NAACP Theatre Awards Honors Sheryl Lee Ralph & THE FIRST WIVES CLUB – Musical

Last night the NAACP Theatre Awards held at the Directors Guild of America, "raised the roof" in Los Angeles as a packed sold out house roared their approval of the dynamic strides the African American community made in the world of theatre in 2009-2010.

Half way through the program real theatre took over when a huge movie screen revealed behind the stage ran a spectacular video covering the appeal and commercial success of honored musical, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB - in its Old Globe Theatre premier last year in San Diego, CA.

A musical makeover of the wildly popular film starring Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn, the NAACP honored the courageous decision by writer Rupert Holmes to change the Goldie Hawn movie star character to an African American Diva pop star. This color blind casting added greatly to the commercial success of the show. That was expressed when the picture of the "new" Elyse Elliot" Tony Award nominee, Sheryl Lee Ralph filled the screen and the crowd broke into immediate loving applause.

The dynamic, Miss Ralph was in attendance to perform her ACT 2 show stopping number, "THAT WAS ME THEN ... THIS IS ME NOW" written by music icons, Holland Dozier Holland. When the spots hit Sheryl Lee Ralph "live" ... it was star time the likes of a big Judy Garland moment. And the diva didn't let us down! Dressed in the First Wives Club signature white suit adorned with big hair, crystal Sonya Rykiel pumps and pearls, BEAUTIFUL! Sheryl's performance was riveting. The voice of "Deena Jones" has matured beautifully. And the crowd stood in agreement as she sang her last note of the phrase ... "But this is me NOW!"

Catch Sheryl Lee Ralph Saturday October 9th in the
20th DIVAS Simply Singing!
www.divassimplysinging.com

 

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