Dreamgirls- 11.29.09

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 11/29/09 at 10:46pm

I very rarely get overly excited with going to see a show, but when the announcement of a production of 'Dreamgirls' was released I couldn't wait to get a ticket, and so, the first minute they went on sale, I got one!

Overall, I loved it! There were only a few things I didn't like, so I'm just gonna get them out of the way now...

-Chester's wig... hated it! I know it's the "Jimmy hair style," it just looked so wrong on him and seemed like it was to big for his head, I found I was staring at his wig more than I was at his face and body.

-Crowd control: big problem. Throughout Act 2 there were a group of people, one women in particular who were yelling out at the performers, things like: "Oooh, you tell them baby!," "Go Jimmy! Show 'em the soul!," "She told him!," "Show 'em girl!" etc.
Nothing was done throughout the whole act to silence them. And, they did it during serious parts of the show too, where it should have been dead quiet you heard audience members laughing at them (the obnoxious audience members)!

Also, through the lights I could see backstage, I saw crew walking around and a bulletin board up on the second landing of the backstage area, very distracting!

The last thing that bothered me- *spoiler* -I didn't like that Curtis never found out about Effie's and his daughter.

Now, onto the good parts... starting right from my arrival in the city:
Dreamgirls shuttle bus- fantastic, I got a nice tour without the stress of having to figure out and take the subway.

The set- I was skeptical about it in the beginning but by the end of the performance I had grown fond of it. There were certain points where I felt there was no set incorporation at all, but other then that I have no complaints. Although, I was in Row B, seat 110 of the orchestra and judging from the mezzanine's reaction during "Steppin' to The Bad Side" the set is more appreciated from up there. But, at points like "One Night Only" the set truly was dazzling!

That brings me to my seat (ORCH Row B, seat 110). Great seat! Except the stage is very high. Now, I'm 5'7.5" and could see pretty fine but at no point in the show could see below the performers' shins. Not that big of a deal, but I was curious about the shoes, as I expected them to be just as glamorous as the costumes...

I loved the costumes, wigs (minus Jimmy's), and just about everything. The quick changes were quickly spectacular!

The choreography... I actually really liked it! "Steppin to The Bad Side" was brilliant, among others.

Now, onto the cast.

Moya Angela... I didn't know what to expect from her besides a good voice due to what I've read on the boards but I thought she did a great job! I thought her acting was extremely acceptable and she carried herself well, and her voice. Well, what can I say? Breathtaking.

Syesha Mercado was great as Deena Jones! Yes, there were sometimes in act 1 where she was out shined by the other girls but overall I thought she did very well, acting and singing was.

Adrienne Warren is simply adorable and was fantastic as Lorrell. She has a great voice and was what I feel to be the best actress out of all the girls.

Chester Gregory was Jimmy Thunder Early, loved his voice, loved his acting. Really nothing else I can say. Great performance.

Chaz Shepard, Trevon Davs, and Milton Nealy were all great in their roles and played them really well.

The whole cast was simply fantastic, along with the show.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 1:30am

Awesome. I'm seeing it this Thursday. I've never been to The Apollo, so this should be a great experience!

Thanks for your review.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 1:46pm

-Crowd control: big problem. Throughout Act 2 there were a group of people, one women in particular who were yelling out at the performers, things like: "Oooh, you tell them baby!," "Go Jimmy! Show 'em the soul!," "She told him!," "Show 'em girl!" etc.
Nothing was done throughout the whole act to silence them. And, they did it during serious parts of the show too, where it should have been dead quiet you heard audience members laughing at them (the obnoxious audience members)!

It's Dreamgirls. That's always gonna happen. When I saw it in Atlanta in 2002 all through "And I Am Telling You" someone kept yelling "You better sing! You better SING!"

[Marquise]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 2:08pm

When I saw it in Atlanta they were yelling, "Ya betta SANG GRRRL! Ya betta SANG!!!"

[bway1261]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 2:20pm

Glad you liked the show! I got my tickets for the tour and can't wait to see it.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 2:25pm

Saw it. Agree with a lot of people's opinions, but all I can say in regards to the casting of Effie is this:

If Ted Neeley can play Jesus well into his sixties, I vote for giving Jennifer Holliday the only job she's ever had back.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 3:13pm

Phyllis, if it was the whole theatre I would agree, but it was one woman for the most part, they could have done something.

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 8:33pm

WOW2: nice review and it sums up the way that I felt about the performance. I hope that your review encourages others to get tickets before this is gone. It's a shame that this run has not been sold out, as this is a top-notch production and who knows when we'll get to see this live again?

I do hope that people aren't put off by the reports of the inappropriate noise in the audience. I guess it's just "luck of the draw" because when we saw it on a Saturday night our audience was quite behaved, exactly like a regular Broadway audience. Of course there was the expected 2-3 rounds of raucous applause during "And I'm Telling You...", but this was completely acceptable and added to the excitement and thrill of the live performance.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 8:36pm

^^^
I was quite shocked to find they closed the balcony... and there were a few noticeable seats in the orchestra, I don't know about the mezzanine.

[iamchanging9]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 8:59pm

I saw it on friday night and thought it was atrocious. With the exception of Adrienne Warren as Lorrell, I found the entire cast to be atrocious. Just because you can sing and dance, and many of them including Moya Angela were not very good at that, does not make you an actor.

I did not feel bad for Effie or Deena once throughout the entire show. The new version of "Listen" made me and many people laugh because it was so ridiculous; it was a great moment in the film, not right for the show.

The sound was REALLY poor quality. For the majority of act 1 I had no idea what they were saying during songs.

The set was pretty good (with the exception of those ridiculous plastic table and chairs that were used in almost every scene) , costumes were good, lighting was pretty good... but the sound was horrible. For the majority of act 1 I had no idea what they were saying during songs.

Maybe I saw it on an off night, but it overall seemed extremely amateur.

[sanda]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 11:51pm

I saw the closing performance in Baltimore.

I caught the understudy to play Effie. Let me say she is no Ms.Holiday but she did a fine job. Deena is not impressive. I found her out of breath many times.

I love "Steppin to the bad side". This is my first time to see the show live. I have no idea if the choreograph is Mr.Bennett's original work or Mr Spark's but it is brilliant and my favorite part of the show.

Maybe because of the production, I found the second act dragged a lot and not as exciting as the first act.

Jimmy is pretty good. Lorell is fine. They are very talented in the singing and dancing part.

Curtis is terrible. Just unbelievably bland, lack of any charisma and stage presence. There is no way to let people take him seriously.

In fact, the whole cast need to take some good acting lessons. Everyone acted one dimensional. It's really a shame because I can tell some people are really talented and just need some polish in their acting skill. I put the blame to the director.

Unless they did a complete recast and some big change, I don't think this one will make into Broadway successfully.

[Felm_heart]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 2:56am

Has anyone beyond Ben Harney ever been able to bring life to Curtis? Glad that the show is, for the most part, enjoyable. I'll be seeing it in January when it comes to Minneapolis.

[Bodes08]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 7:18pm

I'm seeing the show Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
I REALLY hope Moya isn't still out after Baltimore. I'm really anxious to see her.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 7:29pm

Clearly you have never been to a movie theater in an African American neighbourhood, where people talk back to the screen all the time. (The Magic Johnson Cinemas out here in LA has had some great "conversations" at the most inappropriate moment. I'm not sure when the custom began but it's well known and a hoot.

Now on stage....

But now that I think about it, people reacted vocally when I saw the original "Dreamgirls." After "And I Am Telling You" there was a lot of shouting (much covered by the tremendous applause for JH.)

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 8:07pm

They were doing it to get reactions out of people.

[wicked1492]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:15pm

CANNOT WAIT for this to come to Ohio! Full reivews for this, 39 Steps and 101 Dalmations will be in store. I have high expectations!