Review of Dreamgirls at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The 2006 movie Dreamgirls saw powerhouse performances from the likes of Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and made Jennifer Hudson an instant star in her first film role. However, Dreamgirls as a stage musical is much older, premiering on Broadway 25 years earlier. So, with the presence of those huge musical stars behind them, can the performers of this UK Tour of Tom Eyen's and Henry Krieger's show live up to that lofty history?

The answer is a resounding yes, particularly at the end of the first act where Nicole Raquel Dennis gives a theatre-shaking performance of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going in her role of Effie White. This moment alone gets many of the audience on their feet unexpectedly at the end of the first act. She is a fantastic presence on stage, brilliantly encapturing the distress in particular of having her lead singing role taken from her and her determination to gain fame.

Dreamgirls is very loosely based on the story of The Supremes' rise to fame, and Effie White forms one of the initial trio, The Dreamettes, alongside Deena Jones and Lorrel Robinson. Both Jones and Robinson were played by understudies for the performance I saw, with Holly Liburd playing Jones and Brianna Ogunbawo as Robinson. Both are great in their performances, however, Liburd struggles noticeably vocally alongside Dennis, particularly when they share a duet in the latter half of the second act. However, despite lacking power in some areas of their vocal performance, Liburd's and Ogunbawo's characterisations are both excellent.

When it comes to character, there is nothing greater than Brandon Lee Sears's scene-stealing, show-stealing performance as Jimmy Early. Larger than life doesn't really cover it as he chews the scenery, absorbs the love of the audience, and well, just is simply brilliant with vocal performance and stage presence. Matt Mills is suitably controlling as manager Curtis Taylor Jr, gaining the wrath of the audience with his drive for success causing friendships to be destroyed. The ensemble is mostly excellent, bringing Casey Nicholaw's perfectly period choreography to life with their energetic performances.

The music is, as expected, excellent, with the superb orchestra led by Simona Budd, filling the auditorium and excellent sound levels also leave you able to most of the time hear the dialogue and lyrics. The set is somewhat simplistic but functional and while there are a few issues with spots and light timing, the lighting design from Hugh Vanstone is brilliant.

There is an immense smoothness to this production, and Casey Nicholaw's direction keeps the whole show as slick as some of the hair on show. Scene changes are neat and fast, and there is a constant flow of seeing scenes in stage performance and then behind the scenes, moving smoothly from one to the other in a constant motion, leaving this a continuously moving musical.

Dreamgirls is a tremendously entertaining show and it's simply packed with a multitude of superb songs, be it the familiar One Night Only, or the simplistic, but entertaining Cadillac Car. The show without question comes recommended as it continues its run at the Royal & Derngate until Saturday, or on tour into the new year.

A dream of a stage musical.
⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 22nd November 2022 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.

Dreamgirls runs at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 26th November 2022.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Production photos: Matt Crockett
(Images contain main performers and not some of those mentioned in this review.)

Review of Friends - The Musical Parody at Milton Keynes Theatre

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...

Review of 2:22 A Ghost Story at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

2:22 A Ghost Story continues an endless rise and run of success on the stage. This play by Danny Robins was first staged as recently as August 2021 at the Noel Coward Theatre and since then the show continued to run in London for two years, moving to four further London theatres, before eventually closing in the city to embark on this tour, which began in September last year. During these runs, the cast has constantly been updated with often populist actors, and some, which are not even associated with acting. As this reaches Royal & Derngate, now even the touring cast has been swept clean and four further performers take on the incredible success of a show. This is the second time I have seen 2:22 A Ghost Story , and it is safe to say that on that first viewing, with the previous tour cast, I was not as blown away by the play as the success seemed to warrant. The aforementioned populist casting seemed to have driven a so-so ghostly tale into success beyond its quality, and with th...

Review of Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Despite now having seen a few dance shows encompassing many different styles, I had yet to see one developed by Sir Matthew Bourne, a controversial player in his time, but as the relatively recent knighthood suggests, now very much embraced by the establishment. So, does Romeo + Juliet live up to his name, that is the question? So, first, this might normally be where I give you a brief outline of the story, but, for one, most have a general understanding of the love disaster of William Shakespeare's play already, and two, as it turns out from the Bourne production, a huge amount of what you might be familiar with has gone or been dramatically changed anyway. There is shocking complicity in murders, there are different moments of murder and gone are the warring factions of the Montagues and Capulets. Characters themselves feel very different at times also, to such an extent that even knowing the play doesn't always make it clear who is who at times. So, if all that sounds...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

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