Korean church presents musical take on Joseph

You haven't seen "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" until you've seen it in Korean.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Lord Jesus Korean Church tonight presents "Joseph The Dreamer," a Korean adaptation of the slightly psychedelic British musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

First presented in 1968 as a pop cantata in London, the production is based on the biblical story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis. It was later adapted as a musical film starring Donny Osmond.

For the 400-member Presbyterian church in Chesterfield County, the story is particularly relevant.

"Joseph was an immigrant, and this is a story of the immigrant having dreams and faith in God," said John Park, the production's director and a pastor at the church. "The purpose of this musical is to give hope and dreams and faith to us Koreans as immigrants. As immigrants, we're trying to have the same dreams and the same faith in God."

Park, 26, chose "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" because he had previously been a part of the production as a child in his native South Korea.

The musical tells the story of young Joseph, a dreamer from Canaan who is favored by his father. While his brothers wear sheepskin, Joseph sports a rainbow-colored coat from his father. Joseph's jealous brothers abduct him, destroy his coat and sell him into slavery.

As a slave in Egypt, he serves a stint in prison but uses his dream-reading skills to earn a post with the pharaoh. Years later, when famine strikes, Joseph's brothers come seeking food, not realizing they're begging to their brother. Joseph toys with them at first but takes mercy and reunites with his family.

The performance, which will be translated into English on two screens, will feature a cast of about 30 with the support of the church's choir and children.

"The unique thing about this is that it's the first event where all departments of the church are involved, from kids to adults," Park said.

Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or .