White Dreamgirls Canceled

The mostly white production of Dreamgirls, posted here 2 weeks ago, has been forced to cancel their production after the licensing conditions were changed after complaints were made.

Statement from Gillian Banks Theatre School:

“We are incredibly saddened to announce that, due to circumstances completely outside of our control, our planned production of Dreamgirls will no longer be able to go ahead.

Following recent complaints made directly to the rights holders regarding casting requirements, we have now been informed that the licensing conditions for the show have changed with immediate effect.

As a result, the rights for the production have been withdrawn and the show can no longer legally be performed under the original licence

This has been absolutely devastating for everyone involved. Our cast and creative team have worked incredibly hard over recent months, dedicating huge amounts of time, energy and passion into rehearsals, vocals, choreography and preparation for the production. We know many of our performers are deeply upset and disappointed by this news, and understandably so.

We want to make it very clear that every single member of our cast has our full support. They have done nothing wrong, and we could not be prouder of the professionalism, commitment and talent they have shown throughout this process.

Although we are heartbroken that the original production cannot move forward, we are determined that all of the hard work already put into rehearsals will not go to waste. As a team, we are already pulling together to create an exciting new variety production taking place during the same performance week - celebrating Motown, musical theatre and jukebox classics, featuring our incredibly talented cast.

We truly believe that, while this is not the outcome anyone wanted, something special can still come from it, and we are committed to creating a fantastic show that everyone can still be proud to be part of.
Further details regarding the new production will be announced very soon.

We sincerely hope our audiences, families, friends and wider community will continue to support our incredible performers during this difficult time, and we cannot wait to welcome you all to what promises to be a fantastic celebration of music, talent and live performance.

We hope to see you all at the show *”*

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18zAHtKobq/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Can't help thinking of the scene in Camp.

I've a friend who was in a (mostly) all-white production of The Wiz in college back in the 80's. He was the Lion. Although I don't think they were trying to do a mostly all-white version. I think they just really wanted to do The Wiz, and there just weren't many Black people who auditioned, or maybe even not many Black people attending the school. Still, I wonder what the rights holders would have done, if they knew (or if anyone cared as much about a small college production in an era long before social media). 

Updated On: 5/15/26 at 04:29 PM

When I used to direct musicals at the HS I work at (which has an all-African American population) we considered doing The Wiz and the only local production was at an all white high school. The production staff went to see it and nobody there seemed to understand the history or relevance of the show.  It was surreal to say the least.  This was 2018.  

Phantom4ever said: "When I used to direct musicals at the HS I work at (which has an all-African American population) we considered doing The Wiz and the only local production was at an all white high school. The production staff went to see it and nobody there seemed to understand the history or relevance of the show. It was surreal to say the least. This was 2018. "

My high school did Wizard of Oz back in 2009 and for some reason they insisted on illegally adding No Bad News to it and the white girl absolutely could not sing it. Like... if you wanted to give the Witch a song, why not just steal her doing a verse from Jitterbug like the MSG tour? The director had a habit of just recreating her old high school productions so I wonder if she just pulled her production of Wizard of Oz that was pre-1998.

BrodyFosse123 said: "I dunno. This works pretty good for me."

"

 

Updated On: 5/16/26 at 10:45 AM

everythingtaboo said: "Even if the licensing page didn't express prohibit it...just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Yes, that's very true.

I can, however, allow for a bit of grace, and breathing room because of the fact that this was going to be performed by unpaid, non-professionals, as a student production, in an educational setting.

For me, that's a relevant distinction.

The Wiz is proudly and profoundly Black. I don’t think its Blackness is subtext.

John Adams said: "everythingtaboo said: "Even if the licensing page didn't express prohibit it...just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Yes, that's very true.

I can, however, allow for a bit of grace, and breathing room because of the fact that this was going to be performed by unpaid, non-professionals, as a student production, in an educational setting.

For me, that's a relevant distinction."

It wasn't a student production in an educational setting. It was an adult group. These were fully grown adults who had likely paid to be part of the production. 

Plannietink08 said: "It wasn't a student production in an educational setting. It was an adult group. These were fully grown adults who had likely paid to be part of the production."

My bad. I didn't find that detail in the info I saw online. Thanks for the clarification.

Magic2Do said: "The mostly white production of Dreamgirls, posted here 2 weeks ago, has been forced to cancel their production after the licensing conditions were changed after complaints were made.

Statement from Gillian Banks Theatre School:

“We are incredibly saddened to announce that, due to circumstances completely outside of our control, our planned production of Dreamgirls will no longer be able to go ahead.

Following recent complaints made directly to the rights holders regarding casting requirements, we have now been informed that the licensing conditions for the show have changed with immediate effect.

As a result, the rights for the production have been withdrawn and the show can no longer legally be performed under the original licence

This has been absolutely devastating for everyone involved. Our cast and creative team have worked incredibly hard over recent months, dedicating huge amounts of time, energy and passion into rehearsals, vocals, choreography and preparation for the production. We know many of our performers are deeply upset and disappointed by this news, and understandably so.

We want to make it very clear that every single member of our cast has our full support. They have done nothing wrong, and we could not be prouder of the professionalism, commitment and talent they have shown throughout this process.

Although we are heartbroken that the original production cannot move forward, we are determined that all of the hard work already put into rehearsals will not go to waste. As a team, we are already pulling together to create an exciting new variety production taking place during the same performance week - celebrating Motown, musical theatre and jukebox classics, featuring our incredibly talented cast.

We truly believe that, while this is not the outcome anyone wanted, something special can still come from it, and we are committed to creating a fantastic show that everyone can still be proud to be part of.
Further details regarding the new production will be announced very soon.

We sincerely hope our audiences, families, friends and wider community will continue to support our incredible performers during this difficult time, and we cannot wait to welcome you all to what promises to be a fantastic celebration of music, talent and live performance.

We hope to see you all at the show*”*

Source:https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18zAHtKobq/?mibextid=wwXIfr"

Two thoughts immediately come to mind:  oblivious and tone deaf