NEW DREAMGIRLS PLAY OPENS IN HARLEM: Latest theater staging gets glowing review from columnist Roger Friedman.

        Friedman wrote:

        This “Dreamgirls” plays the Apollo until mid December, then hits the road on the national tour. But from the reaction last night, the producers had better get a Broadway theater and move in before the Tony deadline of April 29, 2010. The revival of Michael Bennett’s “Supremes”-like musical is simply a smash, making stars of unknowns like Maya Angela and Chester Gregory.       

        It doesn’t hurt that “Dreamgirls” comes to us from some professionals with great credentials. William Ivey Long did the amazing costumes, Robin Wagner did the spare scenic design, Ken Billington the genius lighting. Robert Longbottom directed, and Shane Sparks did the choreography.       

        In the crowd: Bill Condon, who directed the smash film version of the show two years ago, as well as director  George Lucas,  Joan Rivers, Dick Parsons, Harry Belafonte, Sheryl Lee Ralph (the original Deena) and R&B legend Chuck Jackson.       

        Condon was very pleased with the new version of the musical, maybe because its new life seems drawn from the movie’s success. For example, the show has added “Listen,” a song written into the movie for Beyonce. Now it’s a duet between the female stars Maya (Effie) and Deena (Syesha Mercado) and ten times more effective. These women, along with their fellow Dreams Adrienne Warren (Lorelle) and Margaret Hoffman (Michelle) are all finds, and make this “Dreamgirls” wash away the memory of previous stars like Ralph, Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson. That’s a tall order, and they pull it off.