By Kidron Jones and Hayden McCoy

Our Story

Walking in the bright lights of Asbury's University Miller building. A stage littered with tape and boxes to help set the scene is awaiting. The stage has been set for a rehearsal for a new production that will bring the spirit of God to campus. As the fellow actors walk into the space life has been brought onto the stage. Once the actors begin to say their first words on stage not only does rehearsal begin but so does their journey at becoming beacons of light. This is the average rehearsal for the actors in the upcoming show of “Jospeh and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”.  

Joseph is directed by Bek Askey, a senior at Asbury, and is about the story of Joseph found in Genesis retold in a modern setting. 

This musical is a senior project for Askey, a final coalition of her theater experience at the university and all that she has learned. Giving her the opportunity to apply all she has learned to this final big project which for theater majors is a big deal. 

A campus wide audition was held to find the best actors on the university campus for the show. While it was very much pushed to theater majors, it was open to all of the university’s students. 

With this being a student lead production with a limited budget, as well as the cast of the show being relatively small as well, the cast for this show is not as big as one would think when discussing a musical theater production. Thankfully, the cast has some powerhouse actors and singers. 

Luke DeMena will star as the character Jospeh, while Luke Ulmer will star as Jacob, and Jazmyn Lorentzen as the Pharoh. 

“Joeseph he’s a bit of a dreamer, I think that is his whole vibe he gets a lot of dreams. He has all these ideas about success and possibilities in the future and I think I kind of relate to that.” Said DeMena, Asbury Sophomore.  

“The way I view this character is that he wants everybody to kind of get along,’ Said Ulmer, Asbury sophomore, “He is the father of these 12 sons and so which means he seems to be older then everyone else in that way and while I’m not older than everyone else I’ve been told by everyone around me that I have an old soul and so that helps.” 

The story follows Joseph as he is given a technicolor coat by his father to the dismay of the rest of his sons. So, in a desperate act they do terrible things to Joseph which set off a chain of events which change Joseph’s life forever. 

For these actors a production like this becomes life for them. They have multiple rehearsals a week to put on the best performance they can for the students of Asbury often sacrificing a lot of time and energy several nights in a row until it’s just right.  

This, however, comes with its own set of challenges with their director, Askey, being a fellow student as well as most of these actors’ good friend. Most of them know her story previous to getting their roles.  It is a challenge however that these actors are willing to take on. 

“We’re doing the show in the round which means there is audience on all four sides of the stage and that’s a humongous challenge cause it’s honestly really special that I get to be in the same cast with Bek as my director.” Said Lorentzen. 

The show will start on April 10 and will have showings on the 11, 17, and 18 in The Greathouse Theater in Asbury’s Miller Building.