BWW Reviews: DREAMGIRLS at the Fulton Theatre - A Dream of a Show

Nominated for thirteen Tonys in 1982 and winning six, Henry Krieger's and Tom Eyen's DREAMGIRLS is a retelling of the stories of R&B soloists and groups, popularly presumed to be about Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and The Supremes but also incorporating elements of other groups' histories as well - the Shirelles come to mind - as well as JAmes Brown and other major R&B soloists, with a bit of Ike and Tina's stormy relationship added for good measure (unless, of course, it's Diana Ross and Berry Gordy Jr's). African-American singers were forced out of groups, faced manipulative agents and managers, were blocked from appearing in "white" clubs, and frequently found themselves unable to compete either with "white" sounds or with better-financed mainstream record labels that could afford payola. Whether the main plot is or isn't the Ross/Ballard wars of The Supremes, the general experience of African-American entertainers of the period is nonetheless a major theme of the show.

At the Fulton Theatre, director Marc Robin has both directed and choreographed a new production of DREAMGIRLS, and while it's not as over-the-top, singularly sensational as his re-envisioned A CHORUS LINE, very little could top that production. Compared to that, this is only spectacular and thoroughly enjoyable. Overall, the costuming by Kurt Alger is stunning, a perfect recreation of Sixties girl-group femininity and Seventies slinkiness, with a dash of sexy disco nightmare. The men's costuming is spot-on accurate, and the male show performers on stage can be found in all of the most alarming alleged men's formal wear that the period ever foisted on the eye in a plethora of television variety shows. Scenic designer Robert Andrew Kovach has created a simple but highly effective set, and the dressing room/backstage scenes are particularly nicely done. Lighting designer Paul Black gives the nightclub and television scenes their due as well, although those in the front rows may find the lighting effects just slightly too dazzling at times.

Many of the cast, who are uniformly fine, are veterans of Marc Robin's Chicago production of DREAMGIRLS and are well familiar with the show. It's to be expected that the female leads, the girls of the Dreamettes and the women of the Dreams, would be fine performers and vocalists, which makes the quality of the male performers in this production particularly significant. Kelvin Roston Jr. as James "Thunder" Early is especially notable, perhaps one of the best performers this part has seen, and the Fulton should be pleased to have him in from the Chicago production. His emotional breakdown during a nightclub act is a tour de force, and this production is worth the price for that scene alone. Fulton veteran Eric B. Anthony as C.C. White, songwriter and brother of Dreamette Effie, is also outstanding in his portrayal of a man finding himself in conflict between his work and his sister's needs, first helping to destroy her career to preserve his own, and then trying to undo the debacle he has helped to create. Byron Glenn Willis plays Curtis Taylor, Jr., former car salesman and the Svengali of the Dreams, with a low-key charm, allegedly only concerned for everyone's welfare but out only for his own.

Effie White, the lead of the show and once of the Dreamettes, is played by Bryonha Marie Parham, previously on Broadway in Diane Paulus' THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS. Fine in the first act as a young woman on the way up and then an adult on a spiral down, her first-act closer, "(And I Am Telling You) I'm Not Going" is excellent - but perhaps only a warm-up to a show-stopping "I Am Changing" in the second act. Her friends and former Dreamettes/Dreams co-stars Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson are plaved by Britney Coleman and Trista Dollison, Coleman a veteran of Marc Robin's Chicago DREAMGIRLS and Dollison of the Broadway THE LION KING. Both are highly talented singers, and Dollison a particularly fine actor, especially in her scenes with Roston in the second act. Karissa Harris plays the "fourth Dream," Michelle Morris, who is also C.C.'s love interest and the one who convinces him to help his sister, even at the cost of his career as the Dreams' songwriter.

Other than the sometimes too-dazzling lighting and some sound issues, the show is technically fine. It is also more emotionally satisfying than many productions, as the director has managed to portray clearly the youth and naiveté of the girls as the young Dreamettes, who all develop very different personalities and - in a nice piece of technique by all three women - even vocal styles as they progress through the years. Not only are the three different from each other, but they are, as the show moves forward in time, clearly not the same as their earlier selves. Character growth is rarely so well-depicted in many musicals, not only this one, and kudos to Robin for not overlooking the point.

DREAMGIRLS is a show that is worth it for the plot - it's one of the tighter books in American musical theatre - but also for the history. In an era in which African-American entertainers are at the top of the box office at movies, heavily nominated for theatre awards, and leading the music industry, it's difficult for many people, especially younger ones, to understand that back in the dark ages of the 1960's, such top entertainers as Sammy Davis Jr. were not permitted to appear in "white" nightclubs in many cities, or that radio stations would refuse to play "race music". The surprise appearance in DREAMGIRLS of Jimmy "Thunder" Early at the Atlantic Hotel in Miami mirrors Davis' comments that the only way he could appear at certain Florida clubs in those days would be as a waiter. When watching DREAMGIRLS, come for the music, stay for the plot... but leave with an understanding of American music history.

DREAMGIRLS plays at the Fulton through May 12. For tickets, call at 717-397-7425 or visit www.thefulton.org.

Photo Credit: Jose Urbanetta

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