Philly Dreamgirls - worth the trip!

I love a cast that puts out!

Akiva

Any pictures?

PB Ent how was the ACT I Finale handled.
I hope they didn't do what they did in Atlanta and at Paper Mill by staging The Dreams appearing behind Effie instead of in front of...

There was an article in yesterday's paper talking about the quick costume and wig changes, and it mentioned there was a possibility of extending, which would be great. I saw the show earlier in the week, and a lot of the weekend performances are already sold out, so tickets are becoming scarce despite the mixed review by the Inquirer.

I had never seen the show before, but it is one of my favorite scores. The show has areas that could be improved, but I agree with PottstownTeacher that, as a whole, the evening worked and I really enjoyed the production and am considering seeing it again.

(SPOILERS COMING NEXT TO RESPOND TO THE QUESTION ABOUT THE ACT I FINALE, SO DON'T KEEP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW HOW ACT I ENDS!)













(HERE COME THE SPOILERS!)
I personally did not like the way that the Act I Finale was handled. With a limited budget, I can see why they may not have been able to whisk Effie offstage to make room for the Dreams, but what happens is Effie basically stumbles off stage while she is singing the "meeee!" last note and the Dreams come on from the opposite side. This comes across as very odd for a couple of different reasons. First, Effie looks like she is clutching her stomach, which I think is supposed to show she is in agony and is fine until she starts stumbling off, which made me wonder if she was running off to go to the bathroom, which I don't think was the intent. Also, the staging is weird because in the lines just preceding, Effie is basically still, then all of a sudden she starts BACKING AWAY AND TO THE SIDE while she is reaching the last note, which takes away the power of the end of the song. Also, the last note is swallowed up and you can barely hear any of the "meeee!" To be an armchair director for a second, I think it would have been better to have had Effie start the movement after the "meeee!" is over (or at least farther along) and after the Dreams come in rather than so early. I have heard that Michael Bennett wanted to avoid the applause break, but the song whimpers out the current way. If the director wanted to make the point that Effie's emotional climax is being stepped on by the Dreams, it could have been done more forcefully and effectively if staged a little differently. For example, I think it would have been better to just have her back up and have a curtain drop between Effie and the audience (possibly a see-through one so you can still see her while the Dreams are performing) rather than do the stumbling to the side, which seems more purposeful and therefore more puzzling than a stagger straight back would be. But this is a minor quibble, partially brought on by years of listening to Jennifer Holliday's amazing last note and the huge gasp she takes before it, signaling, "Here comes the freight train -- get out of the way!" There's no freight train in this staging, and I missed it.

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I thought it was a terrific production, and Nova Payton is the best-sung Effie I've ever heard, minus J. Holliday.

Deena is also very good. Lorrell, however, misses a lot of her comic bits and her songs don't come off as strong. Her "Ain't No Party" was actually a little boring.

It's a lower-budget, more limited production, especially in terms of space, so a lot of the dazzlingly fast costumme changes (like in Heavy and I Am Changing) are not accomplished, but nothing's really lost without them. (Also, I only saw the first preview, so many things may be added by now)

A very solid production, though. Well worth the trip and money.

A fine production with a weak Effie. However, my friend reminded me that no one can do that role like Jennifer Holliday. Maybe i expected too much.

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I wanna see this, it's so close.

But I don't think I'll have time

But your tickets! the show is running an extra 2 weeks. Go see it for the music and singing alone. I am taking my sister and her kids to it. they love that type of music. there will never be another Jennifer, but the woman I saw in the late 80's wasn't Jennifer but sure acted better than her! Check it out, people don't get to see this show often.

Any pictures?

While definitely worth the trip, I found Nova Payton to be the worst thing about this production. Admittedly, the woman has pipes, but to my ears, not the right pipes for Effie. Her upper register is great, but the timbre in general is too bright with no depth to the tone. I like my Effie to have a little grit. Also, her acting was amateurish at best. Her kewpie-doll speaking voice and permanent pout grew old after Act 1 Scene 1. To paraphrase Dorothy Parker, she ran the emotional gamut from A to slightly past A.
That said, the rest of the cast was quite good with the standouts being the Jimmy Early and Lorell. The pit was exceptionally good and the music director kept things moving at a bracing clip. The costume and wig designers are friends of mine, so I will refrain from praising their superlative work.
In general, anyone who loves Dreamgirls will enjoy the show, even if the Effie, for me, severely fell short of the mark.

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Im seeing this next week.....SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!

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