Still More Theater Saturday - Dreamgirls

We were given complimentary tickets to Dreamgirls for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own. 

What: Dreamgirls

Where: McCarter Theatre Center

             91 University Pl.

             Princeton NJ

Who: Recommended for Ages 15 and Up

When: Through March 24, 2024

Dreamgirls, the musical about an all-black girl singing group in the 1960s, is now playing at McCarter Theater in a production that originated at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT.  The show which originally premiered on Broadway in 1981 also spawned the 2006 movie starring Beyonce, Jaime Foxx and Eddie Murphy among others including Jennifer Hudson in her Oscar-winning movie debut. Its fast-paced book is rumored to be based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes, and its score is full of fun catchy songs including the title number. The show is generally a crowd-pleaser, and the current production is no exception. 

The standout performer in this production is Saint Aubyn in the role of James Thunder Early. His performance is electric. When he is on stage singing and dancing up a storm, you can't take your eyes off him. Trejah Bostic, on the other hand, is a little weak in the normally career-making role of Effie. Her first act closing number, And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going, is normally a show-stopper that has led many performers to awards. Jennifer Holliday and Amber Riley won the  Tony Award and the Olivier Award respectively for the role and the previously mentioned Jennifer Hudson won her Oscar for the role as well. Ms. Bostic, however, is quite understated. She never quite reaches the right level of intensity to give the song the powerful impact on the audience it usually has. Her performance did actually gain some intensity in the second act, but it didn't have the same effect as if it had occurred earlier.  The rest of the performances were mostly good, and the production, on the whole, was quite enjoyable.

And that's our view. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.mccarter.org/season/2023-2024/theater/dreamgirls

Tune in tomorrow for this week's Sunday Scoop. 

Photo credits:

All Dreamgirls production photos by Diane Soblewski

Images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms and are used by permission. If there is aza problem with the rights to any image, please contact us here, and we will look into the matter.