Effie White -- Does She Have To Be "Heavy?"- Page 4

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 9:21pm

The line is not
"A: my dress is too tight"

It is:
"This dress doesn't fit me"

There's a difference.

And if that synopsis wasn't written by Bennett or someone from the original creative team (it obviously wasn't), then it's irrelevant what some other director or producer with a misconceived notion of the show says. Some of what they say is correct, but some of it isn't.

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 09:21 PM

[dreamboy2004]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 9:35pm

Marquise who is that in your icon? I recogonize Deborah Burrel bit not the other two.

[Marquise]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 9:46pm

Left to right: Arnetia Walker, Linda Leilani Brown and Deborah Burrell. Original Los Angeles Cast.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:04pm

Is that Debbie? It sorta looks like her sister Terri (though the picture is so small I can't really tell).

[Marquise]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:08pm

It's Debbie ^^^^

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:10pm

Thanks. You're right

I love both the Burrell sisters. Terri was THE CRAZIEST Lorrell ever. It really didn't fit her voice so her pitch was all over the place, but she was SO funny acting it.

[Marquise]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:13pm

I didn't know Terry played Lorrell! I saw her as Michelle once Debbie went to LA. Loretta and Sheryl were still in the cast.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:20pm

Yeah, Terry (you're right, that's the spelling) BEGGED Michael Bennett to play Lorrell forever. According to Julia McGirt, her real life personality was kooky like Lorrell's so when Loretta went on vacation, Bennett agreed. She was almost TOO crazy as Lorrell, all hands fluttering and her voice was cracking left and right, but she was SO funny. Michelle Morris suited her talents much better, but it was certainly an interesting experiment.

[NCGuy]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:21pm

Does anyone know what happened to the Dreamgirls website (don't know the actual name, but it had "your virtual coffee table book of the musical" or something to that effect on the main page)? I had it bookmarked, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore. It was a gorgeous site.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:22pm

You know, Margo Dahling, if someone didn't know better, they might think you have just a little obssession with this show

[morosco]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:23pm

The line is not
"A: my dress is too tight"
It is:
"This dress doesn't fit me"
There's a difference.

Actually...it is:
"What about these dresses? I mean this dress does nothin' for my body."

EDIT: OOPS! My bad. Margo is right.

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 10:23 PM

[morosco]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:30pm

Hey Margo..in a few productions I saw there were 2 minor changes that always made me wonder why they were sometimes different:
1) After Jimmy Early tells Lorrell that "everybody knows Jimmy's married" in some productions Lorrell would say "then get your married hands off me" in other productions she just cackled.
2) When C.C. returns from passing out music to the guys in the pit he complains that the musicians call it "jungle music" or something to that effect. That line wasn;t in every production.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:35pm

Another thing I hope they restore for any future revival...the press conference that followed the Act II opening that was cut after the show had been running on Broadway. All the intense pressure the media now placed on The Dreams. Intense hounding about their plans and even their opinions on politics. The media asking Deena why they ruined Effie's career. Lorrell facing questions about her relationship with Jimmy, etc.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:38pm

I know the C.C. "jungle music" line is in the official script. Not sure why it would ever be cut, since it's C.C.'s entrance line to the scene and it would be awkward for him to walk on without saying it.

I've also seen the show both with and without the "married hands" line. I think she cackled originally but, I think the line was later added over concerns that Lorrell came off as too much of a doormat in Act I. That line helps to foreshadow her explosion in "Ain't No Party." Perhaps it was added for the L.A. production (or the subsequent road version?).

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 10:38 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:55pm

Bennett cut the Act II press conference because he could never find a satisfactory way to stage it (and Kreiger and Eyen never could figure out how to musicalize it). No matter what Bennett did, it always looked like a big clump of people on stage spewing out a lot of (interesting) exposition. For such a fluid piece, that scene stopped the show cold -- not in a good way. Also, the following scene with Effie doing "I Am Changing" also started off with a lot of dialogue and exposition and the combination of the two together was just too much, so Bennett cut the press conference.

However, it probably would work MUCH better on film, with lots of quick cuts between all the parties involved.

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 10:55 PM

[robbiej]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:03pm

Girl, we're gonna need to sedate you soon.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:13pm

Make me stop. It's like I've been possessed by some Dreamgirls spirit and need to be exorcised.

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:18pm

Can you hear "Showbiz" echoing inside your head?

[robbiej]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:20pm

The power of Bennett compels you!

(throws holy water)

The power of Bennett compels you!

[Thetruth]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:21pm

NCguy, I don't know what happened to the site, but it was great. It had a lot pictures and song clips, and also information on the making of DG. I'm sad to see the site down considering the movie is finally being made.

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:22pm

Margo, question for ya, out of curiousity: is it a Dreamgirls thing or do you know this much about most musicals?

If it's the latter...seriously, write a book - I promise to get at least a couple hundred copies sold for ya!

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:23pm

And now Loretta's strutting away...she's strutting...strutting...she's gone. Alright, go listen to Wicked. QUICK.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:27pm

There are about a dozen or more shows I've had friends involved with and seen multiple times, so I know very well. There are dozens of others I have a pretty firm grasp of, but don't have any inside info on. And then there are the hundreds of shows I've seen (as well as read and studied). Not looking to write a book or anything, though......

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:28pm

I really miss that site too
It was the only place you could hear the Tony performance with the FULL version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
*sigh*
someday, I will be a Sweetheart in a revival, and Margo, I'll give you a comp

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:36pm

I assume that they got shut down because the openly featured bootlegs of various productions of the show (and probably didn't have permission for some of the photos and other memorabilia). They got away with it for a while, but now that the movie is heating up, I'm guessing that the studio lawyers came across the site and sent out a cease and desist order and pulled the plug. Too bad, but I saw it coming.