Sheridan has fun with her Dreamcoat dreamboats
SHERIdAn Smith is having the time of her life in the glorious Joseph musical at the London Palladium. As the narrator in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor dreamcoat (Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first big hit), the star’s barely off stage. She sings, she dances, she runs . . . and she brings the house down. Smith’s like an old-school vaudevillian.
The 38-year-old laughed. ‘I know! They’ve got me tap dancing and all sorts. And playing the spoons!’
Joseph, which has been entertaining youngsters and their parents for 50 years, has been given a few ingenious new layers by director Laurence Connor and his creative team, which includes choreographer JoAnn m. Hunter, set and costume designer morgan Large and musical director John Rigby, all of them egged on by producer michael Harrison.
one key change is the fact that this production uses four teams of eight children.
‘We’re telling the story through their eyes,’ Smith told me.
‘Their energy is so infectious, and they keep you on your toes, because you’ve got a different group of kids every night. I’ve never been so happy on a job.
‘I’m so used to doing tortured roles, playing people who have breakdowns and cry a lot. This is energetic, but it’s fun — and pure joy.’
She giggled, then said: ‘I’m laughing, because you said that I do a lot of running on stage, and I do. And I love it. People pay good money to get this kind of workout! It’s great for me — I’m losing weight daily.’
She turned serious for a moment and added: ‘This is just what I needed for me, personally. They should prescribe it on the nHS.’
Without giving too much away, Smith plays a multitude of characters including Jacob, and maneating mrs Potiphar.
When she appears in a silly disguise, she comes out of character to tell the audience ‘It’s me!’ She’s comic gold. ‘I ham it up; and so does Jason,’ Smith said, referring to Jason donovan, who played Joseph at the Palladium 28 years ago and is back, showing
off his abs (again) and sending himself up as the Pharaoh.
The title role this time round is played by Jac Yarrow, who’s yet to graduate from the Arts Educational School in West London. And he’s a revelation.
Smith recalled passing a rehearsal room and hearing ‘this amazing voice’.
‘I got goosebumps,’ she told me. ‘I said: “That’s a showstopper.” And it is. What a find! It’s a privilege to witness this young guy have his debut at the London Palladium.’
AT onE point in the show, I noted, both Yarrow and donovan appear scantily clad. ‘It’s fantastic,’ Smith agreed. ‘To have two gorgeous men like that, both different ages . . .
‘Behave, behave,’ she added. ‘Remember when I told you I was going to be like the naughty babysitter? Well, I feel like that!’
Joseph has its official gala opening next Thursday. It’s set for a limited run at the Palladium, where it has sold more than £9million worth of tickets.
I feel that Joseph must transfer ... somewhere ... be it the West End, or Broadway. It remains an intoxicating reinvention of an old Testament tale that never gets old.