Who were the Effie's in DREAMGIRLS?

Posted: 9/11/03 at 4:40pm

Question: who were all the Effie's in DREAMGIRLS? Who were the best?

Jennifer Holliday
Lilias White
Sharon Brown
BJ Crosby
Ellia English

was Sharon Wilkins from The Life an Effie? If not, damn she needed to be!

[Thetruth]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 4:46pm

Roz Ryan (Just played Mama Morton in Chicago) was one of them...and I believe her performance is the one that's taped for the archives

[mamamia sammy]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 4:48pm

Posted: 9/11/03 at 4:52pm

awesome, wow i wish we could get a hold of that!

also does anyone know if Delores Hall (24 hours of lovin from Best Little Whorehouse) ever did Effie??

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 4:54pm

You forgot Vanessa Townsell.

[tpdc]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 5:04pm

I saw Jennifer Holliday, Vanessa Townsell, Sharon Brown and BJ Crosby as Effie. Holliday was by far the best. Her And I'm Telling You is the biggest showstopper I've ever seen. Midway through the song, the audience rose to its feet and started cheering her, she sang over our cheers, so we stood in silence until she finished the song and then the roaring started. Most people just sat exhausted in their seats during intermission.

Posted: 9/11/03 at 5:08pm

I'm not aware of Vaneesa Townsell. Who is she? what else has she done? When did she do it?

How was Sharon Brown? She was VERY young when she played the part. She was HAND PICKED by Michael Bennet himself to play effie!
http://www.angelfire.com/ia/kimcriswell/gallery.html

How was BJ?? I recently saw the Smokey Joe video, wow she was dynamic in "fools fall in love"

[Kev]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 5:17pm

Sharon Brown wore padding as Effie :)

Sharon Wilkins did indeed play Effie, at Papermill Playhouse.

Don't forget Rox White, who was Effie on the tour before B.J. suddenly replaced her in the role

Kev, who enjoyed B.J....thank goodness that girl can saaang, cuz that overshadowed her extreme lack of acting in the role...

Posted: 9/11/03 at 5:19pm

o really for BJ???

She sang amazing but sucked at the acting???

I know sharon wore padding, saw pics, but her effie was slightly overweight. sharon's a power belter, i know that from seeing her amazing turn in Jeckyll & Hyde, but did she do all the crazy riffing that effie does??

[Benzy92]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 5:59pm

AHHH I wish I saw Sharon in Dreamgirls! She would have been amazing~!

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 6:16pm

I love Lillias White's Effie. She has a powerhouse voice and is really good at riffing.

[Kev]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 11:18pm

I never saw Sharon in Dreamgirls (only have a playbill), but I bet she was wonderful. I would've loved to have seen her sing "Seasons of Love" in the RENT tour. However, I did catch her as Lucy...she's got a powerhouse voice, but her odd cockney accent got in the way of an otherwise fine performance.

Posted: 9/11/03 at 11:21pm

Roz White? I thought it was Roz Ryan who was in the tour when she was abruptly replaced by BJ. I was so mad cause I bought tickets to the tour they did and the night I saw Ms. Ryan was horrible. I have to check my program. She was so pathetic. I mean people were in shock. I was mortified. Then I hear that the next night BJ took over. And was reviewed as a flawless performer!

and an aside... wasn't Sharon Brown in the movie of A CHORUS LINE?

Posted: 9/11/03 at 11:23pm

I saw the night before they canned her for BJ in the tour. She was hideous! I mean aweful. I was so upset. I took a friend who had done drag and did I am Changing and And I am telling.... and took him to see the show for the first time. It was miserable. I thought I was in hell for ever. I think Stephanie Pope was in it too if I am not mistaken.

[WSS2]

Posted: 9/11/03 at 11:44pm

Little known fact is that Roz Ryan was in the very first workshops of Dreamgirls as Effie when it was being worked on.

[Thetruth]

Posted: 9/12/03 at 12:14am

So was Jenifer Lewis...and ofcourse the project was develped for the late great Nell Carter

Posted: 9/12/03 at 9:33am

I don't know if this will play ..

but if it does you will hear a quite exceptional reading of "..and I am telling you" in so/so sound, by none other than Whitney Houston..and it is something!

Link:

http://www.whitney-fan.com/music/audio/tracks/tv_medley94.ram

This is a potent reminder of what we have lost in terms of a great, great singer!

[magruder]

Posted: 9/12/03 at 11:52am

It was Roz White who was replaced by B.J. Crosby on the Dreamgirls tour.

Posted: 9/12/03 at 12:38pm

Yes sharon brown was powerhouse singing "seasons of love." she didn't hit the infamous high note riff, BUT she did her own thang and sang "measure your life in loooooooOOOOOOVVVVVVEE YA YAH YA YAHHHHHH!" and slid up the ladder to an amazing belt note, then riff her way down. WOW!

Sharon was AMAZING as Lucy. I saw a wednesday mat and she belted the balcony down. her accent was abit off, but danm can she power belt. in some instances she out belted linda eder, if that's possible. what is sharon doing these days??

Sharon Brown was chosen to be Zach's assistant in the CHORUS LINE film, I believe AFTER her run as Effie White.

for more info on sharon check this out! :)
SHARON BROWN'S BIO Updated On: 9/12/03 at 12:38 PM

[tpdc]

Posted: 9/12/03 at 2:39pm

Vanessa Townsell was discovered by Bennett to replace Holliday. She was OK. She had a nice voice but not enough acting ability/presence to put the role over. She later created the role of Sarah's Friend in RAGTIME on Broadway and sang the first act curtain song. Sharon Brown was the Effie I saw in the national tour (I think Lillias replaced her just before the tour became the Broadway revival). Brown was only padded for the pregnant scenes. They made a big deal about how it was Effie's style, personality and vocal quality that got her bounced in favor of Deena. Brown pulled it off. I thought Crosby was too old for Effie. Her singing wasn't bad but she wasn't very moving and missed most of the laughs. While I did like Brown, and even Townsell somewhat, I have yet to see an Effie that is as effective as Holliday's.

Posted: 9/12/03 at 2:44pm

thanks for ALL the information guys and gals! i'm learning sooo much!

[MusicMan]

Posted: 9/12/03 at 8:58pm

Who were Effie's what? (There's no possessive necessary in that sentence.)