Will Amber Riley-Led DREAMGIRLS Land on Broadway Next Season?

Effie might indeed be going... to Broadway. According to the New York Post, London producer Sonia Friedman is already looking for a Broadway Theater to transfer the West End production, which has been bringing audiences to their feet nightly.

A hiccup in the plan involves leading lady Amber Riley, who has been suffering from some health issues since the show opened in London. A source tells NYP: "If you look at the reviews, you'll see they're mostly about her. And she's sensational. But if there are more health problems and she can't come to New York, it's going to be impossible to find someone to replace her."

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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