Any dream will do

"I closed my eyes, drew
back the curtain
To see for certain what I
thought I knew
Far far away, someone was
weeping
But the world was
sleeping
Any dream will do."

These are some of the most famous lines from the wonderful world of musicals. No doubt most of us have either sung this in the shower or hummed it in a reflective mood, at some point in our lives. Now you've got the chance to tap your feet to this tune along with a whole lot of other brilliant numbers, accompanied by some skilful dancing, performed in vibrant and creative costumes.

All you've got to do is make sure that you're at this promising musical coming soon to Colombo. It will be staged from October 29-31 at the Lionel Wendt, at 7 p.m. (contrary to the posters which say 6.30 pm). An amateur production by arrangements with The Really Useful Group Ltd, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, sees the students of Asian International School (AIS), hard at practice, rehearsing to put on a good show.

"AIS is renouned for performing some very impressive school productions, and this is the first big show after Anna and the King (2004), which came after Aladdin, both which were highly successful," says Samantha Abeywira de Soysa, the visiting consultant for drama at AIS, and the director for the performance. She is also the director of the Yolande School of Speech and Drama. The production of the show will be assisted by Khulsum Edirisinghe and Nafeesa Amiruddeen.

With its scintillating lyrics, the music direction of the production will be handled by Peshali Yapa and Ruwanthi Yatagama who have trained the school choir for the choral inputs. The choreography will be handled by Kapila Palihawardena, while the sound tracks are by Kalasuri Dilip Gabadamudalige. All of the costumes for the show will be done by Jojo, with the dancers' costumes being done by Niloufer Ratnavibooshana.

According to Samantha the production is dominated by a senior and intermediate choir, with singing capabilities being given prominence, along with prowess in acting and dancing as well. "We are all having great fun putting the production together. It's a huge commitment, but everybody comes off with a light heart, thanks to the beautiful music by Andrew Lloyd Webber."

Over 125 students are taking part in the production, with the juniors ranging from about 8-12 years, and the seniors from about 13-19, including a few school leavers making up the cast.

The leads are played by Quraish Fazleabas, and Viran Salgado – both playing Joseph, Shehan Dias and Rahul Edirisinghe – both playing the Pharaoh and Amali Fernando and Minoli Weerasinghe – playing the narrators. Other leads are played by Anuradha Saparamadu, Yharen Tissera and Jonathan Labroy.

"The kids are very talented and they have gone from a group of harem-scarem teenagers to a disciplined cast. We're getting lots of good vibes from them and they're coming up with their own ideas all the time. There's very little we have to do, other than some fine tuning. For a director who is reputed to be someone who can't sing, this is quite a challenge I must say! But with the likes of Peshali and Ruwanthi taking care of things in the music department, everything is sorted," she said laughing.

According to Nafeesa Amiruddeen, since the music was already handled, what Khulsum and she had to do was to help Samantha transform it from a musical presentation to a production. "There's lots of stylised dancing coming in, some classical and some modern.

By getting the younger kids also involved in the production, we are aiming at giving them some early acting exposure. Being a school effort, it's a perfect opportunity to get a feel of being a part of a production." Working fulltime with AIS, teaching singing for the last eight years, for Ruwanthi Yatagama training the kids has been a fun experience, but challenging and a bit tiring also.

"And sometimes the kids are tired as well after school, but they're really into the production and now everyone's getting a bit tense, since the show is nearing! As a teacher I've learned a lot as well and along with Peshali, it's been made easier because everyone pitches in."

So for all those lovers of good, solid musicals, this production is a must see.

The box plan is currently open at AIS and will be open at the Lionel Wendt from October 26 onwards.