When Brandon Hudson moved to St. Louis five years ago to study at Lindenwood University, he dreamed of dancing his way to L.A., but somewhere along the line, the young dancer discovered a passion for something a little different. Surrounded by the arts at Lindenwood, Hudson wound up in a community theater production of West Side Story, opening his eyes to the world of musical theater.
After the small production, he heard about a national tour of West Side Story, so he left everything to fly to New York and audition. After a while touring as the character Baby John, Hudson auditioned for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
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“When I saw the audition back in October, I thought, ‘I need to go do this. The choreography is amazing,’” Hudson says. “It was about a two-month process, and then I got the role of Benjamin, and we started rehearsals in January.”
The Biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors is familiar to many—Joseph dreams that he will rule above his brothers, he is his father’s favorite and is given a beautiful coat. His brothers, in their jealousy, decide to murder Joseph, but back out at the last second and, showing mercy, sell him into slavery instead (Your siblings are looking pretty awesome about now, right?). This is where the real story begins.
Though the stage production relates the familiar story, Hudson says their show is a little different from most musicals in its delivery.
“It’s very contemporary,” he explains. “It’s a little confusing at first, but it will make sense. It’s basically a narrator telling the story to a kid about a previous life, and then it goes into Joseph’s story. It’s a really fun show. It’s probably the shortest show you’ll ever sit through, but it’s the most fun. It’s filled with so much light and color. It’s new and now and really cool.”
Another element that’s a little different is the sheer amount of music and singing. Hudson admits that there are very few spoken lines in the show, but says there is a great score and exciting musical numbers.
“My favorite is probably ‘Those Canaan Days’ with the brothers. It’s seriously the most fun. Our music director, David Kreppel, he changed a lot of it. Usually you have one dancer in it, usually a tango dancer, but he made it totally about the brothers. We do a dance with pots and pans on the table and we do a cappella at the end. It’s a great number. I have to try not to laugh on stage.”
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opens tonight at the Fox Theatre (527 N. Grand) and runs until May 11. Tickets can be purchased at fabulousfox.com, at the box office, or by calling 314-534-1111. For more information, go to fabulousfox.com.
