![]() Up to this point, Riley has been impressing with her voice but struggling to impose her character. And there’s no more obvious instance than the musical’s signature song, Effie’s “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” which closes the first act. Yet for all the theatrical gymnastics, when a song needs to dig deep, every ounce of focus turns onto the performer. In the second act, there’s an even more dazzling moment as Effie’s performance of “I Am Changing” segues from audition to packed club performance, complete with a miraculous costume change from drab day clothes to a shimmering gown (Gregg Barnes’ wardrobe design is consistently eye-catching). The best example from the first act is a terrific rendering of “ Steppin‘ to the Bad Side,” which opens with a West Side Story vibe, the strutting Curtis leading male dancers in a dynamic, macho-posturing routine in an edgy urban setting, before - bang - down comes a glittering scarlet backdrop and the girls appear in beautiful blue dresses, taking over the number. And with it, Nicholaw orchestrates a series of jaw-dropping transitions - with set, lighting, costumes, hair, the whole shebang changing in a flash before our eyes. Tim Hatley’s set design appears to borrow from the Bennett model, with four mobile towers of lights, which organize the space as well as providing onstage lighting effects and while this at first seems a one-note approach, as the show progresses the design reveals more layers and versatility. The musical hardly ever keeps still, crackling with energy and momentum from one song and dance number to the next. And it’s here that this effervescent production thrives. While Nicholaw doesn’t overcome these deficiencies, he does understand that the show’s effect - all of its drama and emotion, as well as its entertainment value - lies in the scintillating songs by Henry Krieger and Eyen. Can it be a coincidence that the main driver of the book, Curtis, frequently appears to be accompanied by a weak performance? Reid here rarely registers as more than a two-dimensional shark in a suit. The thin plotting leaves us to wonder about Effie’s missing years of career ostracism and single motherhood, the social impact of the upgraded Dreams without her and how such an evident heel as Curtis can keep so many people under his spell. Nor is it any more satisfying when dealing with the personal conflicts of the piece, as Curtis’ manipulations turn Effie, Deena Jones ( Liisi LaFontaine) and Lorrell Robinson ( Ibinabo Jack) against one other. The correspondence between the two pieces is a reminder of Dreamgirls‘ weak spot, namely Tom Eyen’s book, which doesn’t eke out nearly as much nuance or drama from its theme as it might. Bernard) into a black Perry Como, stripping his music of its soul and the man of his mojo, before setting his sights with the same intent on Early’s backing singers, the Dreamettes. In Powers’ play, Malcolm X chides soul singer Sam Cooke for pandering to white tastes in Dreamgirls, car salesman-turned-music promoter Curtis Taylor Jr (Joe Aaron Reid) cynically transforms R&B singer Jimmy “Thunder” Early (Adam J. ![]() The common ground is interest in those tensions that arose when black American performers tried to cross over into the so-called mainstream of the white-dominated pop charts. ![]() In form, these are very different animals of course - one a tight-knit drama, the other a rollicking musical. There’s an interesting coincidence in the show’s timing in London, hot on the heels of the Donmar production of Kemp Powers’ One Night in Miami. ![]() ![]() That’s not to say the production has shaken off the material’s flaws. In conveying the topsy-turvy rise of three Chicago friends, from backup singers to headliners in the 1960s and ‘ 70s, Nicholaw and his skilled production team perform a couple of key sleights of hand: they maximize the Savoy Theatre’s narrow, seemingly restrictive stage with such ingenuity and precision that it sometimes feels as if the cast’s energy is being harnessed and literally poured outward into the auditorium and they marshal that fine-voiced trans-Atlantic company into a near-seamless ensemble that has the audience eating out of its hands. Marva Hicks, Actress in Broadway's 'Lion King' and 'Motown,' Dies at 66 ![]()
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