TRAVERSE CITY -- A church children's choir will perform the popular musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" during two services Sunday.
The Central United Methodist Church Choristers, made up of boys and girls in third through sixth grades, takes on the Andrew Lloyd Webber show at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday at the Traverse City church. The children's choir performs a different musical each year, said Director of Music Jeff Cobb.
"It is a big hit and attendance is usually high on those Sundays because everybody loves to see the kids. We've got some fantastically talented kids in our congregation, so it's always a high point for them," Cobb said.
The roughly 20-member choir includes Cobb's son Elijah, 10, as Joseph and Tuuli Qin-Terrill and Cassidy Merten as narrators.
The show was originally conceived for a children's choir so it works well for the young singers, Cobb said. It tells the Biblical story of Joseph, a son of Jacob with a skill for interpreting dreams. The choir began rehearsals for the fully staged and choreographed show in December. A full band will provide accompaniment.
The church's annual productions are the first experience performing in front of an audience for many of the youngsters, although some are regular participants in the local children's theater company. In previous years, the church staged musicals about Jonah and David and Goliath.
Quite a few of the choir members were already familiar with music from "Joseph," Cobb said.
"It's just such a fun musical. It's got great music," he said.
Elijah, who has been busy memorizing songs for his first performance in a lead role, agrees.
"It's been very fun and exciting," said the fifth-grader. "Everybody's loving it."
The performance is free and open to the public. Central United Methodist Church is located at 222 Cass St.
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