Character Lorrell Robinson Show Dreamgirls Gender Female Age Range Young Adult, Adult Role Size Lead Dancing Mover Voice Soprano High Note G5 Low Note D#4/Eb4 Vocal Technique Belting, Pop Time & Place Various cities throughout the U.S., 1960s-1970s Tags Many of the other original Dreamgirls Broadway cast members, among them Obba Babatund, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Cleavant Derricks, were interviewed for a Jet magazine article in which they discussed their varying opinions of both the Dreamgirls film's script and production. Khylah Eure, Mariah Goiran, Clara Alford and Kayla Carrington are tremendous as Featured Dancers. ", The girls went to Detroit for an audition, and eventually, they kick-started the Motown hit machine that would later call itself "The Sound of Young America." Dreamgirls eventually grossed $103 million in North America, and almost $155 million worldwide. During the course of production, Paramount's parent company, Viacom, would purchase DreamWorks, aligning the two studios under one umbrella (and giving the senior studio US distribution rights on behalf of DreamWorks). Dreamgirls debuted in four special road show engagements starting on December 15, 2006, before its nationwide release on December 25, 2006. [66] Holliday in particular objected to the fact that her 1982 recording of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was used in an early Dreamgirls film teaser trailer created before production began. Left to right: Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross AP Wire photo 1965 Official Sites After Warner's Frankie Lymon biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love failed at the box office, the studio shut down development on Dreamgirls. ", Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards, Best Actress Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture or Television, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards, "STAGE TO SCREENS: "Dreamgirls" Composer Krieger and Co-Star Rose; Plus David Warren". The limited edition program guide accompanying the Dreamgirls road show release was made available for retail purchase in February. [7] The film marks the acting debut of Hudson, a former American Idol contestant. But The Beatles themselves were obsessed with American girl groups and even sang girl group songs, including "Please Mr. Postman," The Shirelles' "Baby It's You" and The Cookies' "Chains. "The most surprised was Motown. How true is Dreamgirls? [16], While Condon had intended to cast relatively unknown actresses as all three Dreams,[13] R&B singer Beyonc Knowles lobbied for the part of Deena Jones,[22] and was cast after a successful screen test. As much as Deena Jones, Beyonc Knowles' character in "Dreamgirls," was modeled on Diana Ross, the film's main character, Effie White, was based on Etta James, according to composer Henry Krieger. They watched performers on stage who were their age. Gordy also packaged Gaye, at one point, as a supper club entertainer -- a common strategy for R&B performers hoping to cross over to white audiences in those days -- a scene repeated in the movie with Early. [104] Gordy issued a statement shortly afterwards expressing his acceptance of the apology. [50] As of 2017[update], total domestic video sales to date are at $95.1 million. Dreamgirls - Musical 2 Lorrell Robinson Dreamgirls - Musical 1 Curtis Taylor, Jr. Dreamgirls - Musical 0 View All Characters in Dreamgirls Auditons for AMDA (Virtual) New York, NY Ages 12-17: NY Pops Birthday Gala Concert New York, NY Miss Saigon New York, NY Half-Price Tickets Dec 12 - Apr 2 Drunk Shakespeare New York, NY $55 - $89 Our Price These dark moments, where shadows fall across the dazzling film, resonated with truth. He eventually drops Effie, hiring his secretary Michelle Morris to replace her beginning with their 1966 New Year's Eve debut in Las Vegas as "Deena Jones & the Dreams." Technical Specs, See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro, Silver Tie Music Producer in Final Audience with Marty Madison, Greatest Supporting Actress Oscar Performances (1990-Now), Broadway to Hollywood Musical Adaptations, (based on the original broadway production book by), director of photography (as Tobias Schliessler), makeup department head (as Tym Shutchai Buacharern) / makeup designer, hair stylist: Ms. Knowles (as Kim Kimble), character dental prosthetic designer: Eddie Murphy, additional second second assistant director, second assistant director: second unit (uncredited), lead designer: end title sequence, Picture Mill, construction coordinator (as Stacey McIntosh), prosthetic dental appliances: Eddie Murphy, assistant property master (as Andy Siegel) / prop master: second unit, illustrator: Cleopatra images (as Felipe Sanchez), art department production assistant (uncredited), production sound mixer (as Willie Burton), first assistant sound editor (as Josie Nericcio), supervising foley editor (as Thomas Small), sound designer / supervising sound editor, special effects technician (as Don Black), special effects coordinator (as Don Frazee), special effects technician (as Jim Lorimer), digital compositor: Gray Matter Visual Effects / i/o manager: Gray Matter Visual Effects, digital compositor: Gray Matter Visual Effects (as Joey Brattesani), rotoscope artist: Gray Matter Visual Effects, motion graphics montages: Black Box Digital, visual effects producer: Gray Matter Visual Effects, lead compositor: end title sequence, Picture Mill (as Joshua Novak), matte painter: Gray Matter Visual Effects, digital compositor: Gray Matter Visual Effects, digital compositor: Gray Matter Visual Effects (as Colleen Smith), 3D animator: end title sequence, Picture Mill, stunt performer (as Johnny Cenatiempo) / stunts, stunt double: Amika Noni Rose (uncredited), additional moving light programmer / dimmer board operator, lighting technician: additional photography, first assistant camera: "c" camera (as Anthony Cappello) / first assistant camera: second unit (as Anthony Cappello), first assistant camera: additional photography, second assistant camera: "c" camera / second assistant camera: second unit, 24 frame video playback operator (as Dave McGraw), camera operator: "c" camera / director of photography: second unit, assistant chief lighting technician: additional photography, additional electrician (as Peter Villani), assistant chief lighting technician (as Michael Yope), animator: end title sequence, Picture Mill, lead animator: end title sequence, Picture Mill (as Joshua Novak), costume production assistant (as Daisy Alexandra Sylbert), digital intermediate technologist: Company 3, digital intermediate on-line editor: Company 3, colorist: Company 3 / digital intermediate executive producer: Company 3, assistant location manager (as Diana Lara), key assistant location manager (uncredited), choreographer: musical numbers / drum consultant, music editor: vocal sync (as Timothy Boot), music arranger: original Broadway production, composer: additional music / music arranger / music arranger: strings, composer: additional music / supervising music editor, music arranger (as Matt Sullivan) / music supervisor (as Matt Sullivan) / soundtrack producer (as Matt Sullivan), composer: original music / music arranger: original score / producer: original score, orchestrator: original Broadway production, transportation dispatcher (as Karen Chang), production assistant: second unit (as Lou Bonachea), production coordinator: Miami / production coordinator: second unit/pickups, second assistant accountant (as Cristina Duncan) / second assistant accountant, set production assistant: additional photography, Los Angeles, production secretary: additional photography, set production assistant: additional photography, Los Angeles (as Bill Greenfield), personal assistant: Mr. Murphy (as Jemal D. Guillory), additional craft service (as Noel Harris), executive assistant: Mr. Murphy (as Charisse Hewitt Webster), Stand in for Beyonc Knowles (as Erica Bynum), systems administrator: Graty Matter Visual Effects, production office coordinator: Gray Matter Visual Effects, creative supervisor: end title sequence, Picture Mill, coordinator: end title sequence, Picture Mill, producer: end title sequence, Picture Mill, production assistant (as Daisy Alexandra Sylbert), personal assistant: Mr. Murphy (as Randy L. Webster), assistant production coordinator: additional photography. [8] Tickets for the reserved seats were $25 each; the premium price included a forty-eight page full-color program and a limited-print lithograph. Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyer's proximity to the item location, the shipping service selected, the . Although rehearsals ended just before Christmas 2005, Condon called Hudson back for a week of one-on-one rehearsals, to help her more fully become the "diva" character of Effie. He writes and produces a comeback single for her, "One Night Only". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Deena Jones is based on the Supremes' lead singer Diana Ross and two former Supremes members Scherrie Payne and Jean Terrell. Some might even remember the 1981 Broadway production with Jennifer Holliday. head songwriter. That same year, four teenage girls were killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Among the more direct references are the uses of adapted Supremes album cover designs for albums recorded in the film by the Dreams. [85], In February 2022, Hudson's rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was named one of the five finalists for Oscars Cheer Moment as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Oscars Fan Favorite" contest, finishing in fourth place. 5, 537553. ", In the entertainment world, The Supremesarguably the most successful girl group of all timebegan playing venues that had been hard for black musicians to book. Ballard, the group's original lead vocalist, had a rough, grainy and more conventional rhythm and blues voice, as opposed to the light, lithesome sound of Ross' vocals. Like the rest of the cast, Eddie does all his own singing in the film, but even he admits that the pop albums he put out in the '80s weren't a good example of what he could do. Gordy did work on the Ford assembly line in his early days (the Gordy figure in the movie, Curtis Taylor Jr., played by Jamie Foxx, runs a car dealership), and he worked his way up in the music business starting as a songwriter for Jackie Wilson. The Motown sound was characterized by a straight-forward, grounded beat (bass and drums) and melodic hook. 76 Metascore; 2006; 2 hr 9 mins Drama, Music PG13 Watchlist. [22] The filmmakers insisted on casting a relative unknown in the role, paralleling the casting of then-21-year-old Jennifer Holliday in that role for the original Broadway production. Other Characters From Dreamgirls. Little Richard's song 'Tutti Frutti' [could] access that white suburban middle-class audience, but Little Richard himself [couldn't] do that. The character of Deena Jones leaves the Dreams in 1972 to pursue a career as an actress. Aided by new songs and a new image, Curtis and C.C. In any case, neither Franklin nor James ever belonged to the Supremes. The movie, based on the 1981 Broadway play, tells the story of a small black record label and its star singers whose success crosses over to the pop charts. InWomen of Motown, she says, "What I related the song to was my experience in Rio at Carnival time, and in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Dreamgirls . In 1961, The Shirelles reached number one on the pop charts with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" Dreamgirls also garnered Screen Actors Guild Awards for Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) and Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), as well as a nomination for its ensemble cast. Staged with a mostly African-American cast and originally starring Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, Ben Harney, Cleavant Derricks, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Obba Babatund, the musical opened on December 20, 1981, at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway. [17], When Geffen co-founded DreamWorks in 1994 and dissolved Geffen Pictures, the rights to Dreamgirls remained with Warner Bros. Warner planned to go ahead with the film with director Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Tina Andrews[7] in the late 1990s, following the success of Touchstone Pictures's Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got to Do with It. [4] Upon its release, the film garnered positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised Condon's direction, the soundtrack, costume design, production design, and performances of the cast (in particular of Hudson and Murphy). [19] When offered the part of Curtis, Foxx initially declined because DreamWorks could not meet his salary demands. [103] On February 23, a week before the Oscars ceremony, DreamWorks and Paramount issued an apology to Gordy and the other Motown alumni. However, Deena clandestinely hopes the film will never come to be, pursuing other acting gigs. Similarities to Aretha Franklin, however, are also hardly coincidental. "[39] All of the new songs feature music composed by original Dreamgirls stage composer Henry Krieger. 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