Review: 'Dreamgirls' Highly Entertaining At Civic Theatre
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
FORT WAYNE – If you haven’t caught “Dreamgirls” at the Civic Theatre in Fort Wayne, you have until Sunday to do so. The performance of the 31-year-old musical I caught this past Sunday with a friend was very entertaining. At nearly three hours, it may seem long, but the show went by really quickly. Directed by Dianne B. Shaw, the Civic Theatre production is very similar in story to the award-winning movie version, but has less props, scenery and costume changes. There’s also some different scenes, but the movie director, Bill Condon, obviously made changes to the musical when he made it for the silver screen. However, the individual performances of the actors really earned the standing ovation they got at the end. “Dreamgirls” is loosely based on Diana Ross and the Supremes. It starts with three young black women trekking to The Apollo Theatre in New York in the 1960s to compete in a singing competition. Effie, Deena and Lorrell have dreams of making it big, and thus they call themselves the Dreamettes. They don’t win the contest, as it is rigged, but they end up performing back-up to James “Thunder” Early and a manager in Curtis Taylor Jr. Over the course of the musical, the Dreamettes become the Dreams, but along the way they also realize that the dream isn’t what they had envisioned. There’s lies, backstabbing, love and love lost. Effie (Cherelle McGee) is the voice of the girl group as it starts out. She’s also the biggest diva. In the movie version, fans will remember not only did Jennifer Hudson really steal the movie with her performance as Effie, but she also won an Oscar® for it. McGee, born and raised in Fort Wayne, makes her Civic Theatre premiere with “Dreamgirls,” and this was her first time on stage since school plays in 2002, according to her bio information in the program. You wouldn’t know that by her performance Sunday. With her soaring voice, she really gives Hudson some run for her money. McGee definitely needs to continue performing on stage. The big song for Effie in “Dreamgirls” is “I’m Not Going.” McGee delivers her rendition perfectly. A recent high school graduate, Jach’e Sharnise does a fine job as Deena Jones. No, she isn’t a Diana Ross or Beyonce (who played Deena in the film), but she shows a lot of promise. Her bio says she plans to attend Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla., majoring in business and performing arts. Good choice as her performance in “Dreamgirls” shows she could become an actress with a future. Sharnise doesn’t have the big voice that McGee has, but she does have a future with the voice she does have. As the third Dream, Lorrell, Shaneequa Cook is not as out in front as Effie and Deena. She does, however, fall for the married Jimmy, only to realize years later that he’s never going to get a divorce and marry her. It’s when Lorrell finally comes to her own, realizes the truth about Jimmy and leaves him that Cook really gets her moment to shine as Lorrell. Lorrell is a supporting character, but for that moment she shines under the spotlight. It is the male characters in “Dreamgirls” who are the most flawed. However, Marty (Jason S. Gray), Jimmy’s original manager, and C.C. White (Drew Shade), Effie’s brother and a songwriter, do redeem themselves by the end of the musical. But Jimmy, as performed by Kontrell Tyler, is the most vibrant, fun and outrageous character on stage. Throw in a little bit of James Brown, Prince and Eddie Murphy (who did play Jimmy in the film version), and you get the outstanding performance delivered by Tyler.Tyler’s Jimmy is the kind of guy you’d want to party with, though his career ends up suffering from it. In the film version, Jimmy’s fate is worse than the stage version, but I think I prefer the stage version of his fate anyway. Sunday, people gave a special holler out to Tyler, and he deserved every bit of it. Now, the show wasn’t 100 percent perfect. The dancing wasn’t always in sync. Sometimes the band in the orchestra pit overwhelmed the voices, more so when there was some talking going on. Scenery and props were very minimal, but what was there did work. At one point, I did become so engrossed in the story anyway that I forgot how minimal the extras were anyhow. Just goes to show that an enjoyable story with good performances doesn’t require tons of furniture, backgrounds and props. Overall, while this show is only going on at the Civic Theatre for a couple more days, I recommend you try and catch it before it’s gone. Vastly entertaining, “Dreamgirls” is a testament to how great community theater can be. Last shows are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and the matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit the Civic Theatre’s website at www.fwcivic.org
