Dreamgirls - Savoy / UK Tour

It's definitely now extended to October. Can't see it closing any time soon - demand is incredible!! I can't see it touring soon either until the show closes but I think (and really hope) it'll be open for a couple of years!!

They website is now booking until October. WTF?

Why was the box office giving oit such rubbish information earlier today.

Thanks guys.

Are you actually joking?

This has a huge advance that will continue to grow over the coming weeks. Word of mouth (and reviews) are incredible for this. It won't close anytime soon.

Dreamgirls will definitely extend past October. It is a huge hit, people love it, And there would be no reason to close. If Amber leaves, they will recast the role. It is a super role and many full figured actresses I image would be clamoring for a chance to play Effie.

I do think (to use a double negative) there is no way that this show won't go to Broadway with Liisi and Amber. Both are American and it's a no brainer. I also think they would bring over Ibinabo to keep the threesome in tact.

Agree with you Mr Barnaby. This show will not close any time soon especially in October - it wouldn't of lasted a year in October and this will most certainly run longer than a year. It's never been advertised as a limited run either. Word of moth and reviews, like Mr B said, are great for this. I don't think Amber leaving will cause the show to close either, this is a show people go to see for the show itself rather than the name but the name is an added bonus. They can recast Effie and even if Effie isn't a name, they can quite easily make Deena a name.

Oh don't worry, I know what that's like....

Why do you still think the show will close in October? Judging by the advance and reviews?

I'm expecting Dreamgirls will run at least 18 months to 2 years maybe even 3 years which would more than respectable given the original Broadway production ran for 3 years.

That's an understatement. I think euphoria is more accurate. I'm going again, for certain. Those involved in this show ought to be incredibly proud.

Is Amber scheduled to continue with the show over the festive period or will the alternates be on?

Thanks, I don't know. I have not actually seen the show as yet hoping to see it over the festive period

Saw yesterday's matinee and loved it! A feelgood triumph-of-the-underdog story, boosted by tremendous singing of tremendous songs.

Some spoilers follow. . .

On one level, the show makes for a terrific concert, with a programme that includes a variety of different song-types, singers and choreography, each number as dazzling as the glitter on their costumes. One reason why the show resembles a concert is the thinness of the book (remarked upon by others here), skipping through history like a join-the-dots exercise, eviscerating complexity by abandoning the aftermath of key moments.

Fortunately, the complexity still lingers: the duality of Joe Aaron Reid's Curtis, a progressive pioneer in breaking down societal racism but also a cruel regressive force of patriarchy; the simultaneous attractiveness and repulsiveness of Adam J. Bernard's unpackageably wild and magnetic trouser-dropping love-cheat Jimmy Early; the degree to which ambition limits The Dreams' friendship when success is a zero-sum game.

These factors work to bolster the dramatic heft of what is otherwise a by-the-numbers underdog story. Although it is by-the-numbers, Effie's story carries an iconic resonance because it is super-charged. No underdog in society being more historically disadvantaged than an overweight black woman, Effie's plight makes Elphaba's moaning about being "green," in Wicked, seem super-petty. "Dreamgirls" graces our underdog protagonist with a superpower: a voice that can break down any barrier, which crashes through skulls straight into bleeding hearts. Amber Riley embodies that superpower, which is why she is such perfect casting, and is why the audience cheer every time she comes on stage.

Amber Riley is not yet an exceptional actor, her Ryan-Murphy-educated-big-gesture-acting-style not honed for subtlety. Her fellow Dreams, Liisi LaFontaine and Ibinabo Jack act her off the stage in the delicacy of their ability to express emotion. But Riley's voice doesn't seem to know that Riley's face can't act. Riley's voice has a range of expression that is majestic! She can come in with a whisper of a song, and build through every grade of emotion, crash through the barrier where you think she's at a ten, and go further until. . . well, I was in tears at the end of "And I am telling you I'm not going!"

The best actor on the stage though, for me, was Adam J Bernard. He's astonishing, for his stage-swallowing charisma, for his wild yelp, for his ability to depict Jimmy Early as both a charging bull and as a timid mouse. He was so captivating that I preferred the double act of "Jimmy Early and the Dreams" to "The Dreams" alone, with "Fake Your Way to the Top" being a personal highlight.

Choreographically, "Steppin' to the Bad Side" was my favourite number, starting with the martial regimentation of Joe Aaron Reid's Curtis Taylor Jr, all those men moving robotically in lockstep with him, to the way the number ended by showcasing the individualism of Adam J. Bernard's Jimmy being Jimmy.

I was delighted that Tyrone Huntley, so electric in Jesus Christ Superstar, got a song, "Family," where he was able to show entirely another side to his talent, namely how tender his singing can be.

Towards the end of the show, Amber Riley and Liisi LaFontaine (a wonderful singer, albeit lacking the belt of Riley) duetted on the number "Listen," and the interplay of their voices was vital and thrilling.

Despite it's thin book, the underlying story here is so rich, the songs so strong, Adam J. Bernard so special, and Amber Riley so supercharged, that this show shouldn't be missed.

4 and a half stars