Review: Dreamgirls, Bristol Hippodrome

The star of Dreamgirls, currently on tour at Bristol Hippodrome, is not a character but a voice. It is the breathtaking voice of Nicole Raquel Dennis singing the love ballad And I am telling you I’m not going. As the heartbroken Effie White, crying out for her lost love and her lost dreams, she is so raw and so powerful that it hurts to watch.

Effie is victim to the unfairness of life and show business, to a cold-hearted man and to her own demanding, ungrateful character. She is rude, offensive and puts her happiness above others’, and yet the great skill of Dennis’ portrayal is that we feel more keenly for her than for any other character in the show. Even as she sabotages her own good fortune, the audience cannot help but ache for her.

Effie is part of the Dreamettes, a vocal trio emerging in the R’n’B era of the ’60s, desperate to ‘make it’ in music. With the help of manager Curtis Taylor Jr, they embark on a tour backing the charismatic singer Jimmy Early. Curtis’ ambitious management sees them face the challenges of the day, including a racist music industry and the fervent effort to get to the charts. But the relentless tension of the music industry and the ambition that drives it, threaten the group and the people closest to it.

One of the joys of this musical is its insistence on giving big moments to its non-main characters. Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson may start out as the Dreamettes’ backing singers, but each becomes her own distinct person as the group grows up. Natalie Kassanga as Deena becomes kind-hearted and mature, able to keep her own council and a professional through and through. Her duet with Dennis (a love ballad that is, refreshingly, about friendship rather than romance) is a stand out moment in the show.

Paige Peddie as Lorrell excellently charts her character’s journey from idealistic, star-struck youngster to grown woman making difficult decisions. Throughout, though, she is the same endearing character: sweet-hearted, with an infectious sense of fun and an enormous smile. Her chemistry with love interest Jimmy (played by Brandon Lee Sears) reaches the back of the stalls, and is captured beautifully by both.

Sears as soul musician Jimmy is the stand-out performer of the show. Crazed with a relentless energy, he whoops and jives his way through the production, his elastic body contorting him into painful-looking shapes, including at one point a drop-down splits. Are his limbs made of rubber? It seems likely.

The casting of the show is indeed one of the things that gives it its strength. Dom Hartley-Harris as the Dreamettes’ manager Curtis carefully combines the former-salesman’s smooth persuasiveness with a cold, hard inner edge. He is remarkably poised, even when angry, and yet there is a trace of danger about him. It’s a skilful balance for the actor to hit, and creates the perfect contrast with experienced, down-to-earth and quietly decent Marty (Jo Servi), another music manager. Marty seems like he has seen a lot of the world, and has a quiet authority that he feels no need to push.

This array of characters is beautifully framed in Casey Nicholaw’s elegant staging. Rarely have I seen such a talent as Nicholaw has to densely populate a stage and not make it seem crowded. Rather, the busy tableaus he creates, with groups of people chatting in the background while a scene plays out front, do not detract from the action but illustrate it. They lend to it the hectic atmosphere of backstage life, showing the audience the fast-paced, vibrant world in which these characters move.

Finally, credit must be paid to the show’s lighting scheme. The full heft of the Hippodrome’s lighting is used, at times sending shafts of light skittering across the stage, at others illuminating the action with glorious combinations of gold and deep blue. Its deployment frequently lifts the action, heightening moments within the choreography.

Dreamgirls is a hugely enjoyable show, populated with skilful performances and extraordinary vocal prowess. It holds well to the spirit of the original, but the actors in this production have succeeded in making it their own.

Dreamgirls is at Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, BS1 4UZ at 7.30pm daily, and 2.30pm matinee shows on Thursday and Saturday (no shows on Sundays), until January 22. Tickets are available at www.atgtickets.com.

Main photo: Matt Crockett

Read more: Review: Hairspray, Bristol Hippodrome

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