Dreamgirls At Theatre Royal, Nottingham Review

Reviewed by Louise Edwards

The West End and Broadway hit Dreamgirls is currently on a nationwide tour, gracing the boards at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal until Saturday.

Wow what a show! Written by composer Henry Krieger and playwright Tom Eyen and inspired by the experiences of 1960s black girl groups, such as The Supremes, The Shirelles and The Marvelettes, the fictional starts with three girls aka the Dreamettes and a rigged talent competition. Efflie White played by Nicole Raquel Dennis, has incredible vocal talent and she is the star of the show for this trio, joined by Deena Jones (Natalie Kassanga) and Lorrell Robinson (Paige Peddie). All the girls have fantastic voices but White is the standout talent and they are looking for their break into show business.

Curtis Taylor Junior (Dom Hartley Harris) spots their potential and offers to be their manager, arranging a 10 week tour for them as backing vocals to Jimmy Early (played by the fantastic Brandon Lee Sears). Jimmy Early is a James Brown type character, full of energy and charisma.

Effie falls for Curtis and Lorrell falls for (the married) Early. CC, Effie’s brother is their songwriter but when their first single, Cadillac car, is stolen by a white pop group and turned into a hit, Curtis fears they will not appeal to the mainstream audience they need to attract in order to become a success. He remarkets the group as the Dreams and moves the slimmer Deena Jones into the role of lead vocal to the disappointment of Effie who leaves the group when she realises they have replaced her after a spell of illness. The group go from strength to strength, performing residencies in Las Vegas but friendships fall by the wayside and loyalties are challenged.

The production is star spangled and fast paced. There is certainly never a dull moment and by the end of the show you are guaranteed to be up on your feet dancing with the rest of the audience.

Although the storyline is fairly uninspiring and there are no standout amazing songs, this show really is first class entertainment with incredible dancing and choreography and some of the best vocal performances you are ever going to see. With Suzanne Runciman heading up the wardrobe the costumes are incredible as well as the super fast dress changes and Lee-Ellen Wilson creates the most awesome wigs ! The stage management, led by Nicola Barrett, is seamlessly done switching between front and back of stage seamlessly to orchestrate the drama. Dreamgirls is a wonderful display of girl power that will blow your socks off!

Rating: 4/5

Tickets cost from £23.50

Dreamgirls is at The Theatre Royal, Nottingham until Saturday 28 May 2022

For more information or to book tickets visit https://trch.co.uk/whats-on/dreamgirls-22/ or call the box office on 0115 989 5555

Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall, Theatre Square, Nottingham, NG1 5ND

Further tour dates can be found here https://www.dreamgirlsthemusical.co.uk/