Do you remember the first musical you ever saw? I do. Vividly. It was 1993 and my parents took my sister and I to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond (ok, technically we saw his understudy, but to be honest I think my mom was a lot more excited about Donny Osmond than I was). The point is, that day 30 years ago sparked a love of musical theater that I’ve carried with me my whole life. And I know I’m not the only one who had that experience.

If you’re not familiar with the story of Joseph and his fancy coat, let’s start there. This story is actually taken from the Bible (what Jewish people call the Torah and what Christians refer to as the Old Testament), an idea likely sparked by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s previous success with Jesus Christ, Superstar. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tells the story of a young man named Joseph who lived in ancient Canaan with his father Jacob and his eleven brothers. It chronicles his unlikely rise to prominence thanks to his uncanny ability to interpret dreams; something he actually predicted in his dreams during his youth. The story of Joseph and his brothers has been told for thousands of years - and the musical itself has been around since the 1970s - but somehow this story remains timeless.