By: Julia Aidan
Submitted: 2009-02-07 19:27:38 | Word Count: 505
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is currently playing at the Adelphi Theatre. Joseph is a dramatization of the Bible story of Joseph, beginning with his brothers' jealousy of Joseph's coat of many colors and the sale of Joseph into slavery in Egypt. The story ends when Joseph is reunited with his father and brothers. Even though the story is straight out of the Bible, God is not mentioned at all in the show. Joseph is performed without any dialogue at all. The entire story is told through music and singing.
Actor Lee Mead is currently playing the title role. Mead will continue playing Joseph until January 10, 2009, after which time his understudy Ricky Rojas will take over until the new Joseph, Gareth Gates, steps into the role on February 9. Gates is a former Pop Idol finalist who recently performed with ITV's Dancing on Ice. Joseph is showing at the Adelphi Theatre weekly through July 18.
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London's Adelphi Theatre has been providing entertainment for audiences since 1806. It was established by a businessman named John Scott and his daughter, Jane. Jane was a playwright who also performed in the theatre. She wrote over 50 dramatic pieces in a variety of genres.
Originally called the Sans Pareil, which means "without compare," the theatre has been known by many names. It was renamed after the nearby Adelphi Buildings in 1819, and has also been called the Theatre Royal Adelphi, The New Adelphi and, for a few years after the turn of the twentieth century, The Century Theatre.
It has hosted many musicals and comedies, as well as several ghostly melodramas written by Charles Dickens and other writers. The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain was the most famous of Dickens' haunted tales that was performed at the Adelphi Theatre. Adaptations of many of Dickens's novels, including A Christmas Carol and The Pickwick Papers, were also performed at the Adelphi.
The Adelphi's history of haunting melodramas is fitting, since it is rumored that the Adelphi itself is haunted. Actor William Terriss, who was stabbed to death outside the theatre in 1897, has been said to haunt some of the theatre's backstage areas. Terriss was killed by his protégé, Richard Archer Prince. A plaque commemorating Terriss hangs on the back wall of the theatre.
The Adelphi was originally a small, cramped theatre. As the venue where many of Dickens's novel adaptations were performed, the theatre grew in popularity and eventually needed more space. The too-small Adelphi was torn down and a larger, 1500-seat structure was built in its place, opening in 1858. Since then, the theatre has been rebuilt twice more, in 1901 and 1930. The current structure seats 1550 people.
The Adelphi Theatre is located near Charing Cross Station, Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square. The stage door is on Maiden Lane, at the rear of the building. The theatre is air conditioned and offers three levels of seating.
