Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat/Malvern Theatres

IN the beginning… well, it seems that this fabulous show has been around since Genesis itself.

This stage classic by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber has seen a number of star names playing the part of the favourite son who runs into some serious sibling rivalry problems as a result of his golden boy, goody-two-shoes status.

But none of these notables seem to come even close to the sheer magic that Joe McElderry brings to the leading role. He even puts that famous coat in the shade with his dazzling stage presence, cookie boy band features, and a wide-eyed stare that sets many a female heart a-flutter.

Of course, you can get into trouble for saying such things these days, but the proof was all around on this opening night. You’d better believe it… and I reckon that the first person who finds a way of bottling his allure will become a millionaire overnight.

X Factor winner McElderry actually has a rather old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll face, more Billy Fury than anything. And his voice, too – key number Any Dream Will Do is reprised throughout, which happens to be a smart move because it’s by far the best tune in a production that’s not exactly bursting with memorable ditties.

Narrator Lucy Kay does sterling work driving the storyline along, sharing the numbers with the golden boy, while Ben James-Ellis as the Pharaoh provides ample evidence that he’s the king in more ways than one.

The jealous brothers and the handmaidens meanwhile keep up a stonking pace with the dance routines, which increasingly provide a blaze of colour that earlier on is noticeably lacking.

Sean Cavanagh’s designs loom large, conveying the sheer size of the Egyptian civilisation into which Joseph is flung against his will, but the majority of the production accolades should go to the inimitable Bill Kenwright, the man who definitely has an Old Testament Midas touch as far as this show is concerned.

It runs until Saturday (March 25) and should not be missed.

John Phillpott