MUNY Dreamgirls with Jennifer Holliday!

[Deena Jones]

Is anyone going on the 16ht? I am DYING to hear how this is!!! http://www.muny.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=924:holliday-mckinney-randall-page-and-jackson-lead-a-powerful-cast&catid=25:muny-news&Itemid=270

[Phantom4ever]

I will be seeing it on Friday July 20th while I'm in STL for NCTE's Literacies for All Summer Institute!

[Deena Jones]

PLEASE Review it!!!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I'm going Wednesday!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

This is a pretty good interview with our Jennifer. She sounds realiatic about this being the last time she'll play it and stuff, and the Muny is really striving to reinvent itself this year, so this may be a triumph all around.

Plus this,

For folks fortunate enough to have seen Dreamgirls on Broadway – are there any updates or changes to the Muny production?

No – no changes at all. There was a company that did something that combined the movie and the play, but this will be the original play. So I think the treat will be for those who haven’t seen it before – as well as those who have seen it before – just to get a refresher of what the play was and not so much the movie.

So yeah. I was hating on this earlier this summer, but I'm looking forward to it.
Jennifer Holliday's Muny Encore

[Deena Jones]

Thanks, Phyllis!!!

[Deena Jones]

MUNY interviews Holliday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTgvipQxmvc&feature=youtu.be

[phan24]

A friend sent me a picture of opening night, wish it had been a close up of Holliday. I am dying to see this, one of the only times I wished I lived in St. Louis.

[EricMontreal22]

ooohm Wagner's infamous pillars. So is this essentially the Bennett staging?

[TheatreDiva90016]

"No ¯ no changes at all. There was a company that did something that combined the movie and the play, but this will be the original play."

[beagle]

Just got back from seeing it. It was an excellent production, and I thought the whole cast was very strong. Jennifer Holliday was in great voice and there was actually a partial standing ovation after "And I Am Telling You..." I'd never seen any kind of standing ovation for one song at the Muny before. I actually thought her "I Am Changing" was even better, though. She sounded great, and although her age was somewhat evident when she was dancing surrounded by much younger performers, she played the role very well. She was great, but it wasn't "The Jennifer Holliday Show" either. The whole show was impressive.

All four Dreams (Holliday, Demetria McKinney, Jenelle Lynn Randall, and Karla Mosley) gave great performances, as did Christopher Jackson as Curtis, Tommar Wilson as C.C. and Milton Craig Nealy as Jimmy. It was a very strong production and more evidence that the Muny is really trying to reinvent itself this year.

So far, I think there have been two first-rate productions (this and MILLIE) as well as two very good ones (CHICAGO and ALADDIN), and it's already the best overall season I've seen at the Muny. I'm impressed.

I'm going to try to have a full review up on my blog (http://snoopmk.wordpress.com/) in the next day or two. I really enjoyed this production, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the shows this season.

[EricMontreal22]

Right, but I thought that quote was more just about the script--not the production.

[EricMontreal22]

And I guess this answers my question: directed by Robert Clater, and choreographed by Lesia Kaye.

[darreyl102]

Anybody stage doored the show yet? does Holliday come out? and also, anyone know where the stage door is located at the Muny?

[beagle]

My husband and I tried to stage door. I had never stage doored at the Muny before, but I thought it would be fun to meet Jennifer Holliday, so we got in the line. They had a roped-off area for the line to see her, and a group of us were waiting for about 30-40 mins until some other cast or crew members (I think) walked by and told us she wouldn't be meeting people, so most of us left. I saw a few people still hanging around when we left, though, so it's possible the women who walked by were wrong, but I didn't stick around to find out. I wouldn't blame her for not coming out to greet the fans because the heat was kind of obnoxious (as it has been for most of this month). From the set-up they had, it seems like she will be coming out on some nights, but I guess it depends on circumstances.

I did see a few other cast members at the stage door. Christopher Jackson spent a lot of time signing autographs, chatting with people and posing for photos, and there were a few others there as well.

As for where the stage door is, if you're looking at the Muny from the main (lower) entrance, it's about halfway up the left side walkway going into the seating area. We use that walkway to leave after the shows, so we always walk by there on the way out. There's usually a good-sized crowd gathered there after the shows, but most of the time it's just people who know the cast members coming to say hi after the show. This is the first time I've seen a special line set up for a specific performer.

[Deena Jones]

WOW! That stage looks HUGE!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Eric, you're right, I'm sure she was talking about the tour from a couple of years ago that interpolated "Listen" and made some second act changes. I can't wait until tomorrow night!
St Louis Post-Dispatch Review

[JoeKv99]

"Holliday has said there won't be another chance. She doesn't plan to play Effie again."

Plan to.

[Deena Jones]

Can anyone tell us what the opening number to Act 2 that they used was?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I'll know for sure when I go tomorrow, but I'd imagine it will be the revised opening that's heard on the concert album. That's the opening that was used when I saw J Hol do it in Atlanta ten years ago.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

This picture seems to confirm that.

[darreyl102]

THANKS FOR THE INFO!!

[morosco]

How odd that this footage doesn't spotlight any of Holliday's numbers.
STAGE TUBE: Inside Opening Night of DREAMGIRLS at the Muny!

[AEA AGMA SM]

Could be that they are holding back her footage in an effort to force you to come see the show if you want to see and hear her?

[Deena Jones]

Any more reviews? Those "backdrops" of Deena and James Thunder Early look really cheesy

[theaterdrew]

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2012-07-19/culture/dreamgirls-the-muny-jennifer-holliday-effie-white/