Dreamgirls @ Jubilee Theatre/Bass Performance Hall
Photo Credit: Freddie Watkins
—Jan Farrington
What about how I feel?
What about me?
Dreamgirls still packs a punch. It goes on a bit too long, and we wish the ladies of the singing group “The Dreams” would punch their guys in the face about an hour earlier than they do. But this big Broadway hit of 1981 (winner of six Tony Awards) still pulls you into the story of three Black “girls” with dreams of stardom—and all the men who use, abuse, and even, sometimes, help them along the way.
This is Jubilee Theatre’s second recent show on the big Bass Performance Hall stage (the first was last year’s Southern Boys; both are collaborations with Performing Arts Fort Worth). Jubilee artistic director D. Wambui Richardson has collected plenty of vocal talent, and pulled vivid character portraits from the cast. Playwright Tom Eyen wrote the script, with conductor Henry Krieger composing the Motown-meets-opera score (much of it sung-through with only minimal breaks between songs), and back in the day they had input from Michael Bennett, fresh from A Chorus Line, who worked on the story line and (of course) choreographed the original production.
Quinton Winston created the lively dances for this show, and they get us into the feel of the times: R&B, Motown, Vogue, Disco. His style is a great blend of “wow” individual moments and ensemble dancing—with plenty of gymnastics from the men of the cast. Hope Cox’s array of ever-changing costumes (the dressers backstage must be exhausted) are inventive and colorful, and all are well-lit by Andrew Davila’s sparkly lighting.
At Jubilee’s home venue (just a few blocks from Bass Hall), the musicians stay close to the action—and in this show, music director Steve A. Taylor is onstage from start to finish with his band, talented musicians who move from style to style as the years pass: Ray L. Flippen Sr. on bass, Dre Guilford on drums, Taylor and Leslie Radcliff on keyboards, and Nicholas Woodhouse on guitar.
All the “Dreams” have fine voices that can dip and soar as needed: Denise Baker is Lorrell, Miracle Foster is Deena Jones, and Contessah Irene Davis is Effie—whose story (though it’s about all of them) is at the center of the action. She’s got the big, belting voice, but not (in the men’s eyes) the looks to be a star. When Deena is picked as the new lead singer, Effie can’t accept doing “backup” again. (L’Paige Bedford—and her lovely voice—make a late entrance as Michelle, the singer hired to replace Effie.)
The men of the cast have plenty of shine time, too. Kyle Spears has a sweet tenor as Effie’s songwriting brother C.C. White. Davian Jackson is shameless and funny as Jimmy Earl, the handsy married singer who gets involved with Lorrell. And Rickie Jones is terrific as the manipulative Curtis Taylor, who woos Effie but switches to Deena as her star rises. All are good singer/actors—and pretty light on their feet in the dance sequences.
At the end of Act One, with the iconic “And I Tell You I’m Not Going,” Effie makes a last stand against being pushed back into the shadows. (Davis’ emotional solo brought down the house.) Act Two will tell us how things play out…for everyone. On opening night, the capacity audience was having a great time, especially some tween-age young ladies near me, who danced in their seats, and seemed to know every song.
Dreamgirls closes on Sunday—but if this ‘80s throwback musical is one of your personal favorites, it’s time to grab a ticket!
WHEN: Closing August 14
WHERE: Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
WEB: basshall.com
