Amber Riley Forced to Sit Out DREAMGIRLS Following Pneumonia Diagnosis

Producers of the West End revival of Dreamgirls turned to Twitter today to announce that Amber Riley, who has missed the last several performances of the show, has been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Riley is one of several cast members who have been stricken with the illness. According to the tweet, Marisha Wallace has been flown over to London to alternate the role of 'Effie White' with cast member Karen Mav. Wallace, who recently appeared on Broadway in SOMETHING ROTTEN, has previously performed the role of 'Effie' in the U.S.

In their statement, producers share that they are working with doctors to ensure that the stricken cast members recover as soon as possible, yet emphasize that they do not want the actors to return too quickly and become ill again. BWW wishes those cast members affected by the illness a speedy recovery!

Amber Riley stars in Dreamgirls alongside Liisi LaFontaine as Deena Jones and Ibinabo Jack as Lorrell Robinson making up the soulful singing trio 'The Dreams'. Joe Aaron Reid plays Curtis Taylor Jr, Adam J. Bernard plays Jimmy Early, Tyrone Huntley plays C.C. White, Nicholas Bailey plays Marty and Lily Frazer plays Michelle Morris.

Dreamgirls is Directed and Choreographed by Olivier and Tony Award®-winning Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon,Disney's Aladdin and Something Rotten!), with Set Design by Tim Hatley, Costume Design by Gregg Barnes, Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone, Sound Design by Richard Brooker and Hair Design by Josh Marquette. The Musical Supervisor is Nick Finlow, the Orchestrator is Harold Wheeler, with Additional Material by Willie Reale.

Dreamgirls transports you to a revolutionary time in American music history. Dreamgirls charts the tumultuous journey of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called 'The Dreams', as they learn the hard lesson that show business is as tough as it is fabulous, and features the classic songs 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going', 'I Am Changing', 'Listen' and 'One Night Only' .

With Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger, the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony Awards. The original cast recording won two Grammy awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday's 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.' In 2006 it was adapted into an Oscar winning motion picture starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.

Photo by BRINKHOFF/MÖGENBURG