Long before “Cats,” “Evita,” or “The Phantom of the Opera,” a young British writer struck theatrical gold with a musical about a dreamer in a colorful coat.
What began as a modest 15-minute cantata written for a London school in 1968 steadily grew into a full-length phenomenon, launching the remarkable partnership of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and setting the stage for one of musical theater’s most successful collaborations.
That irresistible early hit comes to life when “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” comes to Long Beach from July 10 through July 26 at Musical Theatre West, bringing its infectious energy, larger-than-life storytelling, and nonstop parade of musical styles to Southern California.
Loosely based on the biblical story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis, the musical follows the favored son whose prophetic dreams earn the jealousy of his eleven brothers.
Brian Justin Crum as Joseph in Musical Theatre West’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” on show through July 26, 2026. (Photo courtesy of MTW).
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Brian Justin Crum as Joseph in Musical Theatre West’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” on show through July 26, 2026. (Photo courtesy of MTW).
Sold into slavery and seemingly abandoned, Joseph’s unwavering faith in his dreams ultimately leads him from prison to the palace, where his gift for interpreting dreams changes the course of a nation.
But biblical drama is only part of the appeal. “Joseph” is one of musical theatre’s most gleefully over-the-top shows, embracing a playful, almost camp, sensibility from beginning to end.
Rice and Lloyd Webber pack the score with stylistic pastiches — pop, rock, country, calypso, French ballads, Elvis-inspired rock ‘n’ roll — creating a musical revue disguised as a Bible story.
The show is also famous for featuring two of musical theater’s biggest marathon performances.
Joseph (played by Brian Justin Crum) is onstage for much of the show, requiring a charismatic leading performer with both vocal stamina and emotional warmth. Equally demanding is the Narrator (played by Daebreon Poiema), who serves as storyteller and driving force, carrying the audience through nearly every scene with a powerhouse vocal performance.
Be sure to grab your tickets soon, as this one is sure to be popular. Visit musical.org for tickets and showtimes.
LBSC
Few comedies have aged as gracefully as Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
Long Beach Shakespeare Company embraces that timelessness with a new production opening July 10, blending the play’s 1880s Victorian setting with the colorful aesthetics of the 1980s New Romantics movement to create a playful collision of two eras known for their extravagance and flair.
The story follows the charmingly deceptive Jack and Algernon, who invent alternate identities to escape the burdens of respectable society — only to find themselves tangled in romance, family revelations and increasingly absurd complications.
Beneath its sparkling dialogue and outrageous humor lies Wilde’s sharp critique of social conventions, class expectations, and the performative nature of identity.
It’s a fitting production for a company dedicated to Shakespeare, especially considering Wilde’s famously complicated relationship with England’s greatest playwright. Wilde often dismissed Shakespeare’s near-sacred reputation with characteristic irreverence, poking fun at the Bard’s cultural dominance and criticizing what he saw as excessive reverence for his works.
Yet despite those barbs, Wilde’s own plays share much with Shakespeare’s comedies: mistaken identities, romantic misunderstandings, memorable wordplay and an abiding belief that human folly makes for an excellent evening of theater.
Long Beach Shakespeare Company’s production celebrates those connections while offering audiences a fresh visual take on one of the English language’s greatest comedies.
Head to lbshakespeare.org for tickets.
Rod Briggs Gallery
The exhibition “Before & After: Photographic Transformation” opened June 21 at the Long Beach Creative Group’s Rod Briggs Gallery, exploring nearly two centuries of photographic experimentation.
Today, the art of photography is incredibly accessible. With a few taps on a smartphone, anyone can erase backgrounds, remove distractions, or transform an ordinary snapshot into something surreal.
But long before filters and AI-powered editing, photographers were finding inventive, complex ways to manipulate their images by hand.
That rich history is the focus of “Before & After,” which showcases how artists have stretched the medium beyond simple documentation into imaginative works of art.
An image by artist Nick Capito, which will be featured at the Rodd Briggs Gallery’s “Before & After: Photographic Transformation” exhibit. (Courtesy of Nick Capito/Rodd Briggs Gallery).
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An image by artist Nick Capito, which will be featured at the Rodd Briggs Gallery’s “Before & After: Photographic Transformation” exhibit. (Courtesy of Nick Capito/Rodd Briggs Gallery).
The show traces photographic manipulation from the earliest days of the medium, when artists retouched prints with ink, combined multiple exposures, airbrushed negatives, and physically cut and reassembled images to create entirely new compositions.
As technology evolved — from groundbreaking digital image processing at Bell Labs and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1960s to the editing apps now available on virtually every smartphone — the tools changed, but the creative impulse remained the same.
The featured artists include Samuel Brantley, Richard Burritt, Nick Capito, Dennis Doran, Roderick Hamby, Louise Ivers, Hannah Justesen, Michol Loefler, John Montich, Scout, Jessica Seville, Martha Spelman, Pia Williams, Maureen Vastardis, Lauren Zack, and Sarah Zhang.
Each offers their own interpretation of what happens when photography moves beyond capturing reality and begins reshaping it.
The exhibition runs through July 25. The gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., but visitors can also take part in a pair of special events that expand on the show’s themes.
On July 12, the gallery will host a free, all-ages Photo Alteration Workshop, where participants can experiment with cutting, coloring, drawing, and collage techniques to transform their own photographs.
Then, on July 17, the art gallery will transform into a cinema for a photography-themed double feature. The evening begins with “Masters of Photography – Edward Steichen,” a documentary celebrating one of the twentieth century’s most influential photographers, whose work ranged from fashion and portraiture to wartime photography.
After the screening, attendees will be treated to “National Geographic: The Photographers,” which offers a behind-the-scenes look at the artists who have documented wildlife, landscapes, and cultures around the globe.
For details, go to longbeachcreativegroup.org.