Dreamgirls: Encyclopedia II - Dreamgirls - History

Dreamgirls - History

Dreamgirls - Original Broadway production

The original Broadway production of Dreamgirls starred Jennifer Holliday as Effie White, Sheryl Lee Ralph as Deena Jones, Loretta Devine as Lorrell Robinson, Ben Harney as Curtis Taylor, Jr., Cleavant Derricks as James "Thunder" Early, and Obba Babatunde as C. C. White. Dreamgirls proved to be a star-making vehicle for several of its performers, particularly Holliday, whose performance as Effie received significant praise.

Dreamgirls was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical, and eventually won six: Best Book of a Musical, *Best Actor in a Musical (Ben Harney), Best Actress in a Musical (Jennifer Holliday), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Cleavant Derricks), Best Lighting Design (Tharon Musser), and Best Choreography (Michael Bennett & Michael Peters). Holliday's recording of Effie's solo "And I'm Telling You (I'm Not Going)", was a Top 30 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.

After its success on Broadway, Dreamgirls has been frequently produced and presented. During the early 2000s, American Idol contestant Frenchie Davis gained praise for her role as Effie in several productions of Dreamgirls.

Dreamgirls - The Dreams and The Supremes

The basic plot of Dreamgirls is derived from the history of The Supremes, a girl-group from Detroit which was Motown's most successful group act during the 1960s. Effie is a doppelganger for Florence Ballard, original lead singer of the Supremes. Diana Ross, who became the central focus of the Supremes by 1965, is here adapted into the character of Deena Jones. Supremes member Mary Wilson is represented by Lorrell in Dreamgirls; like Lorrell, Wilson was involved in a relationship with a male R&B star ("Abdul "Duke" Fakir of The Four Tops). Curtis Taylor, Jr. represents Berry Gordy, Jr., the founder of Motown, who pushed the Supremes towards pop success and became romantically involved with Ross (though not Ballard). James "Thunder" Early is depicted as a James Brown - like singer, and C. C. White is a collective representative for The Supremes' primary songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Michelle Morris is representative of Cindy Birdsong, Florence Ballard's replacement in The Supremes, which was renamed "Diana Ross & the Supremes" at that time.

Dreamgirls is most dissimilar from The Supremes' story in its second act, during which Effie works towards and finds success as a solo performer. In real life, Florence Ballard's solo career was not successful, and the singer sunk into poverty, dying at the age of thirty-two in 1976.

Mary Wilson loved Dreamgirls, and even named her first autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, after it. Diana Ross, however, was reportedly angered by the musical, and refused to see it.

Dreamgirls - 2006 feature film

• See article Dreamgirls Movie

A motion picture adaptation of Dreamgirls, to be written and directed by Bill Condon, is scheduled to start filming in early 2006, starring Jennifer Hudson of American Idol fame as Effie White, Beyoncé Knowles as Deena Jones, and Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell. Fantasia Barrino had originally been the top contender considered for the role of Effie [1].

Also appearing in Dreamgirls are Jamie Foxx as Curtis Taylor, Jr, Eddie Murphy as James "Thunder" Early, Danny Glover as Early's manager, and Sharon Leal as Michelle Morris. Usher Raymond was in talks to play C.C. White, but the producers could not negotiate an acceptable deal with him, and cast Keith Robinson in that role.

To give the story more exposure for the upcoming film release, DreamWorks Pictures and the copyright owners of the original play have announced that they will pay the licensing fees for all stage performances of Dreamgirls for the calendar year of 2006. DreamWorks hopes to encourage amateur productions of Dreamgirls, and familiarize a wider audience with the play.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki