Why No DREAMGIRLS Yet?- Page 3

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 5/23/23 at 10:19am

It's so amusing to me how people go back and forth between wanting revivals, then getting upset when revivals are announced (see: Music Man for example), demand original work instead, then don't give that original work a chance (only relying on reviews and not deciding for themselves. I'm not invalidating reviews. Just saying if a show interests you, go see it!!). 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/23/23 at 12:43pm

BenjaminNicholas2 said: "Robbie2 said: "It's time Sonia Friedman...

Alex Newell as Effie enough said!"

Sounds good in concept, but I suspect Alex would have an issue with being able to get through the show 6-8x a week without calling out a lot."

I'd be here for this, tho with your caveat.

Does Sonia Friedman still hold the rights, and is Casey Nicholaw attached, or has that changed? Considering how the world has changed since that London run, it would probably benefit from a Black woman directing.

Updated On: 5/23/23 at 12:43 PM

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 5/23/23 at 2:41pm

All this show needs is a new Michael Bennett.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 5/25/23 at 2:49pm

verywellthensigh said: "All this show needs is a new Michael Bennett."

I would love to see Tommy Tune's staging of Dreamgirls as he lost the TONY to Bennett for choreography for Nine. Tune hasn't done anything in years!

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/25/23 at 3:45pm

verywellthensigh said: "All this show needs is a new Michael Bennett."

Camille Brown would be my vote. Or perhaps Lileana Blain-Cruz paired with a really good choreographer who knows musical theatre.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 3:01pm

I’ve never seen Dreamgirls so that is why I’m already booked to see it this December at Goodspeed.  Jennifer Holliday is doing Goodspeed’s gala on June 12th.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 3:11pm

Need to get any mix of three legends:

 

Heather Headley, Jennifer Holiday, Cynthia Erivo, Audra McDonald, Lillias White, Fantasia. Montego Glover 
 

ageism aside. I think if they can sing the roles. You’d have yourself a hit

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 3:22pm

I have a hard time seeing stars signing on for this revival, primarily due to comparison. Think you just have to go with great talent and hope that reviews & WOM & awards & TV appearances can make it a hit.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 3:34pm

Updated On: 5/26/23 at 03:34 PM

[Ke3]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 3:40pm

Theatrefanboy1 said: "Need to get any mix of three legends:



Heather Headley, Jennifer Holiday, Cynthia Erivo, Audra McDonald, Lillias White, Fantasia. Montego Glover


ageism aside. I think if they can sing the roles. You’d have yourself a hit"

is it ageism? the Dreams are supposed to be teenagers at the start. Lillias, Heather, and Audra did talk about a reunion concert when they did the Stars In the House episode and I’d love to see that.

[joevitus]

Posted: 5/26/23 at 7:05pm

hearthemsing22 said: "It's so amusing to me how people go back and forth between wanting revivals, then getting upset when revivals are announced (see: Music Man for example), demand original work instead, then don't give that original work a chance (only relying on reviews and not deciding for themselves. I'm not invalidating reviews. Just saying if a show interests you, go see it!!)."

Different posters, different opinions.

Agree the show needs the Bennett staging. Even the Bennett staging couldn't save the show in its bus-and-truck tour format. You need the splash of those giant towers, sparkling costumes and elaborate lighting effects as well as a cast who can make the score work. The book is bad, characterization almost nil, and so the quality of the staging and production is paramount for this particular work. I'm also not sure if the show holds the same importance for audiences born twenty-thirty years after the Supremes split up. Most of the show's dramatic power comes from feeling one is getting the behind-the-scenes scoop (sort of yes, sort of no, but anyway that emotional connection to the Supremes and their legacy had a huge impact on the show's success).

Hated the movie, but loved Hudson in it. The audience at the showing I attended went wild during "AIATY." It's the only time I've see that at a mainstream, cineplex screening. She deserved it. But I get the complaints about her being too young. Not for Effie at the start, but the work spans over a decade, and by the end everyone (not just Hudson) seemed oddly young for the point in their lives they'd reached. This is probably just a variation on the issue with Magnolia in Show Boat, where the actress either seems too old for the early scenes or not mature enough for the later ones. Would love to see Hudson triumph in a lavish Broadway revival. 

Updated On: 5/26/23 at 07:05 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/6/24 at 7:38pm

Coming up on three years since i started this thread and not even a two week Encores production - hey maybe next summer???

With all the money spent and wasted on shows, it’s just insane this hasn’t happened in the almost twenty years since the film was released. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 12/6/24 at 7:52pm

I think this show is similar to Funny Girl and Evita in the sense that you really need to cast a once in a generation, knock your socks off, blow the roof off star. Elena Roger and Beanie were raked across the coals. These are very large shoes to fill. They need to find the right girl at the right time.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 12/6/24 at 9:12pm

WiCkEDrOcKS said: "If it’s not Jai’Len Josey as Effie, I don’t need it."

Almost three years later and I said what I said. 

[The8re phan]

Posted: 12/7/24 at 9:22am

Wasn't there chatter last year of Alex Newell taking on Effie? 

[greensgreens]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 12:44am

The8re phan said: "Wasn't there chatter last year of Alex Newell taking on Effie?"

Oh good, Effie will only be engaged with the plot and other actors during her two big numbers and somehow work in more vocal tricks than Holliday, only performing at half the shows? Pass. You need to create a star to cast an effective Effie. 

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 2:06pm

greensgreens said: "The8re phan said: "Wasn't there chatter last year of Alex Newell taking on Effie?"

Oh good, Effie will only be engaged with the plot and other actors during her two big numbers and somehow work in more vocal tricks than Holliday, only performing at half the shows? Pass. You need to create a star to cast an effective Effie."

I mean.... you basically just described Effie.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 12/8/24 at 7:57pm

Playing Effie and BEING Effie are two very different things. Lol

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 1:56am

I wish we had gotten the Amber Riley performance on Broadway in any production.