Wednesday's Internet Edition, December 03, 2008.
|
| Jonathan Owens of Copperas Cove was cast as Joseph in a recent Temple Civic Theatre production. Although Owens plans to become a doctor, he would gladly perform professionally if the opportunity arose. – Photo by KRISTAN HALL |
News editor - Copperas Cove resident Jonathan Owens, 20, portrayed Joseph in Temple Civic Theatre’s recent production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Owens, a Biology major and music minor at Temple College, was at chorale practice when tryouts for Joseph were announced. Owens said that he had always felt if he did a musical, it would be one based on the Bible. That and the fact that tryouts would garner him an excused absence from class sent him to try for the lead role of Joseph, a young man sold into slavery by his brothers.
Kirk Lammert, TCT production chair and sound technician, said that Owens was phenomenal as Joseph. “Joseph is a young, trusting man who, although betrayed by his brothers, never lost that trust. Jonathan possesses all those qualities,” he said.
Lammert, who has been producing plays on an amateur basis since 1978, said, “Jonathan’s voice is like that I’ve heard in professional productions.” He added that Owens’ voice conveys the emotion his character feels. “You can hear what he feels,” he said.
Lammert thinks Owens has a great future ahead of him. “I hope in five to 10 years, I can say ‘I knew him when,’” he said. Just in case, Lammert got Owens’ autograph.
Owens, who was home-schooled, says he has been singing since birth. He hopes to go to medical school after he gets his degree from Temple College, but, if opportunity came knocking, he’d jump at the chance to do a professional musical.
Joseph was Owens’ first time on the stage since he was 10, when his mother directed him and other children in her own production. He says he might try out for another musical in the summer, when he isn’t taking 24 semester hours at college.