Kurt Adler Polonaise Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Christmas Ornament Komozja

This is a new and very rare Polonaise blown glass ornament designed by Komozja of Poland, specially for Kurt Adler.   The ornament features Joseph, the central character in the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Broadway musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Komozja hand made ornaments feature some of the most unique and novel ornament styles using traditional European hand blown glass artist methods.  These exceptional creations feature traditional Christmas themes as well as other favorite and beloved movie, TV, and Broadway shows.

The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis.  This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly.  The show has little spoken dialogue; it is almost completely sung-through.  Its family friendly storyline, universal themes and catchy music have resulted in numerous productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; according to the Really Useful Group, by 2008 more than 20,000 schools and amateur theatre groups had successfully put on productions.

The musical tells the story of a young dreamer, a man named Joseph, who was born into a family of twelve boys, all the sons of Jacob.  Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son and as a demonstration of his admiration, Jacob gives Joseph a splendid multi-colored coat.  However, the coat, along with Joseph’s premonitions that he will be the ruler of his brothers, arouse the jealousy of the other eleven.  They decide to kill him, but before they get the chance, they meet up with a group of Ishmaelites traveling to Egypt and instead, they decide to sell their brother into slavery.

Joseph is taken off to Egypt, and his brothers return to tell their father that his favorite son is dead, producing his wonderful coat, which they have stained with the blood of a goat as proof.

Potiphar, a powerful man in Egypt, takes Joseph into his household as a slave.  Joseph works so hard and is so honest that Potiphar begins to admire him greatly.  Unfortunately, he also catches the eye of his master’s wife, who tries to seduce him.  When Potiphar catches them together, he assumes the worst, even though Joseph is innocent, and sends Joseph to prison.  While there Joseph meets two of Pharaoh’s servants, both of whom have had strange dreams.  Joseph is able to interpret their dreams, correctly telling their future.

Pharaoh, the most powerful man in Egypt, has also been having unusual dreams.  No one can interpret these dreams, so Pharaoh is intrigued when he hears of the young slave’s ability and has Joseph brought before him.  Joseph offers his interpretation, that seven years of bounty will be followed by seven years of famine, and Pharaoh is so impressed that he appoints Joseph to a post in the government, in charge of storing food for the upcoming hard times.

When the famine occurs, Joseph’s father and brothers in Canaan are unprepared.  They hear that there is food available in Egypt, so the brothers travel there to beg for assistance.  Once there, they are brought before Joseph who recognizes them immediately while they do not recognize him.  He tests their honesty and humility by planting a golden chalice in the sack of his brother, Benjamin, to see what they will do.  When confronted with the supposed evidence of theft, the brothers maintain the boy’s innocence and offer to let themselves be taken prisoner instead.  Joseph sees that his brothers have changed, and so, to everyone’s great joy, he reveals his true identity.  Their father Jacob joins his family in Egypt finally seeing his beloved son at last.