MUSICAL

FT. NICOLE KIDMAN/PENELOPE CRUZ/STACY (FERGIE) FERGUSON

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat completed the transition from cantata for schoolkids to big-budget glitzfest with Steven Pimlott's 1991 London revival. Here's the 1992 Canadian version of that show, and even if it's not an ideal recording--Janet Metz as the narrator is no match for Laurie Beechman in the original Broadway cast and there's a little too much synthesizer in the orchestrations--this CD is valuable for the performance of former teen pop idol Donny Osmond as the title character. He's in excellent voice, and was so right for the role that he was selected to preserve it for the 2000 video production. And of course the songs are still here, showcasing Rice's witty lyrics and Lloyd Webber's chameleon tendencies--dabbling in country, calypso, French cafés, and a King-like pharaoh--as well as favorites "Any Dream Will Do," "Close Every Door," and "Go, Go, Go Joseph." This production also includes the "Joseph Remix" (also known as the "Joseph Megamix"), a nine-minute medley of themes arranged with a heavy beat that was used for a kind of onstage aerobics routine as the show's postscript. --David Horiuchi