As Tuacahn’s Broadway season finishes its latter half, there is one major change you won’t want to miss.

While this summer’s earlier audiences were likely chanting “Go, go, Joe!” in reference to David Archuleta’s spectacular performance in the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, they are now chanting “Go, go, Josh!” after they saw Josh Strickland’s magnificent handling of this popular role.

Get to know the new Joseph

Although humbled by the immense enthusiasm David Archuleta received for his performance, Josh Strickland says he is excited to have shown Tuacahn audiences his version of the character.

Strickland may not have American Idol on his resume, but he’s hardly a newcomer to the theater world. In fact, he’s been swinging his way into the hearts of audiences worldwide as the original Tarzan in the Broadway production of Disney’s Tarzan the Musical, among other accolades.

“It was a dream come true,” Strickland says.

Growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, Strickland got his first microphone at age 5. He was always singing, mostly at the local Baptist church, participating in musicals at vacation bible school and eventually taking part in small choirs during middle school.

“I’ve always loved to sing and I think ‘Joseph’ fits well with my voice type,” Strickland says. “There are a lot of gospel influences in some of these songs, so it’s fun to bring my vocal style to that.”

While singing hymns brought him a lot of joy as child, Strickland says he was also intrigued when he learned there were other types of music — particularly musical theater like Les Miserables and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, both of which influenced him alongside the time spent listening to musicians like Dolly Parton.

“I have a very high singing voice, so I listened to a lot of female artists,” Strickland says. “I grew up on Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and others. I also loved Phil Collins and Journey.”

But when he was crooning to Phil Collins as a kid, he never imagined he would ever get to work with him, let alone originate the title role for Tarzan the Broadway Musical.

“It was a dream come true,” Strickland says.

For many in the theater world, a chance to star on Broadway is the apex, the pinnacle, the shining diamond of goals. Strickland says he feels incredibly lucky to have achieved that at a relatively young age; not only tackling a starring role but originating the Broadway stage version of Tarzan and becoming part of the Disney family.

Strickland was just 21 years old when he started swinging through the trees as Tarzan on the Broadway stage in 2006. After touring with Rent for about a year at age 19, Josh made his way back to New York City and started auditioning for other roles. Within a year he was moving through a series of 15 callbacks for Tarzan — a process he says is much longer than most auditions.

“There was just so much involved in this production,” he says.

Eventually, he landed the role, performing on Broadway for around a year and a half, and then going international as Tarzan caught hold in places around the world.

“After it closed on Broadway, I was lucky enough to be brought back for concerts and things as part of the Disney family,” he says. “Then I was brought back to the role in Germany, which was a cool full-circle moment. I had to sing everything in German.”

The whole experience was a break Strickland didn’t necessarily expect at such a young age, but he was thrilled to have it and continues to be grateful for the many lessons he learned from that experience.

“You have to learn to be a leader of a company, but also to recognize that it takes more than just one person to make a show like ‘Tarzan’ come to life. It takes the cast and crew in the front of house, back of house, sound, lights, stagehands, really everyone is involved telling the story.”

It’s an attitude that extends to every show he’s in, including his title role in Joseph at Tuacahn.

From Tarzan to Technicolor

“It’s an honor to be able to come here (to Tuacahn) and be part of such an incredible atmosphere,” Strickland says. “There’s really nothing like it anywhere else in the world.”

Although he’s still starstruck by the red mountain backdrop and amazing effects that are possible in the Tuacahn Amphitheatre, this is not Strickland’s first time performing on this iconic stage. Audiences may recognize him from his past performances as Prince Eric in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and as the understudy for the title role in The Count of Monte Cristo.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play this character,”

So far this year Strickland’s job has been to cover the Joseph role — which means he was on the premises watching and learning, ready to step in if Archuleta ever needed to be gone. Plus, he’s still dazzling crowds with his version of the White Knight in Wonderland and John Northbrook in Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins. But it was always the plan for Strickland to take the reins in Joseph for the last six weeks of the season.

Laughing at the assertion that Strickland appears to be a bit taller than Archuleta, Strickland says he knows Archuleta’s popularity casts a long shadow, particularly for Utah audiences; a fact corroborated by the tremendous success of this season’s production of Joseph.  Still, Strickland says he knows he has a lot to offer, and he is beyond excited to have his turn in the technicolor coat.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play this character,” Strickland says. “There’s just something about telling a story through music, and this show is basically all music… I think it’s great Tuacahn brings in such a mix of high, Broadway caliber talent that you really can’t find anywhere else.”

Come see what Josh Strickland brings to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat now through Oct. 20 in the Tuacahn Amphitheatre. And grab tickets to Wonderland and Mary Poppins as well by calling 435-652-3300 or online at www.tuacahn.org