Howard County Summer Theatre Presents an Extraordinary and Colorful ‘Joseph’

Danny Bertaux stars as Joseph

In its 50^th year in delivering high-quality, community-driven musicals in Howard County (MD) the Howard County Summer Theatre (HCST) is presenting the famed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And anyone who happened to catch last year’s Guys and Dolls and Hello Dolly! the year before that, for instance, you know what I mean by high quality.

HCST annually produces a classic Broadway musical to enthrall audiences during the warm summers. The 2025 installment is the 4^th time HCST is producing Joseph. This high-tempo, high-octane production is jaw-dropping on so many levels.

A well-staged, brilliantly orchestrated, meticulously choreographed spectacle is performed by a talented and enthusiastic cast. HCST brings Joseph and his coat of many colors to life in a compact whirlwind of memorable, tuneful songs and a story that takes the audience on a journey from the sins of jealousy and revenge to the virtues of forgiveness and reconciliation.

"A well-staged, brilliantly orchestrated, meticulously choreographed spectacle..."

Tom Sankey, the director of the production, is marking his 40^th year with the theatre company. In describing Joseph, Mr. Sankey says, “It’s a story about dreams, resilience, and the power of forgiveness—timeless themes that resonate now more than ever.” 

Mr. Sankey’s light touch and precise direction enables the large cast including 49 elementary and middle schoolers among the 130 total cast and crew to thoroughly enjoy themselves on stage. That joy is clearly evident in every song, movement and dance step.  The performers had a lot of fun, which easily rubs off to the audience sharing in that delight.

With such a large cast, performers not only packed the stage but at times used the auditorium’s interior ramps and aisles as well as the area in front of the stage. And they did so flawlessly and efficiently, thus expanding the spectacle.

Nathan Moe as Pharaoh

Some of the catchy numbers from the Rice-Lloyd Webber team include “Joseph’s Dreams,” “One More Angel,” “Close Every Door,” “Go, Go, Go Joseph,” “Pharaoh’s Story,” “Those Canaan Days,” and my favorite “Any Dream Will Do.”

The music styles are diverse with pop, rock, country-western and even a little calypso thrown into the mix. Kassi Serafini’s astounding and ambitious choreography allowed the dancers to demonstrate a wide array of moves during the production numbers while singing up a storm.

The familiar plot, a retelling of the biblical story, described mostly through song, centers on Joseph, the favored son of Jacob who had bestowed upon him a coat of many colors. His eleven brothers were jealous and sold Joseph into slavery while telling their father he had in fact, died.

Joseph winds up working for the mega-rich Potiphar, but Mrs. Potiphar tries to seduce him and, of course, he gets caught as one does.  Joseph is sent to prison where it is discovered that he has the uncanny ability for interpreting dreams and predicting the future.

The Elvis-like Pharaoh is impressed and releases Joseph from prison making him second in command.  The brothers, after not recognizing Joseph, grovel to him and eventually reconcile when his identity is revealed. Joseph is then reunited with his father.

The show features two narrators Naomi Abankwah and Heather Reed, possessing excellent soprano vocals, who spin the tale guiding the audience through song. Libby Burgess and Emily Saitta assume the roles on alternate dates.

Well cast as the title character is charismatic Danny Bertaux.  Energetic throughout and having a wonderful time with the part, Mr. Bertaux, who performs in most of the songs, demonstrates strong vocal skills and is particularly solid in such numbers as “Joseph’s Dreams” and “Any Dream Will Do.” His rendition of “Close Every Door”—a challenging number to be sure—is one of the showstoppers. Mr. Bertaux, portraying the newly imprisoned Joseph, delivers the emotional song with passion and strength. His pitch-perfect tenor voice is Broadway-caliber.

Chris Wilhelm plays the role of Potiphar to the hilt. His brawny voice is on display in the aptly named song “Potiphar.”  Julie Dauber, as the seductress Mrs. Potiphar on the evening this show was reviewed also performs well in that number. Olivia Dibble plays the role on alternate performances.

Nathan Moe romps through his role as Pharaoh, the Elvis look/act alike.  He runs through a series of Elvis-like antics and cockiness with swagger and performs well with Mr. Bertaux, The Children and Egyptians in “Song of the King.”

Other notable performances are turned in by Rebecca Stryker as Baker and Bill Pond as Butler who were cell mates of Joseph. Todd Hochkeppel does a fine job as Jacob, the father of the 12 sons, displaying the range of emotions as the story evolved.

All the actors playing the brothers are excellent. They sing and dance extremely well and provide much of the drama. While they largely perform as a unit, they each demonstrate their own personality and identity contributing to the charm. Kudos to Justin Moe, Jacob Kempic, Jacob VanderVat, John White, Jed Silverman, Luke Pinsky, Kevin Nolan, Andrew Garcia, Timothy Moon, Henry Maeshiro and Michael Gbadamoshi.

Allison Ciborowski’s operatic vocals are on display in the wonderful production number “One More Angel.”

All the people playing the Israelites and Egyptians as well as the youngsters in the Children’s Chorus are terrific, contributing mightily to the success of the production.  The kids are great.

Douglas Thomas designed the simple but functional set. A great touch is having the children’s chorus seated in two bleacher sections on stage.

Kathy Bondura, the Costume Director, and her team created sensational and colorful period costumes giving the show the look of professionalism not often seen in community theatre. The remainder of the creative team including the outstanding orchestra round out a brilliant production.

Joseph and the Amazing Color Dreamcoat boasts a terrific catalog of songs, superb performances, and visually pleasing costumes and set pieces.  It’s an energetic family-friendly show that because of its fast pace and relatively short length should keep the youngsters interested while learning about the power of dreams.

Everyone involved should take a bow because this is community theatre at its best.  And enjoy the curtain call’s show within the show. Bravo to a job well done and worthy of the raucous standing ovation the show received on opening night.

Running time. One hour and 45 minutes with an intermission.

JOSEPH Show Dates & Times:

8 Performances Only!
June 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, & 28 at 7 p.m.

June 22 & 28 at 2 p.m.

Venue:  Marriotts Ridge High School

Tickets:   Tickets available at the door or online here.
Proceeds from this year’s production will benefit local charities.  A gala to celebrate the company’s golden anniversary will be held on November 6, 2025, at the Ten Oaks Ballroom.

 Photos: Neil Rubino

THE FULL CAST AND CREW ARE SHOWN BELOW.

A Whirlwind Joseph Visits Toby’s

Toby’s the Dinner Theatre of Columbia is the venue for a new iteration of the popular musical Joseph and the Amazing Color Dreamcoat.   #hocoarts

A well-staged, meticulously choreographed spectacle performed by a talented cast brings Joseph and his coat of many colors to life in a compact whirlwind of memorable, tuneful songs and a story that takes the audience on a journey from the sins of jealousy and revenge to the virtues of forgiveness and reconciliation. The energy-packed, high-tempo production of the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber biblical story blossoms in Toby’s in-the-round setting.  

Helen Hayes Award winners Toby Orenstein and Mark Minnick co-directed Joseph and the Amazing Color Dreamcoat with obvious attention to detail, guiding the cast through one number after another with a finely tuned, rapid pace.

Mr. Minnick’s innovative choreography is a highlight of the production.  High energy, precise dance moves in perpetual circular arrangements to accommodate the in-the-round stage are executed flawlessly by a talented ensemble, which is called on to sing throughout these production numbers.  The ensemble performs in just about every song, which is quite strenuous, and they are superb from beginning to end.  

"A well-staged, meticulously choreographed spectacle"

The performances are aided by a competent technical crew and supporting staff.

Lawrence B. Munsey’s costume design is spot on as usual representing the Egyptian garb from many centuries ago accented with a modern touch.  David A. Hopkins’ lighting amplified the action with the effective use of spotlights and fade-outs. 

Ross Scott Rawlings and the six-piece orchestra ably support the vocals and add energy to already amped-up dance routines.  The range of musical genres in Joseph is a varied as the colors on the multi-hued coat.  From a knee-slapping, cowboy hat twirling country-western ditty to rock ‘n roll, to calypso, Mr.  Rawlings’ orchestra was more than up to the task.

Some of the catchy numbers include “Joseph’s Dreams,” “One More Angel,” “Close Every Door,” “Go, Go, Go Joseph,” “Pharaoh’s Story,” “Those Canaan Days,” and my favorite “Any Dream Will Do.”

The familiar plot, described mostly through song, centers on Joseph, the favored son of Jacob who had bestowed upon him a coat of many colors. His eleven brothers were jealous and sold Joseph into slavery while telling their father he had in fact, died.

Joseph winds up working for the mega-rich Potiphar, but Mrs. Potiphar tries to seduce him and, of course, he gets caught.  Joseph is sent to prison where it is discovered that he has the uncanny ability for interpreting dreams and predicting the future.

The Elvis-like Pharaoh is impressed and releases Joseph from prison making him second in command.  The brothers, after not recognizing Joseph, grovel to him and eventually reconcile when his identity is revealed. Joseph is then reunited with his father.

The show features a narrator who spins the tale through song.  During this run, Toby’s is using several narrators, and on the night this performance was reviewed, Janine Sunday handled the role proficiently with good mezzo-soprano vocals.

Wood Van Meter as Joseph

Well cast as the title character is handsome Wood Van Meter.  Energetic throughout and seemingly enjoying the part, Mr. Van Meter, who performs in most of the songs, demonstrates strong vocal skills and is particularly solid in such numbers as “Joseph’s Dreams,”  “Close Every Door,” and “Any Dream Will Do.”

David Bosley-Reynolds plays the role of Potiphar to the hilt. His muscular voice is on display in the aptly named song “Potiphar.”  Lovely Nia Savoy, as the seductress Mrs. Potiphar also performs well in that number.

David Jennings romps through his role as Pharaoh, the Elvis look/act alike.  He runs through a series of Elvis-like antics (especially the trademark hair comb) and performs well with Mr. Van Meter and the ensemble in “Song of the King.”

Other notable performances are turned in by Jeffrey Shankle as Baker and David James as Butler who were cell mates of Joseph.

Andrew Horn as Jacob, Gregory Banks as Levi, all of the actors playing Joseph’s brothers, and the women’s ensemble contribute significantly to the success of the production.

 Joseph and the Amazing Color Dreamcoat boasts a terrific catalog of songs, fine performances, and visually pleasing costumes and set pieces.  It’s a family-friendly show that because of its face pace, sterling performances, and relatively short length should keep the youngsters interested while learning about the power of dreams.

Running time. One hour and 45 minutes with an intermission.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat plays through August 27 at Toby’s, the Dinner Theatre of Columbia, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia, MD 21044.  Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 410-7390-8311 or 1-800-88TOBYS or online at tobysdinnertheatre.com.