ClosetAddict,

Thank you very much for the review, and good to read about Keith too. Your personal impressions are much appreciated! Thanks!

Few more comments have been posted

http://www.thestage.co.uk/shenton/20...ias_dannys.php

Yes, so they have.

Craig is appearing on Irish AM on Wednesay morning

If any Dubliners out there are clever enough to get this interview on youtube, it would be most appreciated. Thanks to anyone who may be able to help us see Craig on the telly

PHOTO ALERT

Craigs website now has some Joseph stage photos ! Check The Gallery - they're fabulous.

http://www.craigchalmers-ontour.com/index2.html

I went to see Joseph twice in Derry last week. Opening night and the Saturday 2pm matinee. Craig was Joseph on opening night and Chris on the Sat, Keith was narrator on both.

The atmosphere on the opening night was amazing - Craig got a cheer when he appeared and there was a round of applause after every song. Close Every Door was amazing (I know I'm repeating myself ). I couldn't fault any of Craig's performance - I loved every minute of it. All the cast were superb, Keith still has a powerful voice, Wayne was fantastic and Chris' acting and dancing were brilliant as Benjamin. The audience were on their feet from before the Megamix and stayed on them til the end (with a short respite during the 2nd CED). There was at least 3 curtain calls. We got to meet Craig, Keith and Wayne after the show, my friend's daughter got all 3 autographs and a kiss from Keith - I was happy with my one from Craig - his autograph not a kiss!

I think there was a bit of disappointment in the audience on Sat when they announced that Chris would be Joseph - especially from my mum who hadn't been with me the first time. I enjoyed Chris playing the role but in my opinion he didn't have the same stage presence that Craig had but I'm probably biased! I thought he had made the Benjamin role his own and there was more room for his dancing ability to come across in Benjamin.

I would recommend it to all no matter who is playing Joseph as to me the cast as a whole make the production as they are all fantastic - loved the brothers! The scenary is totally West End as are the costumes (a wee bit disappointed in the Joseph coat, don't know what I expected though!) I'd love to go again and if it comes back in the extended run I probably will.

Mandy
Last edited by Chalet75 : 15-10-2007 at 16:40

*Crawls back into chair and gasps*

Trixiehobbit, are you trying to ruin me? Those pictures are making my jaw hit the floor.

At last, bare-chested Craig—in chains! Mmm, all those trips to the gym have certainly been paying off. Why do I find handsome male bondage so appealing? And is it just me or his loincloth even shorter looking than Lee’s? O_O

His facial expressions are hysterical. That picture of him lying all typed on the ground is priceless. He looks so petrified as if a dragon is going to come out and eat him. I’ve never realized how many emotions Joseph has to portray in a 2 hour show and its quite a powerhouse of energy. How DOES Craig manage to do it? Should I get the chance to see him, I'll ask. Along with the ridiculous question of, "What happens if you get the hiccups on stage?" ^_-

The last one of Craig in the dark with his hands stretch up high is priceless. I’ll bet it’s a real heart-stopping moment when he sings “Close Every Door”.

Oh, and one more thing to add. I love his hair. It's so hot, it reminds me of California beach material. McJoseph should not be tormenting Lefpondia fans like this.

Sorry, wrong thread. Keep the reviews coming and I hope to catch a glimpse of the glory in a few months.

Hi Trixiehobbit,

Thank you for the photo-tip, they are beautiful!

the Craigettes are still recovering from a heatwave in the Craig thread

We were seated in the Dress Circle, centre stage and had a perfect view of the entire stage. No big haired ladies in the way. Yay. And a bonus when the actors sing out and look up - they look straight at you ! The stage looked brilliant. The choir of the most angelic little kids, who sat perfectly still throughout, were sat on the sides of wide steps, in an inverted V. Most of the action is in the middle of the stage and with these steps alongside, the effect is visually very pleasing. Backdrops, props and the imaginative costumes were all much better than I expected, and the lighting is excellently done. Amazing to think of the amount of stuff they put up and pack away again, week after week, for this tour. Hats off to them.

Keith gets the show started as he strolls onto the stage gently singing to two teeny little kids, in his dressing gown. aww lol. It was only I think, his 6th performance as Narrator and he didn't fluff any lines I felt he was still finding his way a little on the stage at times, but he gave a very good vocal performance. He has to subdue his voice a lot for this role; he has a mammoth voice and he always seems more at home when belting out the big notes. His stage presence is there, still in its infancy, but he is appealing to see singing. He wasn't as animated as I expected (very early days mind) though his eyes, well they tell a story of their own. He stalked around the stage, vocalling weaving the acts together and it was great to see him performing Pharoahs song. He sang the final notes like they had been just bursting to come out !

Chris Barton shone in 'Who's the Thief?' (Keith and Craigs vocals, both really strong and powerful here deserve a mention too. I felt the mood change and the audience were captivated.) He acted the part of Benjamin supremely and this guys career in Musical Theatre is not going to be over for a long time yet I think. His acting was incredibly beleivable, I really felt for him, shaking on the floor in pained disbelief and horror at his expected fate. He danced superbly, along with all the Brothers, who are amazingly together during their choregraphed scenes. It's a tight-knit and well-rehearsed cast, and they have crafted their moves to perfection. They sang 'Those Canaan Days' wonderfully, and 'One More Angel' had everyone giggling as we see one of the brothers acting the soprano as Craig waves 'angelically' in the background. The entire cast in fact gave a fabulously good show from start to finish, and it was a joy to watch.

Craig was fantastic. He has massive appeal and has star-quality written all over him. He looked so at home on that stage ! He sang so wonderfully throughout and he had me close to tears with Close Every Door. I was initially ( and very understandably, when you see him.. ) sidetracked by how damn good he looked in the loin cloth !! ...but after a few beautifully sang words, my mind was right back on track and feeling the right mood. This is an incredible talent of Craigs. He feels the lyrics so well and brings you right inside a song, like you're right there with him. A lovely moment it was. As Joseph he showed an abundance of energy and enthusiasm while performing and you'd never beleive he hadn't acted before this. He was facially expressive, I loved his cheekiness and his comic-timing is spot on. And I was very happy he was speaking with his Scottish accent, just like McJoseph should He was a brilliant leading man and hearing him sing 'Give me my coloured coat..' at the end was perhaps the highlight of the show for me. His voice has grown immensely since ADWD! Wow. The crowd gave in all three standing ovations at the finale, which had everyone singing and clapping. Happy happy mood in the house ! Craig introduced Keith, Chris and Wayne Smith( brought over from the 'dark side' Craig said. I was pmsl at that Craigettes!) who all got huge applause. It was fantastic to be there. After the show I dared to do the stage door and met Matercula and Obsessed Amy *waves* We had a right giggle waiting for the guys to come out, and I was lucky enough to meet Chris and Keith and the man of the match for me, Craig who had a good chat with me and my family (my niece is the envy of her schoolmates now lol) and I find that he is as nice as people have said. Nicer actually, and even better looking too ! Great to see him being so successful on this tour and I await more good things to come his way. I think Craig must be one of the hottest new talents in Musical Theatre and Joseph is just the beginning for him


A few photos here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...fjoseph016.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...at/mecraig.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...fjoseph017.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../joseph019.jpg

Trixie,

Had another look at this blog - some superb new comments in support of the Craig and Chris on the Tour.

Thanks for your review - you had a truly memorable night... lets hope its not too long before we all get to see the show again.

Forgot to say that your photos are great! Thanks for sharing them with everyone.

So there are

inspired, reasoned debate.

I had the pleasure of attending the first night of Craig’s visit to Dublin last night with my wife and three daughters. I’m 48 now and remember ‘Joseph’ when it was first staged in the early 1970s – in fact it was the first musical I ever saw, and it caused me to fall in love with musical theatre. Since then I’ve seen all the big ones – Les Miserables, Phantom, Cats, Evita, Chicago – but I think Joseph is still my favourite. When ‘Any Dream Will Do’ was shown last summer we watched it as a family and everyone had their favourite – my wife tipped Lee from the first show, me and my youngest daughter (9) liked Keith’s voice (though MAYBE not for Joseph!) my eldest (15) fell for Lewis and the middle girl (11) fell for Craig. Unfortunately poor Chris B. was out in the cold!
Although we saw Lee in London during the summer, (and it was a magnificent show) when we discovered Craig was coming to Dublin the kids persuaded us (not a very difficult job in truth) to buy tickets for the show, and because we got in early we got tickets in the front row. The fact that Keith was doing narrator was a big bonus!
So last evening we went into town early as the girls wanted to leave in letters for Craig and Keith. We left them in at the stage door and were heading off for something to eat when first Keith and then Craig came out and signed autographs and posed for photos. Our 9 year old is quite shy but Keith was very nice to her and promised to wave to her that night (which he did, on a number of occasions.) I thought our 11 year old would faint when she saw Craig but he was so easy-going she soon relaxed. She was in heaven having met her idol, even more so when he gave her a nod and a big smile at the end of the show.
As for the show itself, it was fantastic! I’ve seen about 10 different Joseph productions at this stage and this was up there with the best. Craig’s voice was strong and solid and Keith was a classy narrator. As someone else mentioned, Craig particularly came into his own in the second half as Prince of Egypt, projecting a charisma of power and command even more than Lee. And yes, at the reunion of Joseph and Jacob even I had a tear in my eye. Chris B was fine as Benjamin but I don’t think he has charisma enough to be Joseph, although he is doing two matinees as Joseph and two as the narrator during the week.
Needless to say, a standing ovation was provided, and the cast came back for three curtain calls. A fantastic night.
The only minor disappointment was that they were unable to buy Craig T-shirts – surely an oversight on behalf of the marketing department!
The girls floated off to school this morning with their photos and autographs and will doubtless be the envy of their friends for days to come.
As for me, I wish Craig and Keith well for the rest of their careers; no doubt both will go from success to success, but their friendliness and approachability have given my daughters memories which I’m sure will stay with them for the rest of their lives, and for that I thank them and wish them well


Review by gaffergamgee

Thanks for bringing those accross.

I'm getting very curios to see the show again now its bedded in.

Extending the run in Edinburgh

http://news.scotsman.com/entertainme...1670322007#new

Hi all,

Saw Mobile Joseph last night at Dublin's Gaeity Theatre.

The Josephs were excellent. Keith particularly was brilliant, very pleasantly surprised. Great voice, soft then powerful, well acted, good stage presence. Think he got the loudest cheer of the night. Had never really warmed to him on the TV show but now I'm converted. Saw him outside the theatre last monday looking confused on his mobile phone but decided to leave him alone. Now kinda wish I'd accosted him in the street!

Craig was great, has a lovely voice and is a likeable leading man. Very short loincloth indeed. Chris B defo stands out as Benjamin - incredibly energetic and enthusiastic. Doesn't have much to do though. Craig does a little speech at the end and he got quite emotional, said that there were some special people in who had been supporting him for a long time. Chris was welling up too. They seem incredibly grateful, grounded and genuine young men.

Thought the guy from Grease is the Word was good as the Pharaoh (and cute! Not many could pull off that lycra jumpsuit) and spotted some more ex-Joes as brothers - fellas that were in the final 20. They all seem so genuinely excited to be doing it and it leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Great show, fab night out.

Hi iss1234, thanks for the great review. I was wondering how the final Dublin show went. I'm sure the atmosphere was fantastic (I went to the matinee on Thursday and the atmosphere was still really good, though I'm sure it didn't compare to the closing show).

I didn't get to see Keith, so I'm glad to hear he was so good in the role. (Chris B was the narrator in my show.)

thanks again for the review

No problem at all.

The atmosphere WAS great. Just as Craig was trying to get a bit of hush to make his speech (was standing there for quite a while trying to calm down the clapping, cheering and general rowdiness), he said 'Well, it's our last night in Dublin' and a woman who was rather near the back screamed 'Don't worry, you can come home with me!'. She was loud enough to be heard onstage and Craig blushed quite a bit before continuing. There was a few standing ovations and, I think, four curtain calls. Lost count!

Thank you so for the review and the added extra . I haven't seen Mobile Joseph yet (going to the last night at Cardiff, so hoping for some 'general rowdiness' so I'm not alone.) Lovely to hear that when they step out of character Craig and co are still charming, down to earth, 'regular Joe's'.
Last edited by mrspoti : 21-10-2007 at 22:22

The Gaiety theatre was smaller than I’d been expecting but very lovely, the dress circle curved in a u shape and there were private boxes all around the outside of the seating. The circle was full with about 75% being children.
I don’t need to review the story of the show, so these are my thoughts on how I saw it.

Although I have seen Joseph before, and I don’t remember much about the show, the music is however unmistakeable.

Chris B was the narrator for this performance. He came on with two little ones and started sing very quietly at first - it was very hard to hear him but he does have a lovely voice and I thought he was brilliant as the narrator.

Craig was Joseph and came on stage to loud cheers and claps. Craig was a revelation, He was like a totally different performer to the one we saw on ADWD, his voice is much stronger, has more depth and shade than we ever saw on the show. He has great comic timing and moves well on the stage.

Now the Loincloth - yes it is short, but even from where I was sitting you could see tone and muscle definition. He certainly must have great strength and stamina as he was thrown about the stage and the struggles with the brothers looked very realistic.
Close every door was sung with emotion and I could see his diaphragm muscles moving as he controlled his breathing.

The show moved along very fast, all the brothers were excellent, the cast looked like they were all having a good time. The pharaoh was very clear and went down well with the audience, the part where Craig copies him was also very well done.

The show was great and I couldn’t see any weak spots in it, I enjoyed the mega mix at the end but as the dress circle was mostly children there wasn’t anybody up dancing !
The show was well received but had a more reserved reception than I expected which would be due to the large number of children in the audience.

I could quite easily go to the show again - I think the more you see it, the more little touches you will see. At one point when he is sold the pharaohs mask on the wall says something in an obvious Scottish accent !

The Gaiety did not have any programmes with Craig and co on it, they were only selling the glossy one with words and music inside.

We went along to the stage door to say hello and luckily for us there wasn’t a large amount of people there.
Didn’t have time to take a lot of pictures, Introduced myself - Craig is just lovely, He knew who I was, gave me a big cuddle and he wanted to know if I had enjoyed it. We had a quick chat I said well done, spoke about his voice and how he would be in Scotland the next week. The kilt wasn’t mentioned - thankfully !

Craig was the only performer outside no sign of Chris or Keith - sorry BB couldn’t get you any more pictures.
I am now really looking forward to Edinburgh, it will be good to compare the two performances, although I don’t see how it could get any better.


http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...os/dublin1.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...os/dublin2.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...os/dublin3.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...os/dublin4.jpg

Dotty thanks for the sharing the photos. They're fab xx

And a big welcome back after flying all the way to Dublin to see the show