This musical tells the Story of Jacob and his twelve sons in Israel. Book of Genius 37-47.
It is remarkable as the show relies on the story being told though song. And with such a story only Lord Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice could do justice to.
In the opening Prologue we are told by the Narrator, that most people just dream. But there was one person lived out his dream. JOSEPH. Now Joseph knows his Dreams mean something as we hear in Any Dream Will Do as he realises during the song. And that there will be unhappiness as well as his coloured coat And even dreams of how it will be taken away from him.
Jacob and Sons is the Narrator telling the story of Jacob and his family in Canaan who were Shepard's but also they were the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob). As Joseph's Coat begins we hear that Rachel who was Jacobs's second wife gave Jacob Joseph.
Now this leads into Josephs Dreams were Joseph realises he is destined for a higher purpose than just a Shepard. This enrages his eleven brothers to the point were they want to kill him.
In Poor Poor Joseph we see and hear how the brothers want to kill Joseph. Yet their plans change when they see a bunch of Ishmaelites and seize the opportunity to sell Joseph for a profit.
As Jacobs Sons try and convince him that Joseph died in the fields tending to the flocks One More Angel In Heaven.
Joseph has been brought to Egypt where is sold to a business man named Potiphar.
Potiphar was a millionaire and knew potential when he saw it And that was in the form of Joseph Joseph went from being his lave to his right hand man Potiphar's Wife is jealous of the favouritism towards Joseph and tells Potiphar that Joseph was seducing her.
Once in Gaol Joseph realise in Close Every Door that no matter what happens to him in the Gaol he knows the truth.
As he is realising this he hears voices telling him not to give up as they can see what will happen. Go, Go, Joseph During this two of Pharaoh’s men has been thrown into prison for reasons they can’t understand so they tell him their dreams concerning this. Joseph interprets that one of the two men a Butler will be set free, yet the other man a baker will not and his date has been set.
In the Second half of the show we see Joseph still in Goal. But all the guards and prisoners like him. With the Butler set free he is back in Pharaoh’s palace Pharaoh Story
Poor, Poor Pharaoh Is telling the audience that even a wise king can get strange dreams that he can’t understand and will not let them get to him. So his butler informs him that while he was in prison he met a young man who could interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams. So at his command Joseph comes to Pharaoh’s palace to hear the dreams and try & help him. The goes into Song of the King (seven fat cows) in which the dreams become clear to Joseph that Pharaoh’s Dreams Explained mean that Pharaoh should employ someone to help him. Pharaoh exclaims "well Stone the Crows" and employs Joseph to help him lead his country through the famine & depression.
While Joseph is living the high life, his family are starting to feel what the famine is doing to them. As their hunger gets the better of them they start to remember what it was like to have food and worrying where their next meal would come from. This leads us into Those Canaan Days. While the famine has caught the brothers off guard, they know that the only way to to survive is if they travel to Egypt as there seems to be more than enough food to go round. The Brothers come to Egypt/ Grovel, Grovel. In the lyrics of Grovel, you see the brothers trying to convince Joseph that they are worthy to be given food. This heads straight into Who's the Thief. In which Joseph tests the brothers to see if they have changed and learned from their past mistakes.
By Benjamin Calypso, Joseph can see that his brothers have indeed changed for the better as they actually want to take responsibility for their younger brother. At this we go into Joseph All The Time where Joseph tells his brothers who he is and at how happy he is to have them back in his life. Jacob In Egypt is a very poignant moment in which Joseph and Jacob meet since Joseph had been sold those years before. The finale is Any Dream Will Do in which the whole family are reunited and it becomes a celebration of Joseph's accomplishments.
