How I Met Your Mother and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Who knew that a musical based on a Bible story would produce a recipe for romance?
I love the Biblical story of Joseph. Found in Genesis chapters 37-50, its plot is as authentic and stirring as anything by John Steinbeck, and more intense and riveting than the best Stephen King novel, except that this particular story is ancient history. (You can’t make this stuff up.) It’s an example of how God can turn tragedy and adversity into blessing and success. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, his master’s wife falsely accused him of attempted rape and he was thrown into prison for several years. Through a series of miraculous dream interpretations he caught the attention of Pharaoh, who made him administrator over Egypt, ensuring that everyone in his known world didn’t starve to death. For centuries this dramatic account has been giving people hope, even becoming the subject of an Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice musical on Broadway. As I write this I have a little smile on my face, having just read the Genesis account of Joseph and his “amazing Technicolor dreamcoat” again this morning.
I smile because the story of Joseph also makes me think of something else: how I met the mother of my children, and how it led to my falling in love with her.
I got to know Barbara during a production of another Joseph musical titled “Dreamer: What Really Happened to Joseph.” Back in the early 80s she and I were part of a group of young people that performed it at our church in Seattle. Most of the dialogue was in a light-hearted “Dr. Suess-style” rap. Here’s an example, as Joseph gloats over his father’s gift—a coat of many colors.
“Take a look at the jacket, I’m the rainbow kid!
‘You shouldn’t have, Dad, but I’m glad you did,’
Papa loves ME more than the others;
I can hardly wait to show it to my ten big brothers!”
Over the course of a few months our musical troupe had regular rehearsals and gave multiple performances—plenty of time to become friends with one another.
In truth, when rehearsals started I was dating one of the female leads in the show (not Barb) and Barb had begun spending time with another cast member who played one of Joseph’s older brothers. He got to rap some great lines, especially when the brothers conspired to trick their father into believing Joseph had been killed by wild animals:
“Let’s rip and roll his coat in mud
And splatter it with a little goat’s blood.
We’ll say to Dad, ‘We’ve got a hunch
That little Joe was lion lunch.’”
As the weeks went by and rehearsals progressed, my romance with the female vocalist faded. At the same time, the connection between Barb and “Joseph’s brother” never took off. Soon, the two of us were free agents.
I wish I could say there was an immediate spark between us, but no. Even so, spending hours together led to an increased appreciation and respect for one another, and mutual interest began to germinate, though initially there was little thought of dating. Besides, both of us worked full-time jobs, and much of our spare time was filled with learning choreography and memorizing lyrics like these:
“Down, down, down to Egypt,
Down, down, down,
Down, down, down,
We’re pyramid bound.
And then I think we’ll see the Sphinx,
We’ll stop at Tut’s for food and drinks.”
In fact, it wasn’t until well after the last performance of the musical that Barb and I made an effort to get together again. When we did, we continued to share our mutual enjoyment of the arts by attending plays and concerts together. When Barb became our church’s children’s choir director I served as her stagehand, watching her encourage, cajole and herd dozens of kindergartners and first graders through the frolicsome songs of countless kids musicals.
Our wedding was a musical production in itself, featuring no less than four vocal numbers, including an original one we sang to each other on tape (which sounds better in theory than it was in practice). Now, after 36-and-a-half years of marriage, we still enjoy music and theatre. In fact, we’ll be headed to New York soon, holding tickets to The Music Man revival on Broadway with Hugh Jackman in the starring role. We’re fans of both professional and amateur stage productions, and although we’ve seen it twice, we’re always on the lookout for a good performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
I was encouraged to see that after lying dormant for years, our old Dreamer musical has recently been revived and updated by a theatre group in the Philippines. Perhaps this new version will eventually spread back to this country, but for now, it’s pretty rare to find a staging of it. What will never go dormant are our memories of how the story of Joseph brought Barb and me together. It’s a powerful story—one of bitterness and betrayal, family feuds and favoritism, forgiveness and redemption, unwavering trust and honor (Joseph’s story, not ours). For us, it’s a story of friendship, mutual admiration, fun, romance, and ultimately, commitment.
Great story. Maybe I’ll go read it again. I’m already smiling.
© Nick Walker 2022
