70+ Local Youths Take the Stage in MPAC's First Production

More than 70 local youth performers will be performing in MPAC's first original production: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Andrew Lloyd Webber's uplifting musical with lyrics by Tim Rice.

From ages 7-19, the youths have been rehearsing for weeks at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, preparing for opening night this Friday. Here are the performance times:

• Friday at 7:30 pm
• Saturday at 2 & 
7:30 pm
• Sunday at 2 pm

Check out the videos to see interviews with Parsippany Hills High School ninth grader Justin Chinoff, who plays one of the Brothers; Alexander Hamilton third grader Sarah Crossford, who is in the children’s chorus; and LaGuardia High School ninth grader Montana Byrne, who is one of the narrators. Click here to see the cast list

“Auditions were in February and we started rehearsing in March,” said Chinoff, who has been with MPAC’s Performing Arts School for five years. “I’m looking forward to it because it’s my first main stage production, it’s fully costumed with lighting, etc …”

Cathy Roy is the director and Darius Frowner is the musical director.

“It’s a lot of fun to see all the elements come together. I’m excited because it’s our first full-scale youth performance that we’re putting on and there will be a 10-piece professional orchestra,” said Roy. “The students come from all over. The kids are learning from experience and building self esteem.”

The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly, according to MPAC. Joseph was first presented as a 15-minute pop cantata at Colet Court School in London in 1968 and was recorded as a concept album in 1969. After the success of the next Lloyd Webber and Rice piece, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph received stage productions beginning in 1970 and expanded recordings in 1971 and 1972. Read more about the musical’s history on MPAC. 

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