LANCASTER, Pa. — The bright lights of Vegas meet the age-old story of brotherly love and betrayal in the newest production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Fulton Theatre.
Longtime subscribers and theatre-goers in general may remember the last time the Fulton put on "Joseph" a decade ago. However, the equipment purchased in the years since have provided the theatre with an opportunity to tell the iconic story in a way unlike many may ever have seen before.
"The whole first act, tent, flying, silk web work, the set is this gorgeous blue and white and silver star-filled Cirque de Soleil tent," said Marc Robin, the executive artistic producer at the Fulton Theatre.
Robin recalled a meeting with his staff about just how to put the show together clicked.
"[A staff member] said, 'I love 'Joseph.' Just once I'd like an opportunity to do 'Joseph' in a way that isn't always done. I said, 'What do you mean? and he said, 'There's always the pyramid...' I said, "Yeah. Why don't we do what we do and not do that?'" Robin recalled.
"What if we do 'Joseph' as a Cirque show? Game on. Challenge on," Robin said.
Between added deck automation, a video wall, flying abilities and more, it's an experience built through the years, and most importantly, since the last time the theatre put on a production of the show.
Jake Levy, who plays Joseph in the show, says the technology makes the show new again--even for audiences who have already seen it.
"It's these technical aspects that are being brought to life on stage, and it's really exciting because we get to work with all of this new technology, which as an actor, becomes so fun because every day at work we're playing with these new things on stage and it's been really exciting," he said.
"You're getting all that you know and love about 'Joseph,' but it's being told and reimagined in a wild way, and the audience will walk away with seeing this show in a whole new lens, and it's going to be very exciting," Levy said.
"This will be the first show we've been using it all in one time," Robin said.
Officials at the Fulton would be the first in line, and the last to forget, to thank the community that surrounds them for time, effort and financial contributions to make it all possible.
"This community and donors have allowed that to happen. The video wall was a sponsored wall. The automation in the floor was sponsored," Robin said. "Somebody in our community coming forth and saying, "I want [the Fulton] to be the best [it] can be. What are your dreams and how can we make them happen?"
Those dreams coming alive in what may be an iconic story, but told in a way unlike any local audience has seen before.
"I think it's going to be the most extraordinary theatrical experience that we've ever done," Robin said.