By Jim Stewart
When I first heard Jennifer Holiday sing ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’, I was completely blown away…
DREAMGIRLS: ORIGINAL LONDON CAST RECORDING. SONY CLASSICAL: 88985429492 (2CD SET)
I had to have more, the Complete’ Dreamgirls’ Broadway Cast Recording quickly followed, maintaining my love of the music, and I waited impatiently for the show to transfer to London. It took more than 35 years to make it, and now the musical is playing to packed houses at every performance, prompting the question ‘why did it take so long?’
The London production recently won two prestigious Olivier Awards, and listening to ‘DREAMGIRLS: ORIGINAL LONDON CAST RECORDING’ it’s easy to see why.
Best Actress went to AMBER RILEY (Effie White) who must lift the roof every night with ‘And I Am Telling You’, ‘I Am Changing’, and ‘One Night Only’ and ‘Listen’ her duet with Liisi LaFontaine, which is also available as a single.
Many will be familiar with the story, based upon The Supremes’ rise to fame, although any similarity is purely intentional. From having seen the movie, and as good as that was, ‘Dreamgirls’ was written for the stage and that it where it belongs.
This recording was made live in performance, and what you hear is exactly as the audience heard it, no studio trickery.
I have loved the US version for the past three decades, and the London production is on a par with that in every way, making me even more determined to catch the show with the original cast.