THEATER REVIEW : Joseph and His Dreamcoat Are Still Amazing, Still Colorful : In the lead, Brian Lane Green parlays his looks, singing and smile into a thoroughly successful performance.

You’d think the “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” market had been pretty well saturated on the Central Coast by this point.

After all, PCPA Theaterfest has revived its enormously popular fall production in Solvang three years in a row.

Though the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera’s current version may lack some of PCPA’s inspired zaniness, it’s nonetheless a wonderfully energetic production, with the right mix of good-natured fun, talented stars and handsome staging to warrant another trip back to Biblical times--at least as envisioned in this first collaboration by lyricist Tim Rice and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The same Rice-Webber team went on to write “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita,” yet there’s a refreshing, unpretentious abandon in “Joseph” that the creators never indulged when they began taking themselves more seriously.

The result is pure, unadulterated fun.

In the title role of the golden boy with a knack for dream interpretation that makes Freud look like a sideshow fortune teller, Brian Lane Green parlays matinee idol looks, strong singing and an engaging smile into a thoroughly successful performance.

Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, Joseph has a unique gift that catapults him to the No. 2 slot in the Egyptian government when he reveals the cycle of feast and famine prophesied in Pharaoh’s dream (“All these things you saw in your pajamas / Are a long range forecast for your farmers”).

Whether festering in prison, groveling before Pharaoh or lording it over his repentant brothers, Lane wisely resists adding layers of self-conscious camp to his Joseph, instead letting the natural goofiness of the songs work their own peculiar brand of charm.

Also appealing is Cynthia Ferrer as the perky narrator who sings bubble-gum rock bridges between scenes.

Part of the appeal is the show’s irreverent departure from the constraint of a clearly defined musical identity--instead, Webber’s free-roaming score parodies a wide range of musical styles, from rock to country-western to calypso to a hilarious French cabaret tribute as the brothers lift their berets to “Zose Canaan Days” of yesteryear. There’s even a top-drawer Elvis spoof performed by the dream-plagued Pharaoh (Bob Simon)--one Memphis King saluting another.

Framing these contemporary elements with an Old Testament context sparked notable ingenuity in the staging. Director and choreographer Dennis Courtney invests the production numbers with wry touches (like the brothers using their staves as vaudeville-style canes) and sustains an engaging visual flair even though there’s no mistaking his chorus lines for professionals.

Jay Michael Jagim’s sets built around pyramid motifs are a step up from the usual rented backdrops, while Lawrence Oberman’s multihued light displays even switch colors to match the lyrics where appropriate. The only technical glitch comes from an overzealous smoke machine, which sometimes creates the kind of atmosphere you can figuratively cut with a knife (more attention to air flow away from the audience is needed).

The other questionable choice was padding a thoroughly enjoyable 70-minute show (intended to be performed without a break) with an intermission nearly as long as the first act and an extended closing medley that dilutes the energy of the natural climax--it’s the kind of planning more in tune with a social event than an artistic one.

Details

* WHAT: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

* WHEN: Through Dec. 18, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 7 p.m.; matinees at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (additional 3 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, Nov. 23).

* WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1216 State St., Santa Barbara.

* HOW MUCH: $24.50-$32.50 (Children $12.25-$13.75).

* FYI: For reservations or further information, call (800) 366-6064.