Doodle, I think you mean Debbie Burrell, Terry's older sister, who created the role of Michelle. Terry didn't join the production until about a year into the initial run after Ralph left and Debbie took over as Deena (incidentally, as a side note, Terry is in the ensemble of the current revival of Threepenny Opera).
Bennett initially saw Effie as a one act role and had no intention of bringing he back in Act Two, but it became clear in the workshops that Holliday's presence would be so commanding and endearing to the audience and truly the heart of the show that show wouldn't work if she wasn't featured prominently in Act II (the book was completely rewritten after Eyen and Krieger came up with "And I Am Telling You" which made Bennett realize that Effie's was the main story the audience would care about, so they refocused the entire show around her).
In performance, there's absolutely no doubt that Effie is the primary lead and Deena and Curtis are the secondary leads -- it's just written that way with her moments having the greatest impact (there are no throway Effie moments, while there are a couple for Deena). Effie even has the most lines and solo vocal passages of any character in the show and even in the some of the group scenes ("Heavy"; "It's All Over") it's written and staged so that Effie will dominate the others in the scene and will be the main center of the action.
In all the times I saw the show, I never saw a truly memorable Deena. Anybody cute can play it. You don't need much of a voice and the acting scenes aren't particularly challenging for the most part. The show and the role isn't set up for Deena to be the one who shines -- she just doesn't have any moments that make her really standout like Effie. Whereas, every Effie I saw is indelibly burned into my memory -- every moment, every gesture, every note. Even the mediocre ones STILL got a standing ovation during "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" -- Bennett set it up that way. Effie's the star and you can feel her presence even when she's not on stage.
Now, the film is a whole other situation. Ever since the notion of a Dreamgirls movie has been kicked around (going back to the mid 80s) the emphasis has always been on what glamorous black singing star would be tapped to play Deena? From Whitney to Janet Jackson to Lauryn Hill it was always clear that the screenplay was going to put more emphasis on the Deena character than the Effie character (who, especially, after Holliday got too old for the part, was clearly going to be an unknown without any pull agent-wise). So it's no surprise that a major superstar like Beyonce is going to be pushed marketing-wise (and awards-wise) for the film. It's just basic Hollywood economics and since she (and Foxx and Murphy) are the "names" who are going to sell the tickets and attact the press coverage, it makes sense to emphasize them prior to the film's actual release.
Now, it'll be interesting to see what the buzz for Hudson is after people start screening the actual completed film later this year. I don't know how much Condon has cut from Effie's role and how much he's beefed up Deena, but I wouldn't be surprised (if Hudson gives at least a semi-solid performance) that people will go into the film talking about Beyonce and Foxx etc..... and they exit talking about Hudson (before the Broadway show opened, everyone was excitedly talking about the new "Bennett project" -- the day after all the news and focus was talking about "a star is born" and Jennifer Holliday was the only thing anyone cared about, not Bennett). Unless there's been a truly radical top-to-bottom rewrite, Effie is still by far the most interesting character in the piece and has the best and most exciting material and adding a few filler songs for Beyonce to give her more screen time won't change that.
It's too early to talk Oscars, but for the life of me, I don't see how anyone could win any awards with the part of Deena -- there just isn't enough to her for that (though I'm sure Condon has added some depth to her). Effie should still be the standout regardless of anything and if Hudson really nails it, I could see an Oscar nod going in her direction.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 4/8/06 at 02:30 PM
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