Dreamgirls to open in the West End - Page 2

[Kavana]

Posted: 2/4/16 at 10:39pm

They should have created a new star for the Original West end cast of this. Idk...Dreamgirls is THE SHOW to show those vocals.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/4/16 at 10:52pm

Will Holliday perform the Wednesday and Saturday matinees?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/4/16 at 11:09pm

It really seems to have disappeared from the public consciousness,

 

That's true of all big movies now, isn't it? No one ever mentions the highest grossing American movie, ever!  And now the sequel(s) nobody cares enough to want have been "pushed back" like a stool in a gay bar and Disney's gonna unveil a land dedicated to it while everybody lines up for more Butterbeer over at Universal.  It's JK Rowling who is going to end up being the last of the movie impresarios and she's accomplishing that by reminding people of her books!  

 

I can personally tell no difference between Katnip Evergreen and whatever X-person JLaw is being paid less than her male co-stars to play but I do like her plucky David O. Russell heroine, even if I don't need to see every time she plays her.  Movies.  They're less important cultural artifacts than even TV series were back when there were only three networks.

At least that's what I believe.

 

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:40am

FindingNamo said: "It really seems to have disappeared from the public consciousness,

 

That's true of all big movies now, isn't it? 

"

 

True, mainly because of casting transient famous names instead of sheer talent.

 

Sheer talent in musical film is being great at acting through great singing.

 

That is why Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music stays interesting to watch, even after 60 years. That is why Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe and Jennifer Hudson are not.

 

Updated On: 2/5/16 at 09:40 AM

[morosco]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:46am

Hoping for a COMPLETE cast recording.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 9:51am

Dave19 said: "FindingNamo said: "It really seems to have disappeared from the public consciousness,

 

 

 

That's true of all big movies now, isn't it? 

 

"

 

 

 

True, mainly because of casting transient famous names instead of sheer talent.

 

 

 

Sheer talent in musical film is being great at acting through great singing.

 

 

 

That is why Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music stays interesting to watch, even after 60 years. That is why Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe and Jennifer Hudson are not."

 

You can't really put Jennifer Hudson in a list with Hugh Hackman and Russell Crowe. At the time of dreamgirls Jennifer Hudson was no where near those two in fame. Also I thought her Effie was beyond remarkable. She had that sheer talent when Hugh Hackman and Russell Crowe didn't.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 12:37pm

Hoping for a COMPLETE cast recording 

AMEN! If nothing else comes of this, at least let this give them a reason to record the full score.

I hope they don't try to shoe-horn in "Listen" or any other songs from the film. They're great songs, but they just don't fit in the stage score. I despised how they incorporated "Listen" into the tour a few years back.

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 1:03pm

Kavana said: "They should have created a new star for the Original West end cast of this. Idk...Dreamgirls is THE SHOW to show those vocals.

 

"

If they'd done that no one would go. Even with this casting I think this could be a tough sell without another name or two. 

[binau]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 5:36pm

"You can't really put Jennifer Hudson in a list with Hugh Hackman and Russell Crowe. At the time of dreamgirls Jennifer Hudson was no where near those two in fame. Also I thought her Effie was beyond remarkable. She had that sheer talent when Hugh Hackman and Russell Crowe didn't."

Exactly, even comparing Hugh Jackman with Russell Crowe is a bit offensive (for Hugh Jackman). Those three actors are all so different, at least in terms of vocal ability. Jennifer Hudson absolutely succeeded singing that role, there was no compromise and there are probably very few people who can sing it like she can (including the other finalists up for the role).

 

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 7:25pm

Phyllis Rogers Stone said: "It really seems to have disappeared from the public consciousness, Hudson's Oscar be damned.   Every time I think about watching it, I remember something stupid about it, like how Danny Glover talked so quietly or how Loretta Devine seemed drunk and insane, or that stupid Michael Jackson kid and I just can't. "

PRS, yes to the Loretta Devine comment! I am so glad to hear I'm not the only one who finds that appearance to be so bizarre. She does sound like she is both wasted and insane for no apparent reason! It is a movie filled with stupid ideas, as you say, and it has to have one of the worst scripts of a movie musical adaptation in recent memory, which is surprising considering Bill Condon wrote my favorite script of any movie musical adaptation. That scene with the Jackson lookalikes plays awful, especially because it involves a lot of reaction shots of Jamie Foxx, who looks like he'd rather be getting a root canal than being in the movie for the whole thing. And speaking of MVPs, the more I see it the more I feel Anika Noni Rose is the one who is consistently good throughout but then they either sideline her or give her some C subplot involving Eddie Murphy.

[Tag]

Posted: 2/5/16 at 11:05pm

Sure Riley can sing, but what everyone is forgetting is that she is a terrible actress.  If you watched Glee, especially in the final season where she was principally featured, she was rivalling Carrie Underwood in acting style.

[mistermanifesto]

Posted: 2/6/16 at 1:42am

Tag said: "Sure Riley can sing, but what everyone is forgetting is that she is a terrible actress.  If you watched Glee, especially in the final season where she was principally featured, she was rivalling Carrie Underwood in acting style."

 

BURN. I felt that one! It's the truth though

Updated On: 2/6/16 at 01:42 AM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 2/6/16 at 6:35am

To be fair to Miss Riley, Jennifer Holliday has been using the same line readings Michael Bennett had to feed her since day one...

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 12:35am

I'd love to see Beverly Knight or Alexandra Burke as Deena.

 

Beverly Knight seems to be on a roll with her stage career so I wouldn't be surprised if she's attached to this. Although Alexandra Burke can't in the OLC since she's doing the new tour of Sister Act, she'd be a great replacement Deena further down the line. 

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 12:35 AM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 12:41am

It's been said before, but for several years I've wanted a revival with Amber Riley, Patina Miller and Nikki M. James. Getting those three for a Broadway transfer would be perfection.

[silent]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 8:31am

I hope Trenyce is cast as Deena. The Bodyguard producers wanted her to be Alexandra Burke' s understudy but she said no to that.

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 9:10am

Tag said: "Sure Riley can sing, but what everyone is forgetting is that she is a terrible actress.  If you watched Glee, especially in the final season where she was principally featured, she was rivalling Carrie Underwood in acting style."

 

Luckily, with the role of Effie, even an indignant stretched out face with an occasional "head-roll" and a "talk to the hand" can get you an Oscar.

 

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 09:10 AM

[Shrek3]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 9:15am

Funny enough, Jenifer Hudson has had many acting roles since her Oscar win and just received great reviews for her different acting take on Shug in the color purple. If people here are actually claiming she can't act, then they clearly have no idea what they're talking about. 

[Dave19]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 10:20am

Good for her. She didn't get me interested enough to watch her other gigs, but this is about the role of Effie. Not about an actress. She just didn't show much more than the described things in Dreamgirls.

 

[Shrek3]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 10:22am

^ Yeah but you're the guy that hates every movie musical and won't shut up about it, so I can't say your opinion matters much. Her Oscar speaks for itself. 

[Tag]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 10:38am

Funny enough, Jenifer Hudson has had many acting roles since her Oscar win and just received great reviews for her different acting take on Shug in the color purple. If people here are actually claiming she can't act, then they clearly have no idea what they're talking about. 

You haven't seen the first Sex and the City film then.

Updated On: 2/7/16 at 10:38 AM

[Shrek3]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 10:47am

She was fine in Sex and the city. Did you expect Oscar winning acting in a sex and the city film? Come on now. And you clearly haven't seen The color Purprle....

[Tag]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 11:15am

Did you expect Oscar winning acting in a sex and the city film?

I expected acting.

[Shrek3]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 11:24am

And what exactly was so bad about her acting in sex in the city, since you seem to be the expert on sex and the city acting. 

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 2/7/16 at 12:31pm

Let's be real, Effie is not a role that takes much talent acting wise to pull off. It's a sing-your-face-off role and as long as you can do that and be sassy you're fine. Which Riley definitely can.

 

That being said, I don't agree that she's a terrible actress.