The spectacular new London Palladium production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has announced the cast for its Toronto season at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

This lavish new production, cited as the definitive one for this generation, will star Jac Yarrow, the thrilling new discovery chosen by Andrew Lloyd Webber himself to play the title role when this production was first mounted in summer 2019, and in its subsequent return in 2021 to the London Palladium following the long Covid hiatus, and in the UK and Irish tours in 2022.

Joining him will be Vanessa Fisher as the Narrator. Vanessa starred in the same role in the original 2019 engagement at the London Palladium. (Linzi Hateley, who was due to play the role in Toronto, has had to withdraw due to unforeseen personal circumstances.)

In the role of the Pharaoh will be musical theatre star Tosh Wanogho-Maud, who joins the Joseph company directly following playing one of the Drifters in the West End smash-hit new musical The Drifters Girl.

The 25-member cast also includes some of the best musical theatre talents in the UK, including Erica-Jayne Alden (Dan’s Wife), Shane Antony-Whitely (Issachar), Natalie Bennyworth (Naphtali’s Wife), Jabari Braham (Levi), Ben Brooker (Tailor, Guard), Gemma Buckingham (Levi’s Wife), Thalia Burt (Swing), Meg Darcy (Asher’s Wife), Alexander Day (Swing), Tyler Ephraim (Dan), Iván Fernández González (Swing), Zac Frieze (Asher), Matt Gibson (Reuben), Will Hawksworth (Simeon), Samuel John-Humphreys (Tailor, Guard), Amber Kennedy (Simeon’s Wife), Claire Lander (Swing), Abbie Platts (Reuben’s Wife), Nathan Rigg (Swing), Samantha Shuma (Tailor, Cook), Sam Stones (Naphtali), and Holly Willock (Issachar’s Wife).

This production is famous for its unique casting of Joseph’s brothers. These roles have traditionally been been played by adult actors, but in this production they are brilliantly portrayed by child actors. After extensive auditions, the Toronto engagement has found its child stars. They are Cody Black, Isaac Chan, Chloe Cheong, Jacob Davidov, Jayd Deroché, Jessica Du, Evelyn Fu, Isaac Grates-Myers, Jazmin Headley, Cameron Kuwayti, Nendia Lewars, Lavinia Luk, KJ Romani, Emma Grace Stead, Emily Watt and Charlie Zeltzer.

About the musical & this new production:

Joseph is the musical that launched the Rice-Lloyd Webber collaboration, becoming a multi-award-winning show performed in over 80 countries and recognized as one of the world’s most beloved family musicals. It features many songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre classics, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go, Go, Go Joseph.

Helmed by director Laurence Connor, whose new productions of Les Misérables (co-directed with James Powell) and The Phantom of the Opera have been seen around the world, this acclaimed new production is choreographed by JoAnn M. Hunter and has set and costumes by Morgan Large, lighting by Ben Cracknell, sound by Gareth Owen, orchestrations by John Cameron, and musical supervision and direction by John Rigby.

This production, produced by Michael Harrison by arrangement with the Really Useful Group Limited, had its premiere in the summer of 2019, opening to rave reviews and playing to sold-out performances. The engagement was so successful it was immediately booked to return in 2020. However, the pandemic delayed it until the summer 2021, when it returned to the Palladium for a second sold-out season. It has since been touring throughout the UK and in Ireland to great success. The Toronto engagement will be the production's North American premiere.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

December 11, 2022 to February 18, 2023

Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King Street West, Toronto, ON

Running Time: 2 hours (including intermission)

Performance Schedule

Tuesday - Saturday: 8:00 PM

Wednesday matinees: 1:30 PM

Saturday & Sunday matinees: 2:00 PM

Holiday Performance Schedule

Saturday December 24: 2:00 PM

No performance on Christmas Day

Monday December 26: 8:00 PM

Tuesday December 27: 8:00 PM

Wednesday December 29: 1:30 PM & 8:00 PM

Thursday December 29: 1:30 PM & 8:00 PM

Friday December 30: 8:00 PM

Saturday December 31: 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM

No performance on New Year’s Day

Tickets: $39 - $185 available only through www.mirvish.com and by phone at 1-800-461-3333

Photo: Jac Yarrow as Joseph. © 2019 Tristram Kenton.