Arts & Entertainment
First rate ‘Dreamgirls’ wows
Signature production full of unexpected delights, performances
‘Dreamgirls’
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington
Extended through Jan. 13, 2013
Tickets start at $40
Shayla Simmons, center, as Deena in ‘Dreamgirls.’ Nova Y. Payton, left, as Effie, and Crystal Joy as Lorrell, back her up. (Photo by Chrisopher Mueller; courtesy of Signature Theatre)
The production of “Dreamgirls” now onstage at Signature Theatre is a dazzling delight, a stunning reexamination of an iconic American musical. Talented director and choreographer Matthew Gardiner and his creative team skillfully rethink the show from the ground up, bringing great clarity, intensity and emotional depth to this powerful production, along with lots of sequins and theatrical magic.
“Dreamgirls,” which debuted on Broadway in 1981, was the last great work by legendary Broadway director and choreographer Michael Bennett, who died of complications from AIDS in 1987. The musical, with a sizzling score by Henry Krieger and strong book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, tells the story of the Dreams, a girl group from Chicago (loosely based on Diana Ross and the Supremes) who rise to international music stardom.
The show opens in 1962 when the “Dreamettes” lose a talent contest at the famous Apollo Theatre in New York City, but win a contract as back-up singers for the popular R&B star James “Thunder” Early. They also acquire a manager, used-car salesman Curtis Taylor, Jr., who has big plans for the group. Repackaged as the “Dreams,” the girls soon break out on their own. Curtis moves back-up singer Deena Jones into the lead, hoping that her sexy looks and sultry voice will attract a mainstream (i.e. white) audience. Despite the personal and professional cost to Effie White, the full-bodied and full-voiced original lead singer, “Deena Jones and the Dreams” conquer the charts.
Gardiner, the openly gay associate artistic director of Signature Theatre, brings a fresh eye to this well-known material. His work throughout is richly nuanced, alternating between the spectacular precision of big production numbers and the detailed intimacy of backstage numbers and book scenes. One of the great joys of this production is the sheer variety of performance styles that Gardiner deploys with great confidence and effectiveness: the slick polish of the onstage production numbers, the girls nervously making up the steps the first time they perform with Jimmy, Curtis prompting C.C. (Effie’s brother and the group’s songwriter) as they convince Jimmy to listen to their new sound, the eloquent staging of the group dynamics in “Family,” the elegant simplicity of Effie’s torch rendition of “One Night Only” followed by Deena’s delightfully boisterous disco rendition of the same song. Gardiner captures the full sweep of this classic American story by nailing down all the details.
Gardiner’s sure-footed work is made possible by the outstanding contributions of the design team of Frank Labovitz (costumes), Adam Koch (sets) and Chris Lee (lights). Labovitz’s splendid cavalcade of costumes is an ongoing visual treasure. His beautiful designs help tell the story by tracking the passing years and the changing circumstances of the characters and do so with great visual flair. Koch’s two-tiered set design lets the action move fluidly from backstage to onstage at various performances venues around the country. The set changes are as carefully choreographed as the other movements and just as much fun to watch (although the occasional wobbling of the central hydraulic platform can be a little scary and distracting). Lee’s light design is equally stunning, and together, the design team creates an appealing and highly theatrical whirlwind of shifting perspectives, lighting magic and quick changes.
But any production of “Dreamgirls” depends on its Effie, and Signature Theatre is blessed with the amazing powerhouse performance of D.C. native Nova Y. Payton. Following in the wake of superstars like Jennifer Holliday (a Tony winner in the original Broadway production), Jennifer Hudson (who won an Oscar for her performance in the movie) and Lilias White (who wowed audiences in the famous concert recording), Payton makes the role thoroughly and completely her own. Her work in this show is simply stunning, full of fascinating choices and fresh insights. She purrs when you might expect her to roar, and when she does roar, she blows the roof off the theater.
Payton’s richly detailed acting captures every aspect of the complex character: her love of performing, her prickly pride and deep resentments, her self-destructive tantrums and brave persistence in the face of adversity. Her performance of the show’s signature number “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” is devastating in its soaring delivery and its searing pain and vulnerability. In an evening of striking images, the most indelible is a deeply wounded Effie turning to watch the reconstituted Dreams perform without her on the balcony above her. It is a moment of brilliant stagecraft.
Payton’s dynamite performance is matched by Cedric Neal as James “Thunder” Early, who finds unexpected depths in a flashy character inspired by James Brown. His Jimmy is a man of deep passion for his music and for the ladies in his life. His direct interactions with the audience are a bold and delightful choice and his onstage meltdown is a moving spectacle of pride, defiance and self-destruction.
As the third member of the Dreams, and Jimmy’s mistress, Crystal Joy is wonderful as Lorrell Robinson, who tries to play peacemaker between the warring backstage factions. She brings sass, humor and style to a character that can easily fade into the background. Joy subtly builds Lorrell from a star-struck teenager to a mature woman, and her love for Jimmy is as deeply heart-felt as her frustration with his refusal to leave his wife. Shayla Simmons brings similar strengths to her winning performance as Deena, especially in capturing her shifting relationship with Effie and in fleshing out her development from back-up singer to reluctant lead to world-class diva.
It’s magical when first-rate material gets a first-rate production, and that is certainly the case with this show. Krieger and Eyen have created a clear-eyed yet loving portrayal of the joys of performing and the perils of show business, and a rich exploration of the challenges facing black performers when Motown became mainstream. Signature Theatre has taken a great leap with this re-invention of this ambitious musical, and that leap has certainly paid off.
Photos
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Theater
‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think
Holly Twyford on new role and importance of listening to different opinions
‘Inherit the Wind’
Through April 5
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $73
Arenastage.org
When “Inherit the Wind” premiered on Broadway in 1955 with a cast of 50, its fictional setting of Hillsboro, an obscure country town described as the buckle on the Bible Belt, was filled with townspeople. And now at Arena Stage, director Ryan Guzzo Purcell has somehow crowded Arena’s large Fichandler space with just 10 actors, five principals and a delightful ensemble of five playing multiple roles.
Inspired by the real-life Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s fictionalized work pits intellectual freedom against McCarthyism via the imagined trial of Bertram Cates (Noah Plomgren), a Tennessee educator charged with teaching evolution. Drawn into the fracas are big shot lawyers, defense attorney Henry Drummond (Billy Eugene Jones), and conservative prosecutor, Matthew Harrison Brady (Dakin Matthew). On hand to cover the closely watched story is wisecracking city slicker and Baltimore reporter E.K. Horneck (played by nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan).
Out actor Holly Twyford, a four-time Helen Hayes Award winner who has appeared in more than 80 Washington area plays, is part of the ensemble. In jeans and boots, she memorably plays Meeker, the bailiff at the Hillsboro courthouse and the jailer responsible for holding Cates in the days leading to his trial.
Twyford also plays Sillers, a slack jawed earnest employee at the local feed store who’s called to serve on the jury. And more importantly she plays Brady’s quietly strong wife Sarah whom he affectionately calls “Mother.”
When Twyford makes her memorable first entrance as Meeker, she’s wiping shaving cream from her face with a hand towel. With shades of Mayberry R.F.D., the jail is run casually. Meeker says Cates isn’t the criminal type, and he’s not.
“There’s a joke among actors,” says Twyford. “When an actor gets his shoes, they know who their character is. And it’s sort of true. When you put on boots, heels, or flip flops, there’s a different feeling, and you walk differently.”
Similarly, shares Twyford, it goes for clothes too: “When Mother slips a pink coat dress over her cowboy boots, dons a little hat and ties her scarf, or Meeker puts on his work shirt, I know where I am. And all of that is thanks to a remarkable wardrobe crew.
“Additionally, some of the ensemble characters are played broadly which is helpful to the actors and super identifying for the audience too.”
During intermission, an audience member loudly described the production as “a proper play” filled with beautifully written passages. And it’s true. Twyford agrees, adding “That’s all true, and it’s also been was fun for us to be a part of the Arena legacy as well. Arena took ‘Inherit the Wind’ to the Soviet Union in the early ‘70s when the respective governments did a cultural exchange. At the time, the iron curtain was very much in place, and they traveled with a play about a man with his own thoughts.”
When the ensemble was cast, actors didn’t know which tracts exactly they were going to play. “What came together was a cast, diverse in different ways. Some directors, including myself when I direct, are interested in assembling a cast that’s a good group. No time for egos. It’s more about who will make the best group to help me tell this story.”
At one point during rehearsal, ensemble members began to help one another with minor onstage costume changes, like jackets and hats: “We just started doing it and Ryan [Guzzo Purcell] picked up on it, saying things really began to come alive when we helped each other, so we went with that.”
“For me, it was reminiscent of ‘The Laramie Project’ [Ford’s Theatre in 2013] when we played five different parts and we’d help each other with a vest or jacket in a similar way. It worked so well then too,” says Twyford.
“Inherit the Wind” isn’t about science versus religion. It’s about the right to think, playwright Jerome Lawrrence has been quoted as saying. And it’s a quote that makes the play that much more relevant today.
Twford remembers a chat in a hair salon: “I was getting my hair cut and the woman next to me shared that she was tired of message plays. Understandably there are theater makers who believe that message plays are the point, while others think it’s all about entertainment. I feel like ‘Inherit the Wind’ sits in a nice place in the middle.”
She adds “the work is a creative way of showing different opinions and that, I think, is what we should be paying attention to right now. Clearly, it’s not right or wrong to express what you think.”
Out & About
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
‘Living History’ discussion to be held at Spark Social
Friends of Dorothy Cafe will host “Part One, Living History: How We Survived,” will take place on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Spark Social House.
This event will be moderated by Abby Stuckrath, host of the “Queering the District” podcast. Panelists include: Earline Budd, activist, trans rights advocate; TJ Flavell of Go Gay DC; DC LGBTQ+ Center Board Member David Bissette; and Alexa Rodriguez, founder and executive director, Trans-Latinx DMV.
This event is part of a four-part storytelling series called “Living History,” which centers LGBTQ elders, activists, artists, and icons sharing their lived experiences and reflections with younger generations. The conversations explore themes like resilience, community organizing, chosen family, and the lessons earlier generations hope today’s LGBTQ+ and ally communities will carry forward.
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