Dreamgirls always had book problems, 2nd act problems. There’s just no coming back from And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going - everything after that is a bit of a snooze. In the film, they try to shift sympathies to Beyoncé’s character but she’s never been sympathetic. On stage, in the original Broadway production at least, this was somewhat overcome by the late Michael Bennett’s virtuosic staging, which from start to finish, made up for a lot of the book’s flaws, along with a stellar cast including the aforementioned Jennifer Holiday (just 21 y.o.), Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ben Harley, Cleavant Derricks, the Burrell sisters, Obba Babatunde - the show just OOZED talent.
Bennett’s staging was remarkable, which Bill Condon does a good job of at least being conscious of in the film, giving things a sense of dimension. On stage, there were 5 or 6 towers that were on computerised tracks, and assumed every imaginable configuration to suggest the showbiz locations. The set by the great Robin Wagner was amazing - the show seemed incredibly cinematic, it never stopped, every scene just dissolved into another, there were theatrical equivalents of cinematic wipes and immediate changes of the audiences pov - in a moment, you’d be out front watching the characters perform their music and then there’d be a quick shift and suddenly you were backstage, suddenly positioned behind the performers. You were just engaged by the whole thing because of the staging was so fascinating to watch. When Effie finished And I’m Telling You - which went on for quite some time because Holiday brought the house down and sang with a gospel fervour not included on the studio recording - Effie reached out to the audience as her dressing table was pulled back and a glittering tinsel backdrop came down and there were the new Dreams on stage doing a short reprise of Heavy that ended the 1st act. The staging was breathtaking.
A big standout in the 1st act was Steppin’ To The Bad Side which had amazing choreography and was performed in like three different iterations as the scene progressed from a book song to a hit song performed by James Thunder Early and The Dreams. There were entire set pieces lowered from the heavens, the stage was full of dancers. The entire show was a full-on entertainment - all killer, no filler. It was so fluid.
Sheryl Lee Ralph was absolutely gorgeous and sang like a dream. She was like a black Barbie doll, which I was kind of the point of the character. In the 2nd act she was as light as air, her voice was so smooth and beautiful. Her big number was the duet with Curtis, played by the smoking hot Ben Harney (Tony winner), When I First Saw You. Deena doesn’t have that Listen number in the stage musical. At least Bennett knew to keep the 2nd act tight. And in the early ‘80s, The Supremes story was still well known, Ross was arguably at her peak as a solo artist - so the 2nd Act was more like “Flo Ballard’s Revenge” or at least “Effie Strikes Back”. Audiences wanted to see the Effie character succeed and that was the focus of the 2nd Act which was kind of saved by Holiday’s numbers I Am Changing and One Night Only. Padding it out in the film and only worsens the problem.
I’d say the Dreamgirls film is probably as good as the show but it was something that was absolutely dazzling on stage - and unlikely to ever be recreated. But Condon does his best to capture that on camera in his own innovative ways. But there will never be another staging of this as good as Michael Bennett’s.
