DREAMGIRLS to Bow Next Week at Alhambra Theatre & Dining

Following the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago called "The Dreams" who become music superstars, Dreamgirls is a show about a time in American musical history when rhythm and blues blended with other styles of popular music creating a new American sound.

Act One is set in the fabulous sixties, a time when people were still screaming at Elvis and listening to The Beatles, but were dancing to the new beat of countless groups like The Supremes, The Marvelettes, The Temptations and The Shirelles. Act Two shows the creation and the arrival of disco, another new turn in American pop music.

Dreamgirls opened on December 20, 1981, at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway, and was then nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical, and won six. It was later adapted into a motion picture from DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures in 2006. "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was a number one single on the Billboard R&B charts in 1982. For the Dreamgirls original cast recording won two Grammy Awards, including Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance. The 2006 film won two Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actress nod for Jennifer Hudson.

Not just about the singing, dancing and the performing, Dreamgirls takes the audience on a behind-the-scenes rags-to-riches journey in entertainment industry - the business part of show business that made possible this cultural phenomenon. DreamGirls marks the musical contribution to America of such importance that only now are we beginning to understand.

While the show has been likened to the story of Diana Ross and The Supremes, writer Tom Eyen denied that he had The Supremes in mind when he wrote the book. He is quoted as saying in 1986, "I didn't grow up with The Supremes...I grew up with the Shirelles. Dreamgirls isn't about any one group. It's a cavalcade of Motown singers: The Shirelles, the Chiffons, Martha and the Vandellas, Little Richard and Stevie Wonder. All these characters are larger than life.

Alhambra Executive Chef, DeJuan Roy prepares a new menu for each Alhambra production. The menu for Dreamgirls includes: First Course, choice of Chicken and Rice Soup or Seasonal Salad with early spring mix, heirloom tomato, watermelon radish, derby dressing. The Second Course includes a choice of Braised Lamb Shoulder with couscous, pomegranates, charred carrot whipped herb butter, or Salmon Croquette with a Meyer lemon cream, thyme and coconut jasmine rice, cowpeas, or Chef DeJuan's World-Famous Fried Chicken with white BBQ sauce, chopped pickles, house made fries, Brussels sprout slaw, or a Split Pea Soup with garden vegetables, fried squash blossom, pea tendrils. The Dessert Course includes a choice of Strawberry Shortcake or House-made Cream Puff pastry with powdered sugar

Dreamgirls runs at the Alhambra Theatre & Dining from April 12 through May 21, 2107. Tickets start at just $35, and include dinner, show and parking. The Alhambra is located at 12000 Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville, FL. For show times and details, call the box office at 904.641.1212 or at www.alhambrajax.com.

Originally opened in 1967, the Alhambra Theatre & Dining is the longest-running professional dinner theater in the United States. In November 2009, the Alhambra was purchased by Theatre Partners, LLC, headed by Jacksonville entrepreneur, Craig Smith as way to give back to Jacksonville and preserve what he believes is one of its cultural jewels. The theater now hosts more than 120,000 people each year, employs more than 70 full-time staff, and donates tens of thousands of dollars and tickets annually to area charities. The Alhambra has hosted legends such as Tony Curtis, Claude Aiken, Sid Cesar and Cesar Romero, and, recently, Loretta Swit, Barry Williams, Jamie Farr, Michael Learned, Barbara Eden and Mike Farrell. The Alhambra was the place of Betty Grable's final acting role. The Alhambra is also home to former Miss America, Orange Park, Florida native Leanza Cornett.

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