More than 150 cast members will be part of Bingham High’s fall musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

“We need shows that offer a large ensemble because of the number of kids who want to be part of our shows,” theatre teacher Chris Hults said. “Bingham has a long theatre tradition, and we have, I think, the largest auditorium in the district.”

Co-director Dave Martin will direct “Jospeh,” which Hults said “is a tradition itself, being in the top 10 Utah musicals. There’s a legacy and a heritage with that show.”

He also said Martin “has a real connection to the show. Dave was in the children’s choir (when Donny Osmond performed as Joseph in the late 1990s).” The family-friendly musical, written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, is based on the story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis. 

The show will run at 7 p.m., Nov. 21-23 and again on Nov. 25 on Bingham High’s stage, 2160 W. South Jordan Parkway. For ticket information, look at bingham_theatre_company on Instagram. Music is under the direction of choir teacher Logan Bingham.

The show comes after 35 thespians returned from competing in the 48th annual Utah Shakespeare High School Festival in Cedar City where they performed a “juxtaposition of scenes from ‘Titus Andronicus’ and ‘Macbeth,’” Hults said.

“The theme is, ‘give sorrow words,’” he said. “In each scene, we see a beautiful family homecoming and then a horrific, unbearable trauma. The idea is you get through grief by naming the grief and screaming the words and processing it,” he said.

The quote from “Macbeth,” “Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o’er-fraught heart and bids it break” is commonly interpreted into putting sorrow into words because if it is kept inside, it will break one’s heart.

“We started this last spring with auditions, including our middle school students, and had cast meetings before school got out before summer started,” he said. “One of the reasons that we start so early is we want the kids to get to have a say in what we do. We talked through all the options — the different plays, the different themes, what kind of story — so that when we get to our performance, they’ve built it. I would publish a new script every rehearsal. And we got to version F, after starting with A, B, C and, and now, it’s not recognizable as we kept changing it to tell the story. They really connected with this idea,” Hults said. 

While he said the students chose the relatable theme it also was “partially because it matches the theme of our winter play, which is ‘A Monster Calls,’ and its theme to speak your truth.”

In the play, the main character, teenager Conor, is a victim of school bullying and he distances himself from others, and his mother, likely ill with cancer, worsens as the story goes along. He remains close to the monster and as his mother’s condition worsens, his encounters with the monster have escalating consequences. The storyline is based on the novel by the same title by Patrick Ness.

“A Monster Calls,” directed by Hults, will be performed Feb. 27-March 1, 2025 and again on March 3.

He said many students already are familiar with the story as it’s been required reading for South Jordan Middle School students, but Bingham is the first school in the district to perform it.

“We’re going to be really creative with that show,” Hults said.

In March, the thespians will perform a yet-to-be-announced one-act play for region competition. State is in April.

The final show will be “Tuck Everlasting” May 1-3.

The music based upon the children’s novel by the same name by Natalie Babbitt premiered on Broadway in 2016.

The story’s main character, 10-year-old Winnie, meets Jesse Tuck and learns the magic behind his unending youth and she must face the choice of returning to her strait-laced family and their rules or continue with her friend and his family on their infinite journey.

“Tuck Everlasting” was selected for several reasons, including Martin, who will direct the show, has history performing with it.

Hults also said the musical has “powerful messages and moments in the show,” and is a good fit for this year’s musical theatre class. λ