VISTA — Before “Cats” or “Phantom of the Opera” ever graced a stage, there was Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Weber’s first musical hit was the retelling in a riot of colors and disparate musical styles of the famous biblical story of Joseph and his betrayal by 11 jealous brothers. Bringing such a wild show to the stage can be a challenge. The Moonlight Stage Production Company has taken on the task, pinning its hopes on director/choreographer, Carlos Mendoza.

His name may be familiar already. Mendoza directed a very successful “West Side Story” production at Moonlight last summer.

“Carlos did a wonderful job with us last year,” Moonlight Artistic Director Kathy Brombacher said. “Looking at Joseph, it’s a perfect piece for a director/choreographer because it’s all music, it’s all staging.”

Mendoza, who played the title role on stage years ago, said this year’s “Joseph” is going to be a bit different from the usual production. He said he wanted to steer away from the more campy renditions, keeping the show funny but preserving the serious theme inside.

“I wanted to bring some of that heart back,” Mendoza said. “I wanted people to listen to some of the message of that show which pertains to what’s going on today.”

Not that there aren’t jokes. In fact, Mendoza has added a few extras, including references to last year’s run of “West Side Story.”

In many ways, Mendoza wants to remain as true to the spirit of the original as possible. He pointed out that each dance number is in a different style, many of which are no longer common, and he worked hard to implement appropriate dances for each piece. Mendoza said he racked his brain to find a suitable dance for the song, “Benjamin Calypso,” ultimately deciding on the Colombian Cumbia, a dance familiar to the South American and Caribbean raised director.

Most importantly, Mendoza said, the dancing needs to be subordinate to the story, not the other way around.

“Choreographers nowadays are more worried about creating dances on stage but not making a story behind the dance moves,” he said. “The dancing has to be a part of the story. The movement needs to be like saying a line.”

Mendoza is happy to share the credit for a show’s success with its actors, and because there was a huge turnout for auditions this summer’s season, they had the best to choose from, he said.

Much of the cast is comprised of the children’s choir, a group of six boys and 10 girls ages 8 to 14. Moonlight has secured the services of Becky Cherlin Baird, director and choreographer of “Joseph’s” national tour children’s choir.

Directing the youth choir’s 16 children presents both logistical and artistic difficulties.

“The challenge is to make sure that the kids are part of the show without distracting from the show,” Baird said. There are many times the children are on stage and not singing, but they have to remain within their characters, she said.

Baird has seen many different executions of the children’s choir, but she prefers the more active variety where the children are more involved with motion and dance. In scenes where the choir is typically seated, Baird has them surrounding cast members, adding their own interactions. These touches not only keep the young cast involved, it engages the young members of the audience.

“It’s a great approachable piece,” Brombacher said, adding that the musical is also a very good selling show, appealing to all members of the family.

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will be playing at the Moonlight Amphitheater from July 30 to Aug. 10. Tickets are available at (760) 724-2110 or www.vistixonline.com.