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  • 1.  Joseph

    Posted 03-23-2016 14:42
    This might sound like a weird question but has anyone ever thought of doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat with daughters instead of sons.  I know this is a historic show but just throwing it out there.  We are limited on guys and thought it might be an interesting undertake.

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    Charles Puetzer
    Math Department
    Stage Manager
    Michigan City High School
    8466 W Pahs Road
    Michigan City, IN 46360
    (219) 873-2044, ext. 4360
    cpuetzer03@mcas.k12.in.us


  • 2.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-24-2016 06:32

    A community theatre I worked with for years did Joseph and ended up casting women as the brothers. They didn't change them to daughters/sisters though. They played them as male characters. It worked, IMO.

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    Benjamin Sims
    Indian Trail NC

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-24-2016 09:05

    I've done Joseph twice, but only when I've had enough strong males to  do it.   I suppose you could cast the brothers with females (Though with licensing issues you wouldn't be able to change any pronouns, etc.).   So the issue  comes with if you cast them as females playing male roles or cast them as "sisters".   The brothers' wives are an important part of the vocal arrangements and the story line, so I wonder how you would do it without the other vocal line being covered.

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    Mark Quinlan
    teacher/director of theater/head speech coach
    Centennial School District, ISD#12
    Circle Pines MN

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-24-2016 09:27

    I think you would be hard pressed to sell the idea.  Yes, within the first 10 minutes of a performance you can establish the "norm" of the play but I think the story including sons would be ingrained deeply into the audience's expectations.  Yes I've seen Godspell with Jesus being female as well as 2 actors playing Jesus (1 male, 1 female).  I can even understand the dual roles because of the creation story.  Consider the problem of playing the Potiphar scene. 

    Just a thought...

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    David Kramer
    Mt Sinai NY

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-24-2016 10:31

    I've done it with a ton of the brothers played by girls in drag. (Beards, etc.) Works fine, adds to the goofiness.

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    Scott Piehler
    Director
    SUWANEE GA

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-24-2016 18:50

    We are also considering the show this year. That was part of the discussion and ultimately we felt it changed the story to much to make the brothers, sisters.  Casting girls as the brothers happens and sometimes needs to, but I like to try to keep in mind what was the writer's intent, and the story is meant to be brothers.

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    Alan Strait
    Teacher
    CCSD
    Henderson NV

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-25-2016 00:58

    I did Joseph many years ago.  We used both boys and girls to play the brothers.  We made no attempt to do biblical costuming so we weren't worrying about historical accuracy.  Much of our design concept was rainbow themed. The brothers were the focal point of that. They all wore white pants/jeans and each had a different colored tee shirt - the colors of the rainbow and some of the "in between" colors. Then they added appropriate hats and props based on the styles of their songs. I think for Those Canaan Days we gave them berets and intentionally phony looking mustaches to evoke a French feel. It worked well and the audience loved it.

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    Helen Dixon
    Oakley CA

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-28-2016 12:08

    Hi Charles,

    I faced this same dilemma when I produced it. My realization was that the narrator comes out at the start of the show and says, "I'm going to tell you a story." We produced it as story time with all of the performers in jeans and t-shirts. We build six large toy boxes into which we placed all our props and costumes. When each section of the story was told, the actors would grab the props and costumes and put them on. "you, you, and you are brothers. Put on the ballcap. You're Jacob. Here's you beard." At that point, it didn't matter what sex who was because it's all make believe anyway. For extra fun with the theme, we built twelve 2x2 cubes and painted them as children's letter blocks. We used the blocks throughout the show to spell out various messages, including technicolor. One of my students spent weeks with twelve paper cubes figuring out which letters needed to be put on what sides in order to spell out our various messages. It was a blast.

    I also split the narrator into six roles, which gave more students a feature moment

    Regards,

    Bob

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    Robert Smith
    VA Co-Chapter Director
    James Madison High School
    Vienna VA

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Joseph

    Posted 03-28-2016 12:33

    Robert, those are fantastic ideas! I would have loved to see that.

    I'd agree with looking at what changing the genders does to the story, which, since it is a foundational story of Western and (middle) Eastern civilization, and depending on where you are in America, changing such a fundamental aspect of the story might upset some folks, not least the licensee...

    Gender swap Shakespeare all you want, though. It's almost a requirement of many modern curriculums. Plus it's fun and no one is likely to low-key threaten your production with legal action. :)

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    Phillip Goodchild
    Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
    Ruskin FL

    Original Message