When I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was coming to Charlotte, I freaked out a little bit and told Ryan we had to go. The only other time Ryan has seen Joseph was when I convinced him to join me for a random community theatre production in a small town in Florida. Though I am a big-time fan of community theatre (we went all the time in Ocala and thought it was great!), this particular show left a lot to be desired, so I was excited Ryan would have the chance to see Joseph on a big stage with a full orchestra and all that jazz.
We were fortunate to easily find parking outside of the Belk Theater at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and arrived about 15 minutes before the show began at 7:30 p.m.
I cannot remember the last time I felt as giddy and exited to see a musical and as we took our seats, I flipped through the program and the name Diana DeGarmo caught my eye. She was playing the role of the narrator (my dream role if could ever actually sing) and I knew I recognized her name from somewhere, so I flipped to her biography page and saw that she finished second on American Idol a few years ago. How cool!
I then started reading other cast member bios and saw that Ace Young, the actor/singer playing the role of Joseph, was also an American Idol contestant who is now married to Diana. So awesome! How fun would it be to travel around from city to city performing in musicals with your spouse!? Ryan and I have a new goal in life…
Yesterday was actually our first time visiting the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and Ryan and I both commented on how wonderful the theatre was, as it seemed like there truly was not a bad seat in the house.
The balconies didn’t extend too far back and the theatre isn’t overly large, giving it a somewhat intimate feel for a city performing arts center.
As the musical began, I made myself promise not to sing every word aloud for the benefit of those around me, but it was really hard not to get into it and sing along! I love every single song in this musical so darn much.
The whole show was absolutely fantastic and Ryan and I chatted at intermission about the athleticism of the performers (the choreography was seriously intense!!) and the beautiful vocals of Diana DeGarmo. She was so charismatic and absolutely killed it as the narrator.
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The show also incorporated a lot of humor and kept things lively and upbeat the whole time, so it passed by in a flash. Before I knew it, we were walking back to our car, trying our best not to sing, “Go, Go, Go Joseph, you know what they saaaaaay…”
It was such a fun night and I am still so happy I was able to see my favorite musical on stage again, performed in such a wonderful way. If you are a Joseph fan, or if you simply love energetic musicals, you can see the United States and United Kingdom tour dates for Joseph here. I promise you will love it! (And no, I have no affiliation with Joseph other than being a die-hard fan.)
And just because I’m all hopped up on Joseph love this morning, here are links to a few of my favorite songs from the musical just in case you want a little preview:
Question of the Morning
- Musical lovers: What is your all-time favorite musical?
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I feel like my favorite musical always changes. I just saw Kinky Boots two weeks ago. One of my best friends from high school is a swing in the cast and gets to dress up like a drag queen!! It’ll be in Charlotte in a couple weeks. I HIGHLY recommend the show. I was crying from happiness at the end.
Les Miz has to be my favorite even though it’s so depressing. Mama Mia is my favorite upbeat musical.
I LOVE musicals!! My favorite is Grease! My mom introduced it to me when I was in 1st grade (prooooobably a little too soon lol) and i’ve loved it ever since!
I love that Musical! I have been dying to see Aida and/or Wicked!!!
I just saw the same touring company do Joseph this past Sunday (the 22nd) in nashville! I’ve loved Joseph for 22 years, since i was in a high school production of it! But I have to say that I was sooo disappointed in Diana and Ace and thought their vocals were terrible….I prefer a much less “pop” style of singing for this show. But the rest of the show was soo amazing! I loved it all the choreography and clever ways they had the cast move the set around. I think Pharoah was the best of all of the characters in this production.
Oh, well, I’m pretty much a sucker for anything LLoyd Webber!
I saw Ace Young in the Rock of Ages Musical when I lived in Milwaukee.
How cool!! I would love to see that musical live!
Oh my gosh, how do I even choose a favorite?! I’ve never seen a professional production of Joseph but the music is a longtime fav. I will always love the Cats recording from Britain’s a West End. I’m seeing Wicked for the second time this summer. And I got SUPER emotional at Lion King. So gorgeous.
Ahh!! My parents took me to “Joseph” too when Donny Osmond was in it in Chicago! The day we went actually it was his birthday and in the middle of the show, the Pharaoh stopped the performance and had the first row of the theater sing “Happy Birthday”. It’s always been my favorite musical!
I love Mamma Mia and Chicago!
I’ve never even heard of this musical, but it sounds really fun and interesting (and looks very colorful). My all-time favorite is the Phantom of the Opera. I could see it a hundred times and still get chills!!
Your childhood memories, Make this post so special. Thanks for sharing.
I had such a fun time seeing Grease at the National Theatre a few years ago!
I think my favorite would have to be The Lion King or Rent, but I’m right there with you in knowing the entire Joseph soundtrack by heart! Growing up, I was so proud that I could list/sing all the colors in the coat from the song. Thanks for sharing this post! I definitely need to dust off my Joseph CD!
I love Joseph! I’ve only seen the Donny Osmond video of it but the songs are fantastic! My husband took me to see Wicked and that was really good!
SO jealous you saw Joseph! I think I’ve seen it no less than 4 or 5 times on Broadway since I was a kid. And then I’ll listen to the soundtrack on repeat for at least a full week afterward – never fails! 🙂 Any Dream Will Do is my fave song from the show.
I worked as a stage manager backstage on Joseph a few years ago. If I never hear that music again it would be too soon.
Avenue Q on the other hand, I could listen to all the time.
Oh! And the production I worked on even had another American Idol on it! I can’t remember his name, but it was a BIG DEAL to the theatre. I thought he was definitely not suited to run 8 shows a week with that much dancing.
My favorite musical would have to be Grease and Little Shop of Horrors. I have never seen a big production on either but I saw a small production of Little Shop of Horrors and it was wonderful.
I used to love watching the Donny Osmond version of the movie when I was a kid 🙂 The soundtrack is so fantastic – we even sang it in school choir a few different times growing up. If I ever had the chance I would see it live in a heartbeat!
When I was in 4th grade the 4th-6th graders did this musical. It was so much fun and I definitely was obsessed with the music for a long time after that!
I was supposed to see Joseph last week in Nashville but it got cancelled because we had ice 🙁
I LOVED Once! I was surprised that I liked it so much because it’s not your usual razzle dazzle musical.
My favorite production is by far The Pahntom of the Opera. My mom took me to see it when I was in grade five. We went out for a fancy lunch before hand, just the two of us. It was a pretty special day. I’ve been to the Paris Opera House twice now, but I have yet to go in. It’s going to happen one day though.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies! My last name is Joseph so growing up my sister and I would always sing “go, go, go Joseph” as if we were talking about us.
I think my all-time favorite musical is Wicked. I love all the songs and will sing them any chance I get.
My parents took my sister and I to see Joseph in Chicago with Donnie Osmond many years ago, as well! I’ve LOVED it ever since! I’m going to see it in April when it comes to Denver! Yay!!
One of my favorites is Wicked. It made me love The Wizard of Oz so much more.
I love Grease. I was in the dinner theatre for Grease years back and had to wear the cardigan and the poodle skirt and it was SO fun.
My favorite musical is Mamma Mia. I really really like the movie version, even though I know a lot of people don’t. My mom and I watch it every summer, but I would love to get a chance to see it on stage!
Small world, I live in Palatine! My husband grew up here and went to Palatine High School.
I love musicals!!!!
Wicked, Bye Bye Birdie, Sound of Music, Lion King, Mamma Mia would have to be at the top of my lists.
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How fun! I love Blumenthal. I went there to see my first Broadway tour, “42nd Street” and it’s where I found my love and passion for musical theatre. I’ve been there countless times and it never gets less beautiful. So glad ya’ll were able to enjoy the show and are enjoying my sweet home town!
I absolutely LOVE musicals! So much so that my husband chuckles every time I mention one. He thinks they’re kind of silly, but will absolutely go with me if I ask nice enough. I’ve not seen too many…but Phantom of the Opera was really good! A bit serious, but good! I’d love to see Wicked!
Wow, you mentioning Diana DeGarmo brought back serious memories! When I was in high school, my friend and I LOVED her and were obsessed with the one album she made after American Idol. Haha! Now I want to go get it out and listen to it again! Cool to know what she’s doing now.
I love going to musicals! My bf’s brother is going to college for musical theater so we get to go to a lot of his plays– I LOVE IT! I think my fav show was wicked; my mom and I saw it a few years ago and it was so good!
Ooooooo I LOVE that bag. Could you tell me where it’s from?
PS – RENT is the best musical everrrrrr.
Marc Jacobs but I got it on sale via HauteLook! 🙂
Thanks Julie!
Hi Julie! I found a really silly dog gif I thought you might like: http://i.imgur.com/iSjaAOA.gif
My favorite too! My neighbor growing up was in the production with Donny, so we got to take a trip up to Chicago and see it. Also got an autographed copy of the program with all the cast, including Donny 🙂 My eight year old self was stoked!
I saw your title come across my BlogLovin feed and had to check out your post as Joseph as has been a favorite for YEARS! I’ve probably seen the production 20 different times (local high schools to Broadway) and it seems like every single production adds something unique I haven’t seen before that makes it memorable. Donny Osmond has always been my favorite Joseph though!
OMG! We share the same love for Joseph! I too saw Joseph at the Chicago Theater with Donny Osmond back in the 90s and it literally was the greatest thing I had ever seen. I still break out my soundtrack and sing every word to every song. It’s the BEST! I am now going to see if they are traveling anywhere near Orlando because I’m also an American Idol fan and would love to see Ace and Diana in this! So cool!
Now I want to go see this…. just from your enthusiasm 🙂 I’m so glad you’re loving Charlotte and all it has to offer!!!!! See you again soon 🙂
Julie, we drive to Charlotte from Atlanta often to see performances at the Blumenthal Center. It is a great venue . So glad you are embracing Charlotte. Janice
This makes me SO happy! When I was 6 my brother was in a kids production of Joseph and I became absolutely obsessed– I memorized the whole show and used to act it out with my dolls on a daily basis.
To this day it’s my musical for when I’m in a bad mood and I like to think it’s the reason I decided to become an actor
Joseph is also my favourite and I was lucky to see Donny Osmond in it. To me, he is the only Joseph just like Julie Andrews is the only Maria!
I L.O.V.E. Joseph! One summer when I was 12 or 13 a local production company was performing Joseph and my friend was in the chorus. I went with her to all of her shows on the weekends so I would see 4 shows in a row! My absolute favorite song is “Close Every Door.”
That is such a pretty theater!