My mother-in-law came by around 11:30 on the morning of August 28, 1999, to watch my 22-month-old daughter while my husband and I were gone for the performance of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" which was taking place that afternoon at 2 p.m. Dan (my husband) and I made it to the Seattle Center around 12:30. Since there was still over an hour until showtime, we made a stop at Disc-Go-Round (there's one just a few blocks away from the Seattle Center). We sold them a few CDs, and we bought two from them.

After Disc-Go-Round, we went to the Seattle Center House and grabbed a quick bite to eat (a big chicken quesadilla) and something to drink. Then, we went to the Seattle Opera House (which is located at the Seattle Center, which is why we were there). While we waited to be let in, Dan and I each grabbed a program. The first entry in the "WHO'S WHO" section was Deborah's, and this is what it read:

"DEBORAH GIBSON (Narrator) Deborah's love of music began at the tender age of four, at which time she began studying classical piano. One year later she composed her first song, and by the age of eight she was sharing the stage with Placido Domingo at the Metropolitan Opera. Six years of professional theatre followed. At this time, Ms. Gibson shifted her focus to songwriting and producing. By "sweet sixteen," Deborah landed a deal with Atlantic Records, and a string of multi-platinum albums followed. The hit single "Foolish Beat" brought Deborah the distinguished honor of being the youngest artist in history to write, produce, and perform a number-one song. Sixteen million albums and three world tours later, Deborah returned to the stage with her Broadway debut, as Eponine in Les Miserables. The next six years would bring six major roles, including Sandy in the West End revival of Grease, Rizzo stateside, Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, Belle in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast, the title role of Gypsy at Paper Mill Playhouse, and now the Narrator in Joseph. The year two thousand brings a new Norman Lear sitcom and an original musical, Skirts, as well as a new CD. Dare to dream... they come true."

Also in the "WHO'S WHO" is a listing for Papermill Playhouse (one of the Co-Producers) of Joseph. An interesting little bit that appeared in it: "Gypsy starring Betty Buckley and Deborah Gibson was touted as the theatrical event of the 1998 Broadway theatre season..."

When Dan and I were finally able to take our seats, we discovered that our seats were in the sixth row. Not only were we that close up to the stage (we were basically at the same level as the stage), but our seats were dead center (we had a straight-on view of the production from our seats). That was awesome!

Deborah's role as the Narrator is actually a fairly large role (the second largest next to Joseph). Out of the 32 sung pieces (the first piece was the Overture performed by the orchestra) that appeared in the production, Deborah sang on about 18 of the numbers.

Joseph was played by Patrick Cassidy (a relative of David Cassidy). The Osmonds 2nd Generation appeared (four of them as Joseph's brothers, the other two (ages 8 and 10) were in the Children's Chorus). The remainder of the children in the Children's Chorus came from the Issaquah Summerstock Choir (from Issaquah, Washington). Patrick Cassidy's wife, Melissa Hurley Cassidy, was Mrs. Potiphar.

The production itself was VERY GOOD. Patrick Cassidy did a great job as Joseph (he has a great voice!), and Deborah gave 110% out on the stage as the Narrator. In fact, I thought the entire cast did a fantastic job. The premise of the production, obviously, is the story of Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors. However, liberties were taken with it (like the Pharoah being an Elvis impersonator, the female ensemble dressed up like cheerleaders in the final number of the First Act, plus a couple other things). But the production was very enjoyable. Deborah had quite a rapport with the Children's Choir; you could just tell that she likes being around kids. Also, if anyone has any doubts as to whether or not she really wants to do theatre, all they need to do is see her on stage; she just had this gleam in her eye and you could just feel the enthusiasm emanating from her. At the end of the show, Patrick Cassidy came out on stage with his two young sons, and was wearing a Seattle Mariners shirt. He carried a Seattle Mariners hat in his hand, which he handed to Deb. She put it on her head, but one of the two younger Osmond brothers snatched it off her head and put it on his own.

During the intermission, Dan asked where the stage door was. So, after the production was over (the audience gave a standing ovation), we went over to the stage door. While waiting for Deborah, we met Sai Wong from the "Anything Is Possible" mailing list. The crowd grew a little more, and shortly, Deborah stepped outside to meet with the crowd; another woman with short brown hair came out with her (I think it was Heather, her personal assistant, but I don't know for sure). It was interesting seeing Deborah in person... she's actually shorter than I thought she was! In the heels she was wearing, she was only slightly taller than I am (and I'm not exactly the tallest person in the world!). There has been some concern over Deborah's weight on the "Anything Is Possible" mailing list; however, when I saw her, I thought she looked fine. Yes, she's thin, but not dangerously so.

Deborah signed autographs and took pictures. I took the snap-pack for my Japanese 3" CD single of "Without You" with me, and had her sign the inside of it. She signed, "Lesley, Glad we met! Deborah Gibson" Deborah's assistant took our camera (Dan had it in his inside jacket pocket), and Dan and I stood on either side of Deborah and had our picture taken. Dan also took a picture of me and Deborah when she was signing the snap-pack. Dan also took a picture of a little boy (who I think at most was only about 5 years old) having his program autographed by Deborah. This was kind of funny... the mother handed the program to Deborah, and Deb knelt down to the boy's level and asked him his name. He said his name was Aaron, and Deb started to sign the program. The little boy tried to take the program away before she was done, and she gently explained to him that she was going to write his name, write a little message, and sign her name. He said something like, "OK," and she finished signing the program. But Deborah is defintiely a really nice person, and you can tell that she likes interacting with the fans.

During the meet and greet, Sai asked her about the "Maggie Bloom" sitcom. Deborah mentioned that she was going to be going to L.A. on Monday (August 30) to meet with the new head writer for the show.

A funny side note: For dinner, Dan and I stopped at a Taco Bell. While we were there, Deb's song, "Lost In Your Eyes" played. :) I thought the coincidence was just too funny... :)