Dreamgirls at the Grand Theatre

I was so excited for Dreamgirls at the Grand Theatre last night because I had never seen it before (not even the movie).  This production is thoroughly entertaining with an incredibly talented cast and I loved it! The Dreamettes, a girl group from Chicago consisting of Effie White (Quesley Soto), Deena Jones (Kandyce Marie), and Lorrell Robinson (Darby Mest), enter a talent competition at the Apollo Theatre in New York singing a song written by Effie's brother C.C. White (Asher Head).  The contest is rigged against them by a used car salesman named Curtis Taylor (Steven Taylor) because he wants to manage them.  He arranges for them to sing back up for James "Thunder" Early (Kiirt Banks) on tour but he soon has the girl group, renamed The Dreams, perform on their own.  He wants Deena to replace Effie as the lead singer because, even though Effie is a better singer, he thinks Deena is prettier.  Effie is eventually replaced by the singer Michelle Morris (Kimberly Teitter) and, several years later, Deena Jones and the Dreams are incredibly successful while Effie is a struggling singer in a club.  C.C. is unhappy with how Curtis wants to record his latest song so he offers it to Effie and her version becomes a hit.  Deena, Lorrell, and Michelle become disillusioned with performing, and with Curtis, so they give a farewell concert and sing one final number with Effie.  The show is basically a series of performances by James "Thunder" Early, The Dream, and Effie at various locations interspersed with a narrative about how the pressures of the music industry impact their friendship with each other and their romantic relationships but these performances are amazing!  My favorite numbers were "Move (You're Steppin' On My Heart)" during the talent competition, "Steppin' to the Bad Side" which becomes the group's first hit single with Early, "(And I Am Telling You) I'm Not Going" after Effie is replaced, "I Miss You, Old Friend" when C.C. and Effie reconcile, "One Night Only" as Effie makes a comeback, and "Dreamgirls" during the final number with Effie.  The set consists of a multi-tiered stage (a fantastic live band sits on the top tier) with multiple backdrops to denote different locations (I loved the red velvet curtains of the Apollo Theatre) and smaller set pieces are brought on and off in front of the stage by the ensemble for the more intimate scenes.  The girl group costumes from the 1960s and 1970s are as fabulous as you would expect (with as many sequins as you would expect) and the lighting is very dramatic.  Finally, the entire cast is insanely talented but Soto blows the roof off of the theatre!  I had a lot of fun at this show (audience participation is highly encouraged) and I recommend it!  There are performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (go here for tickets) through June 14.