Rating: 
Summary: LOVED IT!
Review: My daughters (6&7) love "Joseph" as do I. The music is great and it's a great way to introduce musical theater to the younger audience. One caution though. Joan Collins' outfit is a little suggestive as is the scene where she begins to take off Josephs clothes. But for little ones, I think its totally over their heads and goes by really fast. I wouldn't let that hold you back from letting them experince this dvd. Donny Osmond is a fabulous Joseph. Our family would love to see him do this on broadway again.
Rating: 
Summary: Imperfect, but still terrific fun!
Review: Donny Osmond, it would seem, was born to play this part. Both vocally and in the acting department, he raises the bar for every other Joseph out there. He captures the character's naivete and simultaneous intelligence pitch-perfect, his dazzling smile embodies the character's undying optimism, and his lovely clear tenor is perfectly suited to the singing role. I personally did like the Narrator quite a lot. She's quite funny, and her voice is very pretty. It's true that she's not belting the high notes very strongly - her vocal stylisms are more operatic than the average Broadway soprano, but I think it makes her interpretation unique and adds a quiet intensity that is normally not found in the role. There are some flaws. For example, I found the Mrs. Potiphar scene unnecessarily graphic. Though Ms. Collins looks gorgeous for her age, and acts the part with irascible charm, her costume is largely a flesh-colored leotard with a few strategic bunches of purple sequins. It looks as though she's nude and wearing pasties. The entire instrumental sequence of that scene, which in the stage version is usually just an over-the-top "seduction" scene, is replaced here with a simulated orgy. I always cover my 6yo's eyes during that part. ;) I also agree with the other reviewers who said that the Baker and the Butler were really lifeless and sang terribly, and Jacob was expressionless throughout. His version of "distraught grief" was to stand there slightly slack jawed. Really pretty boring. But these will not deter anyone from thoroughly enjoying this video again and again, and there are many aspects of the production that will forever set the standard. The eleven brothers were priceless, and all had very good chemistry with each other, the Narrator and Joseph. They also all clearly had incredible voices. The costumes were spectacular and colorful, the musical arrangement is the best I've ever heard in this show, and the pacing is compelling and consistent. The Pharaoh slays me every time - his comedic timing and appropriately overdramatic expressions coupled with his gorgeous baritone are just sublime perfection for the role. And Donny will make you grin right back at him. In short, it's a very, very strong production that surpasses every stage version I've ever seen, and it is extremely faithful to the spirit of Webber's vision.
Rating: 
Summary: Great visually, severely lacking musically
Review: If I could somehow take my CD of Joseph and line it up with this video, I would love this video. Joseph is excellent, but everyone else is only so-so. Scratch that. Everyone else is pretty bad. Visually, this was fun to watch. There's one good part in "Joseph's Coat" where the brothers (I think it's the brothers...) grab the bottom of the coat and twirl it around so the bottom half forms a color wheel of sorts. The kids running up on stage is creative, but a bit cheesy. The sets are fantastic, but clearly are designed to keep the movie grounded in its Broadway musical roots. Also, it's difficult to explain in text, but the kids in the audience look dispairingly cheesy. They have these fake smiles plastered on their faces and generally look dumb. It would not surprise me to find that the kids choir was originally from a Broadway cast and thus accustomed to overaccentuating any sort of movement. The Narrator is really not very good. I can't explain why, but it just doesn't work. Potiphar is fairly good, but he spends so much time speaking his lines instead of singing them that you hear very little of what sounded to be an excellent voice. Jacob is weak. Even if the character is an old man, the part deserves to be a fairly strong singer. The first "Poor, Poor Joseph" (when he was tossed into the pit) was visually very amusing. Very funny, but the Narrator singing it was still not great. Donny Osmond is really the only character that seems to grasp that the movie should be presented as a movie, not an overly articulated and video-taped Broadway musical. (Please understand that I'm mentally playing through the video as I write this) "Go, Go, Go Joseph" was presented as an interesting disco party. I'm not sure of the original intentions, but that scene was enjoyable. The Butler and the Baker however were again let-downs. The French accents in "Those Canaan Days," although affected by all of the brothers and Jacob, were not very good. There was a lot of non-French accent creeping in. This video is no substitute for seeing it live. I've seen it live twice by both a touring company and a local theater and both were far superior to this video. If you want to listen to the music, I suggest the 1992 Canadian Cast Recording, which also contains Donny Osmond as Joseph.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Joseph All the time
Review: I have to agree with other users in saying that Donny does portray a great Joseph. However I've never heard a weaker performance by a narrator. For a true treat to the ears check out the cast recording starring Michael Damian and Kelli Rabke. Kelli puts out the best performance as the narrator in this recording that i've ever heard. I've watched the video, listened to many of the cast recordings and seen the show live countless times and none of the performances stand out in my mind as beautifully as Rabke's and Osmand's. What a treat it would be to see and hear the two of them together instead of the weak performance of the narrator in this video. I have to give the video five stars for creativity though. Recording the show as a performance to a grade school was a great way to easilly incorperate the children's chorus without them looking out of place or loosing screen time in the shadows of the stars.
Overall the video is well worth seeing especially as a precurrser to seeing the live show.
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