'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' Narrator is a 'Wicked' singing role
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Shoshana Bean will take the stage as Narrator when Pittsburgh CLO opens "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" tomorrow night at the Benedum. -
Shoshana Bean rehearses for her role as the narrator in Pittsburgh CLO''s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, playing May 26 through June 7 at the Benedum Center.
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When talk at the University of Cincinnati's music conservatory turned to summer theater jobs, Shoshana Bean heard all about Pittsburgh CLO.
"It was always 'CLO, CLO, CLO.' That was what everyone wanted to do," she said from CLO offices on her first day in Pittsburgh. Bean, Class of '99, found work in other cities back then. But she's here now, appearing as the Narrator in the season-opening production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."
- Where: Pittsburgh CLO at the Benedum Center, Downtown.
- When: Tomorrow through June 7. 8 p.m. Tues.-Fri. 2 and 8 p.m. Sat. and 2 p.m. Sun. Also 1 p.m. Thurs., May 28.
It's the gregarious Bean's first foray into the well-traveled musical, but she knows all about "technicolor" onstage -- she was the kelly-green star of "Wicked" on Broadway, playing Elphaba in the Tony-winning footsteps of Idina Menzel. That followed a stint in the New York ensemble of "Hairspray."
Preparation for the role of Narrator calls for some vocal gymnastics unlike her Broadway experiences.
"I think this might be harder [than 'Wicked']; it's higher and there's way more singing," Bean said. "It's really nice to be a narrator character who is essentially just telling the story, so it's not a super-complicated acting role, which is nice, 'cause I can just stand there and sing, which I love to do. But vocally, it's a totally challenging role."
She admits to running out to get the soundtrack when she got the part.
"I didn't know the show well, so whenever people found out I was doing this, they always sing me these two lines that are the notorious, famous Narrator lines, because they are really high and screamy. It's like the part that people live for in the show, and there's so much pressure to get that part out."
She said everyone loves the "Jacob & Sons" chorus, and then, she sang, "Letting out a mighty roar, Potiphar burst ..." Her voice squeaked. "I'm so tired, I can't even do it right now."
Luckily, she's working with David Osmond, who is well-acquainted with the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical. He's reprising his title role from the 1998 CLO production, and he followed his Uncle Donny into the role when it toured nationally. Osmond may be best known for his recent appearance as an "American Idol" contestant. He moved into the Hollywood Round in January, before he was forced to leave the competition because of illness.
David, like his father Alan, the oldest of the singing Osmond brothers, suffers from multiple sclerosis. A tireless campaigner for the cause, he most recently has been appearing at benefits when he's not in the recording studio. This is to be his first highly physical role since he left "Idol" in January.
Bean had just met Osmond when they were preparing for their first run-through.
"I didn't even know it was him. We were in the van [from the airport that same morning] talking about cough drops, and then we got into the room and he was talking about flying in with his baby and I was like, 'Oh God, you're David. Hi.' "
The next thing she knew, she was learning how the Narrator would interact with Osmond's Joseph and Pharaoh [Peter Matthew Smith]. The relationship onstage is tricky, as the Narrator can move about as an outsider, anachronistic to the number.
"I'm just glad I'm not going to be alone and off to the side of the stage all the time," Bean said.
The Olympia, Wash., native lives in Los Angeles these days, and she's going back after the CLO production to do a one-woman at the Ford Amphitheatre. The first half is devoted to Barbra Streisand and the second to music from her own album, which she released independently.
Singing the role of the Narrator may "completely wear me out or be a help getting ready" for the next show. "I hope it's the first one," she said with a laugh.
You can read all about whatever Bean's doing on her Web site, Facebook and MySpace pages, Twitter posts ...
"I do everything myself, so I figured the best vehicle for promoting it was to slather it across the Internet," she said. She even did experiments, at times dropping out of sight for a while, at times trying a Web blitz. "It's good when fans can get a piece of you, but it's hard to find a balance between being too available and completely disappearing."
Bean's bubbly personality comes through, on the Internet and over the phone.
She said she's been working on visits to the Warhol Museum and the Aviary while she's here, and she's thrilled -- really, thrilled -- to be in the land of Heinz ketchup.
"I'm obsessed with ketchup. I put it on eggs, my french fries ... when I was in Montreal, they had these ketchup chips, they are amazing. You can't get them here," she said wistfully.
Obsessive also can describe some "Wicked" fans, and she said she's already heard some plan to be at the stage door of the Benedum Center. She hasn't done a show since she left Broadway in 2006, and she's delighted to return to musical theater in the quick run that is summer theater.
"It's the long runs that kill you," she said.
First Published May 25, 2009 12:00 am
