwood musical. Every year, the ensemble quickly becomes a family, Ryan added.
“Even though we all have different parts, we all come together,” she said. Indeed, the cast and crew at Brookwood have a tradition of singing a tune they call “The Circle Song” while holding hands in one great ring at the end of every rehearsal. It’s something they’ve done for many, many years. With only hours until showtime, the cast has been working around the clock to tie up loose ends. To Kage, however, all systems are go. “They’re going to be ready to step up, especially when we get an audience out here,” he said.
Brookwood’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will run Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.Brookwoodschool. org or at the door.
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Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.