The London productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Be More Chill have both canceled performances due to a single member of each production testing positive for the coronavirus.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph…, which began previews July 12, has suspended performances up to and including August 15. Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz's Be More Chill, which kicked off a 10-week run at the Shaftesbury Theatre June 30, has canceled performances up to and including August 18. Both are currently scheduled through September 5.
Another London musical, The Prince of Egypt—based on the animated film of the same name—previously suspended performances, also due to COVID-19. That production again canceled performances—now through August 11 at the Dominion—in order to "mitigate against further interruptions due to Government Track & Trace legislation."
The cast of Joseph… is led by Alexandra Burke (The Bodyguard) as The Narrator with Jason Donovan (who played Joseph in the original Palladium production in the 1990s) as the Pharaoh and Olivier nominee Jac Yarrow reprising his work in the title role. Linzi Hateley, who was Olivier-nominated for her performance as the Narrator in the original London Palladium production, plays select performances in that part.
Laurence Connor directs the musical, which originally ran in 2019 and was slated to return in 2020 prior to the pandemic. The production also features choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, with set and costume design by Morgan Large, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, and sound design by Gareth Owen.
Be More Chill opened in the U.K. in February 2020, just before the pandemic forced the closure of theatres. It returned with its full original London cast: Scott Folan as Jeremy Heere, Blake Patrick Anderson as Michael Mell, Miracle Chance as Christine Canigula, and Stewart Clarke as The Squip, along with Eloise Davies, Christopher Fry, James Hameed, Gabriel Hinchliffe, Renée Lamb, Eve Norris, Millie O’Connell, and Miles Paloma.
The original Broadway creative team also returned to create the London production under the helm of director Stephen Brackett. Chase Brock choreographs, with set design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley, lighting design by Tyler Micoleau, sound design by Ryan Rumery, and projection design by Alex Basco Koch.
A statement from the producers of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. pic.twitter.com/SKDFHTi6iC
— Joseph the Musical (@JosephMusical) August 10, 2021
