Jason Donovan returning to West End to star in Joseph – 28 years after debut

Jason Donovan is returning to the West End stage to star in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – 28 years after he first wowed in the lead role.

The Aussie singer and actor was already a household name thanks to Neighbours when he landed the part in 1991 but it catapulted his fame even further when he enjoyed a sold-out 18-month run and had a number one hit with Any Dream Will Do from the musical.

This time he will be back on the London Palladium where he starred before, but is taking on the role of Pharoah.

Sheridan Smith has also be signed up as The Narrator in the musical and it is thought a new up and coming actor will take the lead role of Jospeh.

Jason told the Mirror: “You never know the measure of a moment until it becomes a memory, and what a moment that was for me.

"Joseph was a ground breaker in 1991, and what a blast it will be to be back on the prestigious Palladium stage and be part of it all again with a brand new cast in this re-imagined 2019 production.

"I’m looking forward to breathing new life into Pharoah and I’m so relieved he doesn’t wear a loin cloth!”

Told entirely through song with the help of the Narrator, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the story of Jacob’s favourite son Joseph and his eleven brothers.

After being sold into slavery by the brothers, he ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, but ends up in jail after refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife.

While imprisoned, Joseph discovers his ability to interpret dreams, and he soon finds himself in front of the mighty but troubled showman, the Pharaoh. As Joseph strives to resolve Egypt’s famine, he becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and eventually reunites with his family.

Released as a concept album in 1969, the stage version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has become one of the world’s most beloved family musicals.

The multi-award-winning show, which began life as a small-scale school concert, has been performed hundreds of thousands of times including multiple runs in the West End and on Broadway, international number one tours, and productions in over 80 countries as far afield as Austria and Zimbabwe and from Israel to Peru.

The show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door To Me, Jacob and Sons, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go Go Go Joseph.

• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will play a strictly limited 11-week season from Thursday 27 June at the London Palladium

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