STAGE REVIEW: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - at the Festival Theatre, Malvern, from Tuesday, March 21 to Saturday, March 25, 2017.

NOT just a dash, but a wonderfully huge dollop of schmaltz enables this legend that is Joseph, along with his coat of many colours, to continue sending legions of fans home with a skip in their step.

The UK’s longest running family musical, now close on four decades old from when it joyously announced itself to the world, the show has lost none of its sparkle and warmth and this latest UK tour simply adds to its already burgeoning reputation.

Raucous cheers, whistles and noisy applause were all a clear signal of how the opening night audience at the Festival enjoyed two hours of a non-stop feast of action while on a whirlwind tour of the planet - from ancient Canaan, to Egypt, America, France and the Caribbean.

Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s music and Tim Rice’s lyrics are still as fresh as when first penned, offerings which easily stand the test of time and still appeal to a wide-range of ages and backgrounds. It’s so easy to vouch for that having first witnessed this show in its infancy in the east of England!

Brash, and bright, it has plenty still going for it with its ‘beaty’ numbers, exciting choreography and endless supply of endearing voices from the likes of Joe McElderry’s Joseph, narrator Lucy Kay and Ben James-Ellis’ Pharoah aka Elvis Presley.

McElderry, a relative show newcomer having won The X Factor Final in 2009, looks and sounds a sure-fire fit for a long and successful career in musical theatre. He earned considerable acclaim last year for one of the best, if not best, debut portrayals of Joseph and this simply rubber-stamped such high approval from the critics - including that respected journal of the theatre, The Stage.

Likewise Lucy Kay, who also made her musical theatre debut as the narrator last year. She’s cut her teeth in a myriad of music colleges, choirs and solo performances - including singing the National Anthem at Wembley before the Community Shield match, and she's another destined for more success down the musical path.

Several hugely popular songs, now part of the nation’s psyche after all these years, are still as enduring and alluring including One More Angel in Heaven, Close Every Door and Any Dream Will Do.

The senses are sent reeling by the non-stop action and the awesome sounds that threaten to overpower. A little more of the voice of Aman Jones, one of the Handmaidens, would have been a further treat, but you can’t have everything as well as the daring dancing of the leggy and lithesome Salli-Beth Lawless (Mrs Potiphar and Handmaiden).

Simple story, music that’s easy to understand and isn’t overstated or lavish, and the enthusiasm and enjoyment of performing from the cast ensure it’s all hugely enjoyable.

You’ll be hard pressed to get a ticket now, but it’s still worth the effort just on the off chance. It would be a shame to miss such an entertaining and uplifting experience.