To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, composer Lloyd Webber, lyricist Rice, and The Musical Company (TMC) teamed up with the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) to grant five in-need schools a free standard rental and royalty license to produce the hit musical.
The winning schools, which would otherwise not have had the resources to produce the musical, had to submit an essay about why they wanted to stage the production. The winning schools are Thomasville High School in Thomasville, Alabama (Thespian Troupe 5073); Middle Park High School in Granby, Colorado (Thespian Troupe 1996); James J. Chittick Elementary School in Boston, Massachusetts; Webster Groves High School in St. Louis, Missouri (Thespian Troupe 191); and Five Palms Elementary in San Antonio, Texas.
Kim Rogers, Vice President of Amateur Licensing at TMC, said in a statement, “We are delighted to partner with EdTA in honoring the 50th anniversary of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. TMC is thrilled by the opportunity to foster theatre education by providing this grant to such extraordinarily deserving schools. I have no doubt that these productions will have a positive impact for years to come.”
Julie Cohen Theobald, Executive Director of EdTA, added, “We are grateful for partners such as The Musical Company whose generosity helps expand access to quality theatre opportunities to more schools and students.”
EdTA is a national nonprofit organization with approximately 125,000 student and professional members that supports and promotes school theatre. EdTA is the home of the International Thespian Society, an honor society for middle and high school theatre students, which has inducted more than 2.3 million members since 1929.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a reimagining of the Biblical story of Joseph, his father Jacob, 11 brothers, and the coat of many colors, told entirely through song with the help of a Narrator.
