Background

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In the summer of 1967, Andrew Lloyd Webber was asked by Alan Doggett, head of the Music Department of Paul's Junior School to write a “pop cantata” for the school choir to sing at a spring concert. (Andrew’s little brother Julian was a member of the choir at the time.)

Webber asked his friend Tim Rice to write lyrics for the project. After toying with ideas about spies, 007's and the like, Tim suggested the story of Joseph. The first performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was on a cold March afternoon in 1968 and was only 15 minutes long. The parents of one of the students turned out to be a critic for The Sunday Times of London and wrote a favorable review. Later that year an expanded version was produced at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

An album followed in 1969 and, though it got favorable reviews, it was not a commercial success. Webber and Rice were signed, however, to a contract that allowed them to continue their collaboration. This resulted in Jesus Christ Superstar, which swept the pop world in 1970.

Following the success of Superstar, Frank Dunlop directed a version of Joseph for the Young Vic that appeared at Edinburgh Festival in 1972. It was paired with another short piece known as Jacob’s Journey, which was later dropped as Joseph. In 1982, an expanded Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor appeared on Broadway and numerous productions and tours have followed.