Dreamgirls: Differences between Movie and Musical?

I had the same question, but I just read the Wikipedia articles. There is one about both the movie and the musical as well as the source material and comparisons of the story of the Supremes to that of the Dreams.

Ok, folks, as a man who has listened to the concert cast recording to the point of oblivion, read the novelization, and seen the movie three times, here are the differences:

BEWARE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The talent contest takes place at a theatre in Detroit as opposed to the Apollo Theatre in New York.

The following characters appear in the movie that don't appear in the musical:

Effie and C.C.'s dad

Curtis's aunt Edith and his sisters

Deena's mom (although she is mentioned and Deena has a telephone conversation with her)

Magic, Effie's daughter (although she is mentioned too)

Jimmy's wife, Melba

Max (played by the amazing Ken Page. Listen, folks, don't cast Ken Page in a movie if he isn't gonna sing!!!!!!!)

Curtis's record label does not have a name in the show.

The movie expands upon the historical background of the time period. For example, the Dreams are recording Heavy, Heavy as the Detroit Riots of '67 rage on outside.

In the musical, we have to assume that this is both Deena and Curtis's first marriage. In the movie, Curtis says he has been married before.

Curtis does not try to make Cleopatra in the show. He simply says, "I don't want you doing that movie, period."

Deena's mother dies in the musical.

In the musical, the only thing that dies concerning Jimmy is his career.

In the musical, Michelle makes no mention of a brother.

In the movie, Michelle is hired as a secretary for Rainbow Records. In the show, she seems to be an already established vocalist who was picked out of a lineup.

In the movie, the death of Jimmy's career is not at a Democratic Fundraiser (by the way, go Democrats!!!!) but at a tribute concert for Rainbow Records.

Jimmy shows no signs of being a drug addict.

Deena does not tell Effie about Curtis's illegal dealings. Marty and C.C. fess up to Effie's lawyer.

Curtis never tells Deena, "your voice has no personality."

There are no private meetings by the pool.

I'll be back with more differences when I think of them.

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Musically, there are a lot of changes as well. According to the Wiki articles (and my own ears- I've been doing A-B comparisons between the two albums via my We7 subscription), a deliberate decision was made for the stage score to avoid obvious Motown references for fear of Berry Gordy's and Diana Ross's lawyers.

On the back of a suggestion made by David Geffen, they did almost an alternate-universe change for the film - moving the action back to Detroit and setting the music back to its more appropriate period... therefore losing the anachronistic nature of a score written with late-70s Philly/disco feel, to the Motown period. Along with the Supremes/Funk Brothers-type feel. Or during the live performances in the story, Motown-through-a-Ronnie-Hazlehurst feel.

Compare the Broadway and film version of the track "Dreamgirls" - stage had 16ths on closed hihat, more Chic-type stutter on guitars, heavy Salsoul/TSOP strings etc, whereas the film went for the aforementioned Funk Brothers right-in-the-pocket feel.

So when you have the story tracking an alternate-Motown-and-Supremes-in-an-alternate-universe plot (to wit even the news report partway into the film where reference is made to George Martin wanting to work with the Dreams (IRL, ideas were mooted about a Beatles/Supremes collaboration) - from this one could suppose that in the Dreamgirls-universe UK, EMI would be distributing Rainbow's catalogue under a "tamla-Motown"-type imprint after grabbing it from Ariola, Fontana etc; the Dreams would be performing on Ready Steady Go and TOTP etc etc; 40 years later there would be programmes like "Rainbow at the BBC" on the alt-universe BBC4...

The air has been cleared between Motown and the film production team apparently - and to more filmgoing bods like me, it sounds less anachronistic...

Lorell is actually a very hard part in the musical and takes an impressive singer.

I was thinking the same thing recently. I've seen a lot of DREAMGIRLS productions over the years but I can count only about 3 actresses who have solidly nailed the role. It's hard to sing and most actresses completely throw away some really great laugh lines.

BTW I saw the recent non-equity tour a couple weeks ago and I thought it was excellent. The "Listen" duet between Effie and Deena was stunning. Magnificent voices.

HEAVY was a montage number. It starts at a television taping of the fictional ABC variety show "Cavalcade of Stars"...the performance is disrupted when Effie tries to over power Deena with her vocals and then walks out furious that the camera is consistently on Deena...the action/song continues backstage and then segues right into a Las Vegas performance which Effie once again sabotages, once again trying to overpower Deena with her vocals...the action once again transitions backstage for the final blow out between Deena and Effie.

The number was a definite highlight in the stage show. Bennett's fluid. non-stop, cinematic direction of this number and of the entire show was just one of the most thrilling theatrical experiences I have ever had. It was my first Broadway show and nothing in the more than 25 years since it debuted has even come close to topping it in my book.

Updated On: 6/7/13 at 10:53 AM

No offense, but the idea that changes were made to make the film seem LESS about Diana Ross and Motown is wikety-wack. Hell, they even gave "Deena Ross" a little Michael Jackson to mentor.

In the movie, the Dreams are the Supremes. There's just no denying that. Any references to the actual Supremes (like there are in the stage version) are cut, the story is moved to Detroit ( and Condon added little piddling details from the actual Supremes story (even Michelle being picked as an assistant from the crowd and having to pull off her nails comes directly from Supremes lore) and even recreates Supremes album covers with the Dreams. It was an unnecessary and heavy-handed change that serves nothing, but I've always stated that virtually none of the changes from stage to screen (save perhaps Jimmy's death) add a single thing to the story. Deena's relationship with her mother on stage is profound and touching and you never actually see her mother. Her screen her mother is kind of a bitch who never really believes in her daughter and just wanders in intermittently to flatly deliver some unnecessary lines.

To this day I'll never understand shoehorning that Curtis line, "I was married. It didn't work out" into the story when it has absolutely nothing to do with anything (or the addition of his sisters!). And don't get me started on the nonsense of Jimmy not knowing whether or not to sing a song to the audience (where his wife happened to be singing) or directing it offstage where Lorrell was.

I know people love it and think it's some great stage to screen transfer, but the whole thing is just such a misfire to me. It's a much better story when there's no failed concept of "having every song take place on or near a stage" and you aren't being beaten over the head with the notion that "THIS IS REALLY THE SUPREMES." Waiting half an hour to have the first non-performance singing doesn't help, either.

I also don't get the comments about the stage version's music sounding anachronistic. It's the mid to late 70s when the show ends, and in the show, Curtis more or less invents disco.

Updated On: 6/7/13 at 01:51 PM

I still don't understand what you're saying.

I thought it was more like circa 1964 when the show starts? At any rate, however much time passes in act one (at least a few years, right?), act two is seven years later. The timeline in the show (and the movie, for that matter) always felt a little gooey to me.

ETA: I was looking over Mattbrain's list and I forgot about Effie and CC having a father in the movie, making "Family" make not much sense (no to mention those over the top hand gestures CC does!).

Updated On: 6/7/13 at 10:52 PM

Those numbers can't be right, at least Act Two's can't. Act Two doesn't even take place over the course of a year. Effie is pregnant at the end of act one. At the beginning of Act Two Lorrell says that she and Jimmy share seven years of unmarried life. Later in the act Effie reunites with Deena and tells her that her daughter is seven.

According to the wiki page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamgirls_(film)

the film tightens the two periods to

1962-1966 finishing when "Cindy Birdsong" replaces "Florence Ballard" (Effie)

and

1973-1975 starting when Deena is watching back the biog that drops the bombshell about the "Cleopatra" film project etc.