Brea Theatre Puts On a Colorful ‘Dreamcoat’

A little invention goes a long way on stage, especially in community theaters, where bright-eyed ambition often outpaces pure talent.

The Brea Theatre League’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” is a good example. There’s some ability here, but the best feature is director Ray Limon’s goofy streak. This is a wise-guy production and much of the snappy hokum plays out well.

Another good thing is that the show doesn’t waste any time. By clocking in at just over 70 minutes (plus a 20-minute intermission), Limon is mindful of the fact that this is one of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s slightest musicals.

It’s been buffed up and chubbed out before, even in professional playhouses, but Limon avoids that mistake. By keeping “Joseph” lean and spirited, he doesn’t overstate its appeal.

Based on the Old Testament story, Webber’s score and Rice’s lyrics take an irreverent route in relating Joseph’s travails and triumphs. His jealous brothers, his days as a slave, his rise to power in Egypt and his reunion with father Jacob and his repentant siblings all race by. Webber uses calypso, rock and country to keep the ball bouncing.

Limon takes his cue from Rice’s modernized, comically glib phrasings. Although he often searches for laughs in routine places--all the mugging gets old pretty quick, and Charlie Reeves’ turn as Pharaoh cum Elvis is cliched--Limon does come up with more than a few whimsical ideas.

In one desert scene, he replaces a camel being led by a slave trader with a dancing pack of Camel cigarettes. Earlier, Joseph is stalked by his brothers, who carry everything from an old-fashioned bug squirter to a time bomb. Silly, but they work in a colorful, music-hall way.

The performances are better than average for community theater. Both narrator Bets Malone and Eric Gunhus as Joseph are clear, strong singers with engaging personalities. Enthusiasm sometimes leads to excess elsewhere in the cast, but not terribly so.

‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’

A Brea Theatre League production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical. Directed by Ray Limon. With Bets Malone, Eric Gunhus, Thomm E. Murphy, Jean Swift, Charlie Reeves, William A. Tennies, Karen Louise Sorensen, Gus Frousakis, Steve Galudini, Jack Kimball, Deven May, Jared Pfeifer, Kyle Bergman, Steve Bueno, Guy de la Cruz, Steve Michael Swalding, Monica Rocio Acosta, Michelle Alvarodiaz, Bidalia Albanese, Robin Pedretto and Trivia Van Abel. Set by Gil Morales. Lighting by Walter A. De Jong. Sound by Emory Johnson. Costumes by Mary Engwall and Marci McDaniels. Choreography by Ray Limon. Musical direction by Scott Cokely. Plays Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Curtis Theatre, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea. $9 to $12.50. (714) 990-7722 or (714) 524-6653.