One Night Only - The Dreamgirls Love Thread- Page 2

[Kringas]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 4:18pm

Her attitude gets worse, but she is also gaining weight and missing rehearsals because she's pregnant and trying to hide it.

Do you think Effie knows she's pregnant at the end of act one? Not that there's one right answer, but I always assumed she wasn't yet aware she was pregnant then.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 4:25pm

I don't think she is aware of it.

[Kringas]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 4:32pm

That's what I always thought, too. She could be deflecting when she says she's not feeling well, but I always figured she really wasn't feeling well by that point, and didn't know why.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 4:48pm

I was always pretty sure that she DID know that she was pregnant, but just couldn't tell Curtis because of the situation with Deena, which is the main reason for her erratic and "difficult" behavior. And I know that at least one of the actresses who played Effie told me she used Effie's pregnancy as part of her underlying motivation in playing the "It's All Over/I'm Not Going" scene. It really adds a level of intensity and desperation to her rejection at the end of Act One.

[Kringas]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 4:59pm

I see what you're saying, Margo, and I certainly agree that any actress playing Effie could use that to her advantage, but it still doesn't jibe with me that she knows at that point. Also, for as unglued as she comes in the final minutes of act one, I'm surprised she wouldn't let it slip out that she was carrying his child. She's pretty much given up all her dignity at the point; I can't believe she wouldn't try to use the fact that she was pregnant to keep him if she was already armed with that knowledge.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 5:32pm

Most women (outside of the tabloids) know they're pregnant before they start to "show."

If she's "getting fatter all the time," as Curtis says, she's already advanced enough in the pregnancy to be showing. Plus she has morning sickness.

I would find it hard to believe (okay, except in the tabloids) that she wouldn't already know she was pregnant.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 5:56pm

Not to mention, she's wearing what looks like a pink maternity top in that last scene which is a not so subtle hint to the audience from Bennett and the costume designer of her present condition. Everything happens so quickly in that final scene (Michelle Morris walks in about 30 seconds after Effie does and then all hell breaks loose) that in the midst of the arguing and screaming, no one thinks to ask her about wearing that top, but it was always clear to me that she knew she was pregnant and in fact might have been planning on telling everyone shortly, but in the face of all of that anger and rejection, found that she just couldn't.

[KWeary]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 7:23pm

I have a question...do you think it would be wrong to stage Dreamgirls with an all white cast and make them different some other way?? I think that this musical deserves to be staged, but I know that where I live, we will NEVER have enough African Americans to stage the production...

thanks for your input...!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 7:50pm

Well, no.

Before people here get in an uproar from your honest (but very naive) question...

It's no different than watching "1776" performed by an all female cast.

Race is a major theme in "Dreamgirls." You can't ignore that. You should chose another show.

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 10/17/06 at 8:40pm

i just saw this movie is gonna be in limited theatres December 15th, and then in January of 2007 it goes to wide

thats what it said on yahoo...

[dancersmom2]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 10:57am

John Garcia saw a rough cut of the film and posted his review


here.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 11:21am

GAH, I can't wait!

[Casey3]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 3:31pm

Check out the Official Website. IT'S GONE LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 3:47pm

From the Garcia review --

"Shirley Lee Ralph"?
"Loretta Divine"?
"Jennifer Holiday"?
"Hilton Battle"?

How about:

Sheryl Lee Ralph
Loretta Devine
Jennifer Holliday
Hinton Battle

Sorry to be anal, but, damn, how he misspell ALL of their names?? I mean if you can properly spell "Beyonce"..........

[CurtisTaylorJr2]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 3:49pm

I'm rather disappointed what they did with "I Miss You Old Friend".

[soapguy17]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 3:53pm

KWeary, I actually just saw a production of Dreamgirls where the woman cast as Deena was White, Lorelle was Latina, and Effie was Black. This was done by a VERY talented diretor and there were still some seens where even SHE couldn't pull it together. Of course she's not completly to blame.

Of Course it made sense of alot of levels. A female super group of different races in that time period probaly wouldn't have went over to the height that The Dreams did. It would make sense for Curtis, (Cast as a white male) To play around with and lead Effie, but evenually marry Deena. The same goes with a black James and a Latino Lorrelle. But, the show just lost some of it's power this way. A few things seemed to be missing.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 4:08pm

Casting this show mixed race undermines one the main themes of the entire show -- the struggle to crossover to the mainstream (white) pop charts. Black artists tried in vain for years to get played on white radio and to appear on national television and it was Berry Gordy and Motown that created a formula of presenting attractive (usually light-skinned) fashionable-looking black groups with a smooth, nonthreatening, but still soulful sound that resulted in it finding nationwide appeal with audiences of all races.

White singers didn't have to crossover -- they were already part of the mainstream by virtue of their race and skin color, so they didn't have to struggle to overcome the racist policies of the music industry of the time. DREAMGIRLS captures and dramatizes this conflict throughout the first act where the Dreams, in Supremes-like fashion, not only break through in terms of their own personal success, but manage to break down longstanding barriers of segregation that had always limited black artists in the past and so their triumph took on even greater social implications. To cast the show with white or latino actors in the lead roles destroys the very essence of what this story is about and undermines its meaning and its impact.

Updated On: 10/21/06 at 04:08 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 4:10pm

Wow, Margo. **applauds**

[soapguy17]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 4:23pm

Wow, Margo, can I marvel at your intellegence for a few minutes?