Dreamgirls

"Dreamgirls" at the bucolic McCarter Theatre on the grounds of Princeton University is as good here as when I saw it back in 1982 on Broadway! The story and songs remain the same, however with a deft staging (stage and lighting cut between glam and jazzy sheik).

The casting of this "Dreamgirls" is fantastic.... from the stars to the ensemble the show sparkles brightly. Putting forth a show like this one depends on how good the orchestrations are and Mark G. Meadows and Adam Dorfman are magnificent in this endeavor.

The shows book is by Tom Eyen and the music is from Henry Kreiger. The two blend a pithy plot with fine music to back it up. Playing for years on Broadway, "Dreamgirls is still considered till this day to be one of the best musicals of all time. What makes this a great musical, a big musical is what a big musical requires... big songs, big sets, big costumes and big dance numbers. While I wasn't overly thrilled with the choreography by Breon Arzell, the musical numbers more than made up for it.

Hitting the mark for a period piece was the costumes by Samantha C. Jones. From the satin gowns, the sequence gowns to the street cloths, Jones had us back in the time period when The Apollo was the epicenter for Soulful music and R&B. To have a believable musical company like the Dreams you need great sound and that's what we had here with Stephanie Farina. On the mark throughout the two and a half hours, Farina was deft in the sound. Jason Lynch provided the provocative lighting capturing the pulse of this show. In my mind the lighting is always the back-beat of any performance, the drummer of a rock band if you will; here Lynch had the hand on the shows pulse.

Under no small undertaking, Lili-Anne Brown's direction is superb. The actors capture the "business" oh- so- well. The movements and the comedic timing, the serious responses and the back and forth too have us back in that time period where segregation was still strong, where making a living coming from modest means was difficult. Entertainers had to be vigilant of hustlers and hangers on. From success to their pain of success, Brown was simply magnificent in the direction (more like stewardship) of this behemoth known as "Dreamgirls".

In the singing as well as the songs themselves there are not to many weak links in this chain, All the lead woman can flat out sing; from Soul to R&B to even schmaltzy, the at first backing singer and then a big time trio bang out the songs from the gut! Saint Aubyn as Jimmy Early and Jos N. Banks as CC too have such versatility in both their singing and style methods.

As a front-woman Ta-Tynisa Wilson as well as Trejah Bostic take the reins with style and grace. Bostic brought the house down twice with some heartfelt renditions. Her "One Night Only" may have very well been the best song of the afternoon.

A trip to the McCarter is always worth it. The shows that this Theatre puts forth are always good quality with a first rate staff. The acoustics are wonderful and so are both theaters layout. In this rendition of "Dreamgirls" you will be hard pressed to decipher the difference between here and the Broadway production from yesteryear.

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Broadway Bob, www.nimbusmagazine.com, www.broadwayworld.com, www.theaterpizzaz.com, Robert Massimi Broadway, Tony Awards, Dreamgirls, Jennifer Houston, Imperial Theater, The Notebook, Alladin, Harry Potter, The Lion King, The Who's Tommy, Cabaret, Mother Play, The Right Choice, Broadway and off Broadway.