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BJ Crosby, a powerhouse of a talent & wonderful friend is gone. I treasure our time on HAIRSPRAY: https://t.co/hN63nCeJ4f via @YouTube
— Harvey Fierstein (@HarveyFierstein) March 28, 2015Updated On: 3/27/15 at 09:30 PM
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Posted: 4/6/15 at 2:47pm
Bumping this because they're close to their Go Fund Me goal. Some big Broadway names have contributed.
And still hoping someone can shed some light on the Hairspray connection.
Posted: 4/6/15 at 7:39pm
Wonderful to see that both Broadway Cares and Jujamcyn Theaters have made significant donations.
Posted: 4/7/15 at 1:06am
Did anyone ever see her as Effie in Dreamgirls?
I did. I remember her as reading too old in the role. I saw it in 1998 when it played the Kennedy Center and there was a lot of drama going on. She had taken over for Roz White who had been abruptly fired. It seemed like she hadn't had a great deal of rehearsal. Tony Stevens was the director of that production (which only used some of Michael Bennett's original staging) and had since left the show to do another production of Dreamgirls in Germany when BJ was rushed in. The producers then quickly brought in Robert Clayter (a cast member of the original production) to serve as director and was asked by the producers to return the show to Michael Bennett's original staging. I saw 2 performances and they were some changes made in the staging from one performance to the next. One change I remember at one performance was when she sang "I'm Telling You...". In the latter verses of the song Crosby passionately shoved all of the props off of the makeup table used in the scene and they fell all over the stage. Looked kind of silly when The Dreams came out to close the number and they had to navigate around scattered makeup brushes and tissue boxes. The production was advertised as being "prior to Broadway" but the whole production was lackluster and eventually went nowhere.
Posted: 4/7/15 at 12:00pm
Did anyone ever see her as Effie in Dreamgirls?
I did, as well; it was when Crosby first joined the tour as "Effie," so I'd venture to guess she was still navigating her way around the role. She came across as stiff & too old but, she sang the score effortlessly. What a powerhouse vocalist.
As mentioned, the tour was supposedly headed to Broadway…but I wasn't surprised when those plans were scrapped. The production design and overall energy were lackluster.
However, there were two incredibly fabulous standout performances provided by Kevin-Anthony as "Jimmy" and Tonya Dixon as "Lorrell."
Posted: 4/7/15 at 4:18pm
That is so interesting you say that.
I actually saw Roz White as Effie in the tour when she was in Hershey, PA. It was horrific. I thought I was going to cry. For the first time ever I actually was glad to see Effie be kicked out of the Dreams. The VERY NEXT DAY... she was fired and they brought in BJ. I was so angry having seen her in SJC and Chicago. I heard that after she got her footing she was amazing.
Posted: 4/7/15 at 4:36pm
Posted: 4/7/15 at 7:38pm
JRybka--I also saw the tour at Hershey Theatre, and thought I remembered seeing Crosby. After reading your post, I dug out my Playbill from the show, and it still has the full-page insert with B.J. Crosby's bio and headshot. So, I must've seen one of her first performances, if not the very first. I never knew that!
