Eagan Community Theatre Debuts Summer Production

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has debuted to audiences in Eagan.

Eagan Community Theatre on Friday began its annual summer production, and this year they’re putting on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  

The play features more than 300 costumes, cast more than 80 children, and also allows many adults with ties to Eagan get involved in community theater, said Denny Swanson, director of the show.

“We’re doing productions by the community and for the community,” he said. “They are very family-friendly.”

Eagan Community Theatre has done a show in Eagan every summer since 1990, and musicals are always popular, Swanson said. They often sell to mostly-full houses, and the auditorium at Eagan High School where it is shown seats 681, he said.

“That’s a lot of people,” he said.

Swanson, a retired Eagan High School theater and speech teacher, credits much entertainment value to choreographer Carol Meyer. Meyer was one of his students when he used to teach in Apple Valley.

Other former students come together each summer for the production, some of them back from college, Swanson said. This year, Joseph is played by Eagan High School graduate Jordan Oxborough, and two narrators are also local graduates. They are Kate Kidwell, an Eastview High School grad, and Sarah Shervey, a Rosemount High School graduate.

“We pound it together in short order,” he said. “When we have the experience level we have, it makes your job a lot easier and a lot more fun.”

The show runs through July 30. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on July 20-23 and July 27-30; daytime showings are at 2 p.m. on July 17, 23, 24 and 30.

The play is at the Eagan High School auditorium, 4185 Braddock Trail in Eagan. To buy tickets, contact the office Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 651-683-6964. They can also be purchased up to an hour before show time, Swanson said.