BY SCOTT NILES, Courier Staff Writer
July 11, 2008 10:50 am
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OTTUMWA — “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will not have a cowboy in it.
But well known Village People “cowboy” Randy Jones will be featured as the Pharaoh in the Fairfield Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts’ production of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical.
“I’ve never done the role before,” Jones said in an interview with the Courier. “But I’m always up for a new challenge.”
Jones had just returned home from a 107,000-mile tour promoting his latest CD and discovered a message from his casting director.
“Michael Cassara, which is my casting director said I would be perfect for the part,” Jones said. “It’s an over-the-top role and I’m definitely over the top.”
Jones, who has a degree in musical theater and dance, has been in more than 40 musicals, including: “Oklahoma,” “Chicago,” “Oliver” and “The Music Man.”
“I’ve mostly done all classical stuff,” he said. “Even with the Village People, that was an acting role.”
Jones said he prefers to be on stage acting or with a mic in his hand.
His journey will not be Jones’ first visit to Iowa.
As a member of the Village People, he had played a number of shows in state, as well as when he was a member of another dance company.
“Before I was in the Village People I was with the Agnes de Mille Dance Company,” he said. “She was the first one to take dance and add a dramatic plot to it. She was a great inspiration and I give credit to her for a lot of my success.”
Jones said every theatrical and/or musical experience is unique.
“Each time I go somewhere and do a show, it’s like I create a new family,” he said. “You just get very close to everyone.
“Everyone here has gone out of their way. This is definitely a place I would come back to, to do another show.”
“As an actor you have to be willing to just jump right in,” Jones said. “This is the quickest boot camp I’ve ever had to learn a part.”
“The cast has only had two weeks to learn their lines and put the show together,” said Randy West, director of the show and artistic director for the Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts. “That in itself is extraordinary.
“This is also the biggest cast we have ever had,” West said. “Our youngest performer is 9 years old and then we have our interns and some local people, and of course [Jones].”
“The musical tells a wonderful Biblical tale of hopes and dreams and sibling rivalry,” Jones said. “I think it is a wonderful show and with the way [West] has put it together, I think the audience will be in for a real treat.
“When I was in San Francisco I had a guy from a conservatory come and ask me if I could produce a version of the show “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” West said. “I was not familiar with the show then.”
But after he listen to the score and put several weeks into the project, he produced a version that was performed in northern and southern California for five years straight.
“It was a huge success,” West said. “It’s a different version than you have ever seen before. We do a lot of spoofs of different Broadway choreographers and musical styles.”
West said as a tribute to Jones, they have even added a couple Village People songs to the performance.
Scott Niles can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at sjniles@mchsi.com.
BREAKOUT BOX
For your information
• “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” will be on stage at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays now through July 27.
To purchase tickets, contact the box office at (641) 472-2787 or visit www.iowatix.com.
• Visit Randy Jones’ Web site at www.randyjonesworld.com or his Myspace page at www.myspace.com/randyjonesworld.
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Photos
Scott has cutline info.
Photo by Scott