Dreamgirls The Musical At Southampton Mayflower Theatre Review

Reviewed by Lilybean

Despite watching and loving Dreamgirls, the popular movie adaptation of the theatre show, I have never had the chance to see the well loved theatre show in person. So I was absolutely thrilled to be invited to attend the press night to review this much anticipated show at the Mayflower Theatre this evening.

Dreamgirls is the story of three young ladies: Effie, Lorrell and Deena. Together they are The Dreams; an all girl group who are going to take the world by storm, they just know it! We follow them on their journey to stardom, to the big time, as they hit the highs and lows of fame and the starlight that accompanies it.

Effie is played by the sensational Nicole Raquel Dennis. Nicole was a semi-finalist in the voice in 2019 and audience members who had watched their performance on that show can’t have had anything but high expectations for this evenings show. We were not disappointed. Nicole belted out And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going with an intensity rarely seen. Their vocal range was staggering and the audience were drawn in as they gave every last piece of themselves with that gigantic performance. It was so emotionally charged and moving that half way through that particular song, the audience erupted into applause and stood to give them the praise well due, before they had even sung the final note. All testimony to the enormous talent we had all just witnessed. I have never experienced that before in any other theatre show. They were simply breathtaking and held nothing back.

Their fellow “Dreams’ both stepped up to the plate. Deena, played by Natalie Kassanga and Lorrel, played by Paige Peddie were note perfect, vocally strong and played their roles with sensitivity and when necessary with perfect comedic timing.

Matt Mills played the ruthless manager Curtis Taylor Jr. Despite playing such an unlikeable character, his voice drew us in, held the stage and he had a real presence.

Brandon Lee Sears played Jimmy, the already famous performer, ready to give The Dreams a shot as his backing singers. The audience quickly fell in love with his charm, charisma and he kept us entertained throughout. Vocally Brandon blew us all away, the moment he stepped out on to each of the spectacular sets, one after the other.

It is impossible to write about Dreamgirls without making reference to the amazing sets that transition us from one scene to another. Cleverly designed, we are transported from small clubs, through to big Vegas playhouses, all with the aid of a couple of illuminated staging pieces and some beautiful sparkling fabric. The effect was stunning and the audience were there! We were in the front row of each club and arena and completely immersed as The Dreams gave each performance. I was totally mesmerised.

2 acts and 27 heart wrenching, emotionally charged songs later and the audience erupted into a well deserved standing ovation. If opening night was anything to go by, the remaining nights to follow will be spectacular. Well worth a watch, but take your tissues. You’ll need them!

Rating 5/5

The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

Tuesday 13th November to Saturday 19th November

Nightly at 7.30pm, Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm.

Tickets start from £27.50 and can be purchased at https://www.mayflower.org.uk/