29 Sep 2022 | 07:14am IST
Creating a musical world on stage
Once in a while, Leila Alvares’ musicals come as a ray of sunshine for English theatre lovers in Goa. She is back with her twist to the classic musical, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’, which marks CAUSE Foundation’s 25th anniversary in the world of English theatre
Dolcy D’Cruz
T
heatre lovers, especially English theatre enthusiasts, have a
reason to rejoice as after a break of nearly two years, there will be a musical
lighting up the stage at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. And it is not just any play,
but a classic with a huge cast, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’.
Directed by Coorg based Leila Alvares, the cast and crew from Bangalore will be
performing in Goa on October 1, at 7.15 pm.
‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat’ is a delightfully irreverent take on the Biblical story of Jacob and
his twelve sons, in particular, Joseph. The musical is filled with catchy songs
in a variety of genres including, country-western, rock n roll, calypso and
French ballads including the unforgettable ‘Any Dream Will Do’ that have
entertained and inspired generations of young and old theatre goers. Originally
stage in 1968, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’is a sung-through
musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the
character of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis.
The cast includes some of Bangalore’s finest new and old
singing, acting, dancing and musical talent including Rahael Thomas, Alapana
Bagirath, Madhuri Braganza, Shyju Varkey, Arvind Kasthuri and Prem Koshy among
others. One of the most important factors for musicals, the live band will be
directed by Aashish Paul and the lively dances are choreographed/directed by
Ritu VK and Elexer Fernandes. Be ready to be dazzled by the vibrant costumes
and striking sets using a combination of technology and hand painted scenes
that make this musical a must see event.
Leila Alvares who traces her roots to Porvorim through her
mother, Lavinia Fernandes, was encouraged to experience musicals through her
father, Captain Kieren Alvares, a Mangalorean. “My father was more Goan than my
mother. His family also came from Goa but was settled in Mangalore. He made it
a point for us to travel to Goa for various family functions, Carnival and
other feasts,” says Alvares. A director of Broadway musicals, for the past 25
years, she is also the founder and director of the Cooperation of the Arts for
the Underprivileged in Society and Environment (CAUSE) Foundation. She has been
involved with all things musical from a very young age while simultaneously
giving back to the community. Besides her annual musical productions, Alvares
is also the author of ‘Once Upon A Lifetime,’ She spends most of the year at
her homestay on her coffee plantation in Coorg, where she lives with her two
children, Kieren and Keira. This makes practices for the musicals a very
intense two months period in Bangalore.
After two well received shows in Bengaluru followed by a show in
the cities of Mysuru and Mangaluru, the musical is making its way to Goa. “We
have performed in Goa over four times and I hope Goa shows us the same love
this time. This was my first musical 25 years ago, which I then revived and
improved greatly upon ten years later. Now for the third edition of the
musical, it is a huge leap in terms of sets and costumes as you have to keep
the musical relevant with the times. I am free to interpret the play and as
Jacob has 12 sons and their wives, there will be nearly 40 cast and crew for this
musical,” says Alvares, whose son, Kieren and daughter, Keira are also a part
of the musical.
Leila Alvares and her team have successfully enthralled
audiences for the past 25 years in Bangalore, Mangalore, Chennai, Coorg, Goa,
Cochin, Payyanur and Mumbai. “The CAUSE Foundation promotes local talent and
the profit is given to charity. It is quiet expensive to bring forth a musical
as it requires live sounds and songs. We can only recover our expenses if we
receive a full audience. For the past 15 years, I have been selecting the cast
based on auditions. Earlier, it was easy to find talent through word of mouth
but now it is extremely difficult. Sourcing talent has been a problem and
dancers especially professional dancers expect to be paid. But since, this is a
voluntary organization they can’t be paid. This year, I am extremely happy to
say that we have 90 percent new and young talent. The band also picked up the
music within ten days, which is quite impressive,” says Alvares, whose
repertoire of past musicals include classics like ‘Grease’, ‘My Fair Lady’,
‘Sound of Music’, ‘Fiddler on the Roof‘, ‘Ghost the Musical’, ‘Young
Frankenstein’ and ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’.
Don’t
miss the chance of see this young bunch of talent in the musical, ‘Joseph and
the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.’ Tickets are available online at BookMyShow
and at the venue on the day of the event.