AUDREY’S SOCIETY WHIRL: Scores of black-tie guests attend opening night performance of Dreamgirls at legendary Apollo Theater

Dreamgirls Gearing Up To Spread Dream-like Joy During National Tour Which Kicked Off In Harlem; Apollo Theater Crowd Goes Tweetlistic During ‘Dreamgirls’ Dazzling Opening Night Performance

      *From the time the curtain rose on the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc. and John Breglio Opening Night performance of the award winning musical Dreamgirls --produced by Breglio for Vienna Waits Productions in association with Chunsoo Shin, Jake Productions & Broadway Across America/TBS -- the audience went tweetlistic!

      I haven’t seen this much unbridled fervor at this legendary theater since a surprise visit by Prince at a Foundation event earlier this year.  The stellar crowd was fired up and ready to go!  Many of the early arrivals got a head start tweeting at a pre-cocktail reception in the beauteous lobby of the theater, spilling over into the red hot venue.

   The tweet crowd got the word out conveying how the night brimmed over with excitement.  Pumped up with passion guests tweeted about how this beautiful cast of Black actors kept Michael Bennett’s pulsating dream alive!

      Dreamgirls, which is a major highlight of the Apollo Theater’s 75th Anniversary, had its official star-studded Opening Night at the historic theater on Sunday, November 22, 2009 after having played previews from Saturday, November 7, 2009 for a limited four week engagement to Sunday, December 6, 2009.

      The performance kicked off the national tour of the Henry Kreiger-Tom Eyen Motown musical.  The demand for tickets was so great that the play has been extended to run through Saturday, December 12, 2009.

      But then the award-winning musical with vivacious direction and choreography by Robert Longbottom and co-choreography by Shan Sparks must be on its merry way spreading dream-like joy all over the land.

        Dreamgirls tells the rags-to-riches story of an up-and-coming 1960’s girl group from Chicago, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with fame and fortune.  This extraordinarily electrifying version of Bennett’s play was as good as it gets with Moya Angela stepping into the role of Effie White and not disappointing anyone with her provocative performance as the down on her luck lead singer of The Dreams.

      Angela’s stunning performance of the play’s signature song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” brought the audience to their feet in riotous applause.  And although this energizing cast kept the audience in a euphoric state of mind – breaking up with thunderous applause after many show-stopping numbers -- special standout kudos to Chester Gregory as James “Thunder” Early who captivated the audience with over-the-top humor and song.

      The award-winning musical consists of 26 exceptionally nimble performers and features, as The Dreams, Syesha Mercado as Deena Jones, Adrienne Warren as Lorrell Robinson, and Margaret Hoffman as Michelle Morris.  With Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Curtis Taylor, Jr., Trevon Davis as C.C. White, and Milton Craig Nealy as Marty Madison.

      The inimitable cast also features Felicia Boswell, Tallia Brinson, Patrice Covington, Ronald Duncan, Talitha Farrow, Brittney Griffin, James Harkness, Robert Hartwell, Eric Jackson, Chauncey Jenkins, Jared Joseph, Nikki Kimbrough, Brittany Lewis, Douglas Lyons, Kimberly Marable, Jarran Muse, Amaker Smith and Marc Spaulding.

      Rounding out Dreamgirls’ peerless production team are: Robin Wagner (scenic design); William Ivey Long (costume design); Paul Huntley (hair design); Ken Billington (lighting design); Acme Sound Partners (sound design); Howard Werner for Lightswitch (media design); Sam Davis,(music direction); Harold Wheeler (orchestrations); and David Chase & Cleavant Derricks (vocal arrangements).

      "The opening scene in Dreamgirls takes place in the legendary Apollo Theater, so it is only fitting that we are launching the national tour at this historic venue," conveyed producer Breglio in a statement. "The prospect that we may discover the new Dreams at the Apollo, where so many stars were discovered, just adds to our excitement in bringing this great musical back to the stage.”

      Dreamgirls features music by Academy Award nominee Henry Krieger and book and lyrics by Tony and Grammy-Award winner Tom Eyen. The original Broadway production was directed by Michael Bennett and choreographed by Bennett and Michael Peters. Dreamgirls was adapted into a motion picture by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, and opened in December 2006.

      Following the Apollo Theater engagement, the national tour of Dreamgirls will play Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Costa Mesa, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Dallas, Kansas City and more.  For more information, please visit www.dreamgirlsonstage.com.

      After a fabulous Opening Night curtain including numerous thunderous curtain calls, guests filed out of the Apollo Theatre and boarded buses that whisked them over to the Riverside Church for a dreamy post party that was so hot that it even got HIS approval.

      After deafening curtain calls guests filed out of the Apollo Theatre and boarded special Dreamgirls double deck tourist buses that whisked them over to the Riverside Church for a dreamy post party which was so bumpin’ that it even got HIS approval of the thumping secular music spun by DJ Mitch "The People Pleezer" provided by the Apollo’s 75th Anniversary radio partner, WBLS.  (Photos by Wilson Morales)

Adrienne Warren, Felicia Boswell, Moya Angela, Syesha Mercado

Margaret Hoffman, Moya Angela, Syesha Mercado, Adrienne Warren

Dick Parsons, chairman, board of directors, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.

Harry Belafonte, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Senator Vincent James Hughes

Jonelle Procope, president & CEO, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.

Audrey J. Bernard is an established chronicler of Black society and Urban happenings based in the New York City area.