[Monsieur D'Arque]

Andrew Lloyd Webber conceived the part of the Narrator for a male baritenor, but the part has almost always gone to a semi-legit soprano with a Mary Poppins vibe.

Do you think a male narrator would work? After seeing Aida and Night at the Museum, I imagined Jack Black as a curator/janitor at a museum, stopping before a tableau of Egypt and narrating the story after-hours, eliminating the whole "chorus of kids" from teh production. The Narrator would afterwards take on minor roles in the show, appearing in the ensemble of most scenes in an appropriate costume, or playing smaller roles like "The Baker" and "The Butler." With a rock bari-tenor like Black, too, high notes in songs like "Jacob And Sons" would have a newer, more vibrant effect.

[Celeste_SM]

Eh, for me the show is so dominated by male characters that I welcome the female narrator when she shows up. So for me... I'd rather see a female narrator in the show, and I'd see a male one as a bit of director vanity or trick-casting.

But I could be jaded. I'm really sick of this show overall. I used to love it.

[Beagle On Stage]

There are so many reasons why the narrator should be a man instead of a woman. Don't even get me started on them.

But it should be a semi-legit tenor, not a "baritenor." They do have it right casting sopranos - watch a production where a "mezzo/belter" tries to play the role and you'll totally see what I mean.

I don't see your concept working, though. How can the Narrator be in the ensemble? (S)he has to sing lead in almost every song. And, except for productions that portray the Narrator as a Sunday school teacher, which is actually very cute and works well, I'm not into realistically rendering the Narrator (such as making it a museum janitor, as you suggested). Really, the best production I've seen had two Narrators just walking in from the sides of the stage and addressing the audience directly. There's really no need to justify it by giving the Narrator a reason to tell the story; that they're there to tell it and the people are there to listen is reason enough.

[Eponine93]

I really think the reason the Narrator is female is because this show NEEDS a female character. It is mostly done in children's theatre or community productions. Usually, children's theatre, schools, or community theatres aren't exactly handy on talented male actors. As it is, there are way too many male characters in Joseph for the community scene- which probably makes it a headache to cast and a headache to watch. If the Narrator was male, it would just be another really talented male to be casted. In Joseph, you need a really good Narrator to have a good production. There are more really talented female singers out there in the community circuit than talented males. And that's a fact. With a female Narrator, your chances of casting someone who deserves the role is higher.

Seeing a male Narrator on the professional circuit would definitely be interesting, though.

[Salome]

I'd prefer a female narrator..a) there arent any female roles besides her.
b) i have disliked every male narrator i've heard on recordings.

c) it adds more depth to the role having a female.

[Eponine93]

Salome, what recordings have male narrators on them?

[Beagle On Stage]

[Tom]

[mantarnia]

This is posted to the OP. It is not right to say that it is almost always goes to a female . It was a male part for many years. Before it was changed to a woman for the 1981 broardway production. This was because of a complaint by "american equity" that the show had no large female parts.

[jcstar]

^Female.

Andy.

[HilaryAnne]

I'm splitting the Narrator right now. I'm a mezzo-soprano and he's a tenor. While normally I would prefer just a female, I think we are doing a really good job splitting it.

[le_moofin]

Our school is doing Joseph this winter. If they actually give one of the 3 Narrator parts to a boy, we'll (as in, the girls) be pissed. Especially since we have many many many more talented girls than guys at my school. And they're (the directors) dividing the role in order to give more girls a chance to actually have a role.

So... yeah. I guess it's clear that I'm biased towards female narrators =3

[Yip1982]

From a historical perspective, I read that the female narrator was introduced for the 1982 Broadway production so that the Actors' Equity union could feel satisfied that women were playing enough parts. I feel more used to it even though I'm aware that ALW and TR wanted a male narrator in the original outings that this musical had.

[Beagle On Stage]

[Borb]

I think the part could easily go to a tenor. I agree that the part would have a new freshness and life to it. It could be really cool with a tenor.

[Claire]

Actually at the moment the narrator in the current Uk tour is male. Keith Jack from the BBC show 'Any Dream Will Do' has been platying the role for over a month now, and I believe he is a tenor. Not sure of that though, but from the reviews out at the moment he seems to be doing a very good job. There's an interview on youtube with him and the current joseph (Craig Chalmers) where he talks about the role being male.

[Beagle On Stage]

Thank goodness. Maybe there's hope for bringing it back into practice after all.

[wicked_boy]

The current UK tour Narrator is being played by Keith from Any Dream Will Do.

[mantarnia]

Of course a tenor can do it. That is what it was written for, and they did not transpose it when they first cast a woman.

[jcstar]

The Narrator on the OCC is sexy. I love her voice, too.

Andy.

[musikal_geek]

The only big parts in the show are Joseph, the Narrator, and Pharaoh. The other smaller parts are the brothers & wives (which basically make up the ensemble), and Jacob and Potiphar. There are really no female roles in the show except the Narrator, Mrs. Potiphar, and the wives. So if the Narrator is male, that only leaves Mrs. Potiphar as a "bigger part" for a woman... and she only has one line. I would never want to have a male narrator.

[Beagle On Stage]

[The Duchess of Mint]

Dear Monsieur D'Arque,

The high notes would certainly have "a more vibrant effect," but I can't (or, rather, I can) imagine how they'd have to be reached by a male narrator...and I can't say anything else without being both sexist and rude! LOL!

Thanks in advance for your reply.

[Beagle On Stage]

Why would there be a problem with a man reaching the notes? He would obviously be singing in the tenor octave.

[musikal_geek]

In Jacob and Sons, the "Jacob, Jacob and" part is all E's just above middle C (there's me being untechnical for you), which is comfortable for many men.

[benjivaudeville]

The current national tour, as mentioned previously by Claire, has three ADWD finalists and one Grease is the Word finalist in principal and supporting roles.

*shrug*

[Claire]

Well, I just got bak from seeing the current UK tour at the Sands centre, Carlisle. I'll post about the cast in a sec, but first off, there was NO proper programme! All there was, was a 'souvenir brochure' with a photocopied insert listing the cast/creatives. For this privelidge, I had to pay £6. I would wuite happily have just got the insert, but no, not an option. I had to pay for a cast list, no bios, pictures of info about the cast. Also, not a single mention of the children's choir. Nothing. Secondly, they neglected to inform the audience of all of the understudies. The alternate for the Narrator was on, and was mentioned, but none of the others were. Anyway, rant over. Onto the cast.

Craig Chalmers - Joseph - He was far better than I expected. He's improved incredibly since the end of the tv series in tone and acting. His acting was still a little wooden, and he did become slightly nasal towards the end of the show. However, his interaction with the rest of the cast was very good, and his Close Every Door was outstanding. When he is good, he's very good indeed.

Narrator - Chris Barton - I was a bit disappointed that Keith Jack was off, as I loved his voice on the tv series but Chris more than made up for it. He had a beatiful voice, and his phrasing was impeccable. He also had a really nice rapport with the children's choir. I think that, although the show probably does need a female lead, but the show works just as well with a male narrator. In fact, I didn't even notice the difference until I walked past a woman asking her friend 'isn't there a woman in this somewhere?' None of the notes sounded forced or unnatural, and the relationship between Joseph and narrator came across very much as friends, or brothers.

Speaking of brothers, I always find, that no matter who the joseph, or the celebrities in the show, the brother always outshine the rest. The energy and enthusiasm radiating from them was amazing, and when closer to the front, you could really see just how much they enjoyed themselves onstage. Particular standouts for me were Wayne Smith (who also played the Pharoah, with what I though was one of the two best voices of the evening) Adam Hepkin, who I felt had the other best voice of the night in the calypso and the person who played Benjamin (he was the unfortunate understudy who was not mentioned before the performance, as Chris Barton was listed as Benjamin in the insert. However, I sucpect he may have been the swing, Guy Mott, I apologise if I'm wrong. **EDIT - I was wrong. Benjamin was in fact played by Alistair Brammer** He was a great actor, and also *cough* very good looking.) Having listed those actors, the other were all equally as good, those were just the things I remembered.

The dancing was good, but seemed uneccassary in some places, particularly in the calypso.

The childrens choir was excellent, not a bum note all evening. They really added to the overall sound and quality, wich was very good.

Just a few random things I noticed. I'm still unsure why the second song for the pharoah has been added, it just doesn't seem to serve a purpose other than allowing the pharoh a little more (well deserved) stagetime. The hoedown section of Angel in Heaven, and the lamppost in Those Canaan Days still cracks me up. The production uses some very nifty blowup sheep! I still don't understand why the Butler and Baker speak their lines, as they are obviouly capable of singing them. Slight costume malfuction with the ishmalite costumes, hoods falling down. One of the dancers dropped her coloured ribbon and had to make a well juged lunge for it. Finally, the guy who plays Ryan in Coronation street made a very breif appearance, then disappeared. Is this normal for the tour?

Sorry for the slightly garbled nature of the review, if anyone has questions, please just ask.

X claire