Lively Music and Cast Brighten ‘Dreamcoat’

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most approachable musical may be “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” written in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when the composer was making pastiches of contemporary popular music rather than Italian opera. The show, produced by the local Cabrillo Music Theatre, closes this weekend at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

A plot from the Bible, witty lyrics by Tim Rice and tunes that range from vaudeville to country to calypso help disguise the intrinsic thinness of the plotting. Splashy costumes and invigorating performances bring the fun to an even higher level.

David Burnham plays Joseph--the fellow with the Coat of Many Colors--as young, lively and enthusiastic even when his jealous brothers arrange to have him sold to Egyptian slavers.

He winds up in the court of hip-shaking Pharaoh (David Engel, looking more like Val Kilmer in “Top Secret” than Elvis, but still a showstopper), where his prophecies win him favor. Along the way, the fetching wife (Erin Appling) of slave-driver Potiphar (Joseph Bearss) attempts to vamp him.

The cast also includes Angela Teek--a “Star Search” winner--who adds a bluesy dimension as the singing Narrator. Randy Brenner directed the fast-paced two-hour production; Diann Alexander is musical director and conductor; and Adrea Gibbs, the choreographer.

On Their Feet: It’s amazing that Adrea Gibbs could find time to choreograph “Joseph” these days--her current activities also include directing a play (“Hollywood and Wino”) in Hollywood; choreographing the Moorpark Melodrama production of “High Noonish”; and directing and choreographing that troupe’s upcoming Christmas show.

The Simi Valley resident, who is a fifth-generation Californian (originally from Arcadia), has a lengthy resume, which includes professional productions, mostly as a dancer or choreographer. Her credits range from work in various companies of “Cats” to a stint as a trapeze performer with the Moscow Circus.

Yet she claims never to have seen a production of “Joseph” before this one.

“The only music from it I even knew was ‘Go, Go Joseph,’ ” she confessed in a recent interview, “because that was sort of the hit from the show.” But not knowing what had been done before didn’t hold her back, she said. “My idea in doing any show is putting something fresh and new into the production, not to redo something.”

Gibbs finds it easier to work with young dancers than others might: Early on, she abandoned her college studies in sports medicine to follow dance at Disneyland. By the time she was 20, she was working at Walt Disney World in Florida, “teaching the characters how to be characters.”

As for her work with members of the largely nonprofessional cast of “Joseph,” she said: “It’s very exciting to get the children to see how hard they could challenge themselves.”

* “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” continues through Sunday at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Auditorium, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets range from $18 to $28 and may be purchased through the plaza box office or TicketMaster. For further information, call 497-8616.

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Longer Improvs: The Impostors has spun off of Ventura Area TheatreSports and will debut Friday night at the Performance Studio in Ventura. The new group, said founder Tom Mueller, will be less regimented than the formal TheatreSports, allowing for longer sketches--as long as 90 minutes!--among other things. And the players--Mueller, Gary Best, Katherine Boring (no jokes, please), Judy Gottleib, John Hammill and Betty Pattingale--will remain with the parent group as well.

* The Impostors debut at 8 p.m. Friday at the Performance Studio, 34 N. Palm St., Ventura. Tickets are $7. For reservations or information, call 642-8041.

Casting Call: Director Don Pearlman will hold auditions for Andrew Bergman’s comedy “Social Security” at 2 p.m. Sunday and 8 p.m. Monday at the Marquie Banquet Facilities, 340 N. Mobil Ave. in Camarillo. The cast consists of three couples in the 35-45 age range, 40s-50s and 70s-90s. Play dates are Thursday through Saturday nights, Jan. 10-Feb. 15. For details, call 484-9909, or producer Judy Marquie at 498-1766.