GRHS presents ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’

Published April 25, 2024 at 10:01 AM CDT

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Grand Rapids High School

Grand Rapids High School musical theater production April 26-28, 2024.

Three students from the Grand Rapids High School production discussed the show which will be performed April 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. and April 28 at 2 p.m.

GRAND RAPIDS — There’s theater, and then there’s musical theater. And then, there’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

“There’s no spoken lines. It’s all music,” lead actor Noah Jetland said during a recent KAXE Morning Show interview.

Noah was joined by fellow castmates Riley Stovall and Lily Stark, plus director Adam Giebner. Adam was captivated by Joseph when he first saw the show as an eighth grader. He decided to produce the musical this spring due to the growing size of Grand Rapids High School’s theater program.

An actor in a colorful costume is surrounded by other actors while rehearsing. — Noah Jetland plays Joseph in Grand Rapids High School's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which runs April 26-28, 2024.

“Every single person is doing something all the time," Adam said. "So, you have Joseph, you have the narrator, but you also have these 11 brothers that are doing a bunch of stuff in the show, and along with the 11 brothers, you have an entire ensemble of people who are acting as the wives of the brothers' servants."

"... This show’s a no-brainer because the theater program has been growing and we wanted to make sure that we showcase as many kids as possible.”

Theater has meant a lot to these young people.

“I did my first play when I was in kindergarten. I was mama duck," Riley said. "And I knew since then that I wanted to be in theater for the rest of my life because it is just so fun. It's such a welcoming program, and I really love to sing. Singing is my life. Music's my life."

"And acting is so much fun. I can put myself in somebody else's shoes and act like how they would act... I just really want that to be the rest of my life because I love it so much.”

A group of student actors pose on a stage in a group while another pretends to take their picture. — The cast of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" pose on the stage of the Reif Center at Grand Rapids High School.

Noah plans to major in musical theater when he attends the University of Minnesota Duluth this fall. Lily has been involved in both dance and theater throughout her youth, and she has also gotten involved in promoting this show and is considering marketing as a career.

“Being able to actually see how [marketing] works and try to do it has been really fun and has brought so many great opportunities that I wouldn't have been able to do without theater behind it,” she said.

Performances of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat are Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m. at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.