Final Joseph Matinee is One of Largest in Theatre History

Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat's Saturday matinee—the show's final day—drew around 700 people, making it the second-largest matinee in Collingswood Community Theatre (CCT) history.

"We had 350 people come in groups, 100 came for our pre-show lunch, another 250 bought tickets at the door," said CCT Assistant Director Terry Seeley of Saturday's 2 p.m. matinee at the Scottish Rite Auditorium. "It was a big success."

Seeley said only one CCT matinee topped Saturday's. The theater's very first performance, The Music Man, drew around 900 people during a matinee.

Collingswood High School senior Maura Coyle, 17—who played Zebula's wife in Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat—said even with Saturday being Joseph's final performance, she was surprised with the crowd's size.

"Matinees are usually the smallest and quietest crowds (even on a musical's closing day)," said Coyle. "But today's (matinee) was the largest and most-responsive."

Coyle's CCT career began in first grade. Now, with high school graduation approaching, she'll soon trade theater for college life. But Coyle's final year with CCT has unexpectedly been void of tears. And it's all because of Joseph.

"This year has been hard, with college coming, because I know (Joseph) will be my last production with the theatre," said Coyle. "But if I have to go out, I'd rather go out with Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. If I could've chosen any show to be my last one with Collingswood Community Theatre, it would've been Joseph."

But the wow-factor CCT's version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical achieved was evident to more than just cast and crew members. Mike Smith, who played the Elvis-inspired Pharaoh in the musical, said audience members have been voicing high praise for the show.

"Besides getting to perform in this great theater (Scottish Rite Auditorium), the other production elements are amazing—costumes, sets and props, the skill level of our actors and vocalists," said Smith after Saturday's matinee. "We may be amateurs, but we look as good as anything.

"The audience has been telling us how great everything looks," he said. "I heard people have even come back more than once to see us perform Joseph. And they've truly been a great audience, which enhances the show, because as actors, we feed off their enthusiasm." 

But Smith's wife, Marcy—who played a First Wife in Joseph—said the public praise is a result of CCT members' hard work.

"I've been involved since (CCT's) very first show, and this one truly stands alone," said Marcy of Joseph. "It's a very fast-moving show, and there's a lot of choreography involved."

But by watching the matinee, theater-goers would never guess the difficulty level of its production. Saturday's performance was perfect from start to finish—a musical the cast learned, rehearsed and performed perfectly in just six weeks.

One slip almost blurred Saturday's perfect show, but it went unnoticed. During Mike Smith's scene as the Pharaoh, the actor began descending a staircase onstage.

"I was singing while I was coming down from the steps, but my boot hit the edge of the platform and my foot went down into this hole," said Mike with a chuckle. "I literally almost fell right through, and all I could think was, 'Don't forget the words! Don't forget the words!'"

It's one of those things Lisa Sollenberger, who played Mrs. Potiphar, says cast members usually laugh and joke about after the show's over. 

"But Joseph is different from any other production we've put on," said Sollenberger. "It took an intense amount of work—not just during rehearsals. Once we were onstage with the sets and props, actually running through the show, we realized there was no down-time at all.

"We're a community theater, we all know each other outside of here and we usually pal-around behind the scenes. But we didn't do that during Joseph. It was a lot of hard work, but in such a good way," said Sollenberger. "It turned out so great, and we couldn't be more proud."

The pride was visible on every CCT member's face after Saturday's matinee, as hugs, kisses and bouquets were passed through the massive crowd. 

"It's really sad, I can't believe it's already over," said cast member Chuck Jackson. "There's a certain post-production sadness that comes after each show. We all get used to having fun and being together all the time, and then—boom— it's over."

CCT is one big family, and the group's respect and love for one another is what Jackson said makes performances as successful as Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

"That's what we strive for, when people say they're blown-away by how professional our performances are," said Jackson. "In general, people tend to talk about community theater in a condescending way, like, 'Oh, yeah, you're in a local theater group. We'll try to make it to your show, no promises.' But when people come out to see our community theater, they realize it's on a whole other level entirely. It's a level we're proud to be at."