Dreamgirls – Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham and Touring

Nicole Raquel Dennis in Dreamgirls at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham and Touring. Picture: Matt Crockett

Dreamgirls continues at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham until 31 December 2022 before touring until 7 January 2023.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2021, the Broadway musical Dreamgirls has been playing UK stages for the past year.  The musical won six Tonys for its original Broadway run, including Best Actress to Jennifer Holliday for her iconic blueprint of Effie White, a performance which has gone down in musical theatre history as a true original. Interest was revived in the musical in 2006 when the film adaptation earned an Oscar for Jennifer Hudson, and a West End run followed a decade later, led by Glee’s Amber Riley (who went on to win the Olivier for her portrayal). With such an acclaimed history, it’s always great to see the show back on the road, and it can currently be seen at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre.

Taking place in Chicago over the 1960s and 70s, Dreamgirls introduces us to three young women, who dream of becoming stars. Backing singers Lorrell (Paige Peddie) and Deena (Natalie Kassanga) and lead vocalist Effie (Nicole Raquel Dennis) try out for a local talent show as The Dreamettes, where slippery music manager Curtis (Matt Mills) spots their potential and asks them to sing back-up for Jimmy ‘Thunder’ Early (Brandon Lee Sears).

The group starts to see success, along with romance for Effie and Curtis and Lorrell and Jimmy, but in order to really cross over to the pop charts, Curtis rebrands them as The Dreams and replaces Effie with Deena as lead singer. The changes shatter the group apart as the characters deal with the fallout, relationships are tested, and the ‘new sound’ of disco promises to change the face of music forever.

Dreamgirls certainly doesn’t look like it’s just turned the big 4-0, and the musical delivers a bright and bold night out with dazzling costumes and killer vocals. Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen’s score still sounds great, moving from Motown and soul through to the funkier disco style as the story progresses through the years, giving all of its leads multiple chances to shine.

It’s also a show where the women and their vocals are front and centre, loud and proud, with big numbers for even bigger female voices, despite being written in a time that predates power-ballad-belters like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.  Musically it does feel like it takes a bit of time to find its feet, with the stronger more memorable numbers happening from about halfway, but from that point it remains consistently strong until the end.

With this new touring production, director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw remains faithful to the show’s original Broadway roots and staging, and delivers slick transitions as the story unfolds. Act I suffers a little with its pace, not helped by the backdrops which remain fairly similar for too long and the story taking some time to really take off, but this is remedied later on.

Dreamgirls is one of those rare shows where Act II is stronger, defying the more common result where shows give us all their strongest material earlier on and then run out of steam. It may take time getting there, but the latter half soars. This is helped by bigger production numbers (including some very fancy curtains and glittery gowns, all thanks to Tim Hatley’s designs), funky lighting and set transitions, and an overall sense of confidence that grows as the show progresses.  Nicholaw’s choreography is also well-designed and mostly well-delivered, although occasional moments could be tighter (notably during ‘Steppin’ to the Bad Side’), performed by Curtis and the male ensemble.

A score like this needs a talented cast to really sell it.  You can’t do Dreamgirls on 80%, it’s all or nothing, and fortunately there is an incredible group of performers. The character of Effie is one of most challenging female roles in musical theatre, and Nicole Raquel Dennis absolutely smashes it. A vocal powerhouse who somehow shows control, grit and emotion at the same time, they give a phenomenal performance.

It’s very easy to make Effie brash and unlikeable, with the character reduced to a shouty mess, but Dennis gets it just right, ensuring the audience remains on Effie’s side throughout. Without surprise, the show-stopping ‘And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going’ is an incredible moment, truly owned by Dennis, who leaves their heart on the stage and was rewarded by a thoroughly deserved (and immediate) standing ovation on press night. Dennis is also outstanding in their other numbers, delivering ‘I Am Changing’ and ‘One Night Only’ fantastically well. Theirs is probably the finest voice you’ll hear this festive season, and is worth the ticket price alone.

They are well-matched by Natalie Kassanga who instils her Deena with a real sense of strength and assurance as she climbs out of Curtis’ shadow, and her softer lighter voice blends really well with Dennis. Paige Peddie also makes for a brilliant Lorrell, finding all of the comedy in her role and showing off some excellent timing as well as great vocals. Finally, Brandon Lee Sears gives a fittingly “searing” performance as Jimmy, crackling with energy and charisma, and acting the role as if it’s his final time.

Dreamgirls is coming to the end of an impressively long tour (it will be 15 months by the time it concludes) and the production shows minimal sign of fatigue as it nears its end. There are other shows that may grab you more quickly, but Dreamgirls ultimately gives an entertaining journey that not all musicals deliver, and its phenomenal cast deserve to be seen. When Dennis belts “you’re gonna love me”, you can take it as a guarantee.

Rob Bartley