Casting for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Syd Curtin
Empty auditorium soon to be filled with rehearsing cast members.
The time of the year has come for Orchard Park’s musically talented students to show off their skills. Casting for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the 2021-2022 OPHS musical, has been decided. The lead role of Joseph was given to Orchard Park senior Ayden Herreid. Herried is now a six-show senior and his talent is evident.
“He’s a strong actor, strong singer, audible on stage, and I know if I asked him to do something, he’s going to do it,” said musical director, Maria Szczepanik, when asked why Herreid was chosen for the role.
The role of one of Jacob’s eleven brothers was given to A.J. Beck, an Orchard Park sophomore. “Everyone in the cast is always so accepting of who we are . . . it’s my home away from home and my second family,” said Beck after being asked why he auditioned this year.
Earlier in the school year, Beck played a major role in the school’s drama production. “He had one scene in the entire show and basically stole the show,” said Szczepanik referring to the reason Beck was cast.
Unlike many shows in the past, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has a limited number of characters. For example, the narrator, one of the few female lead roles, will be shared by Moira Reine-Blood, Emily Bednarek, and Sofia Baker.
“We have three women playing those parts,” said Sczepanik after explaining that the roles in the musical would be split up between cast members.
“This year was really interesting because there were two new age groups, which made it more difficult,” said Herreid. A lot of people auditioned, but there weren’t that many roles that needed to be filled.
Significant thought goes into casting the school’s musicals and tremendous amounts of effort and hard work will be put in when practices start in December, but the premiere of the show is not happening until March.
For those unfamiliar with the production, Joseph, favorite son of Jacob, is betrayed by his brother and sent to Egypt, where he works for an important business man. However, he later makes a mistake and is sent to jail. While in jail, he dreams of the future. When the pharaoh finds out about Joseph’s dreams, he bails Joseph out of jail and allows him to be his assistant. Joseph goes from the bottom of society, being a slave, to the very top of society, helping the pharaoh solve the kingdom’s problems.
