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“Joseph is better than the Singapore Idol!” Rather, this statement was overheard from the audience on the final night of Joseph, which is short for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, an ITE Musical staged by ITE Centre for Music & the Arts (CeMTA). Based on the much-celebrated Broadway Musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joseph told an inspiring tale of love, forgiveness and redemption. Held at ITE College East Auditorium over three nights from 15 to 17 November 2006, the audiences were enthralled by a sizzling ensemble of songs, dance and electrifying performances put up by ITE students.

Scriptless Joseph
Unlike past Musicals that contained dialogues, Joseph was supported purely by a diversified range of vocal talents. Hence, the task to get the story of Joseph across to the audience was a challenging one. As attested by Daeng Nur Fithriryh, a second-year Higher Nitec in Accounting student from ITE College Central, who played the role of Narrator in the Musical: “As there was no dialogue in this Musical, my challenge was to express the story mainly through my singing.” Juzazwan Jumari, a first-year Higher Nitec in Administration student from ITE College West, who played the role of Pharaoh, agreed: “There were so many music genres in this Musical. To play my role convincingly, I need to get into character by familiarising myself with the ‘rock and roll’ style of singing, much like Elvis Presley.”

Raw Gems, Polished Talents
Judging from the audience’s enthusiastic response, the cast of Joseph need not have to worry over whether their performances were appreciated. Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State for Education and Manpower, who was the Special Guest on the final night, was impressed by the enthralling performance. During the musical intermission when he viewed an art exhibition prepared by a group of young artists which included ITE students, Mr Gan heaped praises on the cast and crew of Joseph.

Mr Tony Quek, Joseph’s Artistic Director from Drama Plus, was quick to share: “Tonight’s show was a labour of love. It took us six months to prepare and I am very proud to see the cast in Joseph transformed from raw to near-polished actors and singers. Through Joseph, they also got to learn the importance of working together as a team and the values of perseverance and commitment.”

Indeed for the audience, watching Joseph was nothing short of amazing. In fact, ITE CeMTA students can pat themselves on the back for the fantastic show they had put up. In the audience on the final night of Joseph was Mr Richard Tan, owner of The Main Wayang Company and a performing arts veteran of over 30 years. He has this to say: “Having personally directed two Joseph Musicals for educational institutions in the past, I must admit I was very surprised at the quality of the production. ITE made the right choice with the “variety-format” Musical. You had very good singers and many promising actors. Joseph was sleek and simple.”

Yes, you know you have a winner when people kept running up to the organisers to whine about the relatively short run of Joseph!