Wednesday, November 26, 1997
THEATER:
Musical relates female trio's struggle to make it, rise to stardomBy Cheryl Klein
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It was 1959 when Berry Gordy opened his studio doors to Detroit's West Grand Avenue, officially ushering in the era of Motown. The soulful harmonies quickly gained popularity as "crossover" music, bought by both African American and white listeners.
It wasn't until 1981, however, that Motown took up residence on Broadway in the form of "Dreamgirls," a musical that profiled a female trio's rise to stardom and spotlighted the music industry's make-or-break hold on the American dream. No less than six Tony awards cemented its status as a classic and now, in 1997, Tony Stevens feels it's time for the girls to make a comeback.
"In musical comedy, there seems to be a kind of sugar coating of the stories and there isn't one here," says Stevens, who directs and choreographs the revival, opening Dec. 2 at the Wilshire Theatre and on Broadway in the spring.
The story opens at the famed Apollo Theater in 1967, as three young women with beautiful voices but little life experience take the stage behind headliner James "Thunder" Early. We follow Deena, Lorrell and Effie for seven years, the musical's spirited period numbers chronicling their progress and setbacks.
One of the most troubling controversies they face is the part Effie will play in the group. Despite her vocal talents, their manager shuffles her to the back. When Jennifer Holliday originated the role, audiences suspected this was because she was a "woman of size," as Stevens says. Perhaps more true to the original story line though, actress Roz White attempts to convey Effie's sound as a little too "black" for mainstream audiences.
"In the '60s and '70s," Stevens says, "black music became American music, but before that it was very specialized R&B and rough ... and that's what the Effie character represents the more soulful sound of music.
"A lot of things come into play when one considers that this person is a little more sellable than that person."
Yet all the characters take their struggles in stride, emerging as mature and confident. It is this development which first endeared actress Tonya Dixon to her character, Lorrell.
"As I look at Lorrell in her younger years, she was a lot like me. A little feisty, a little over the edge," Dixon recalls. "But back then I remember myself being a little more insecure."
She could also relate on a musical level, having grown up listening to Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and Martha and the Vandellas.
"I grew up on that sound because of my mother," Dixon says. "She loved all those doo-wop groups of the '60s. Smokey Robinson could do no harm in her eyes."
Stevens agrees, "All those songs were our songs. That's what we danced to."
As a choreographer, Stevens kept in mind his own Motown past in addition to the moves that won the late Michael Bennett the best choreography Tony for "Dreamgirls."
Anyone staging a revival must at some point ask themselves just how true to the original they intend to stay. But for Stevens, who worked on two other productions of "Dreamgirls" and collaborated with Bennett on "A Chorusline" in the 1970s, the line between carbon copy and complete revamp didn't need to be drawn.
"Michael's concept is that these people get caught up in the show business machine and when you watch it, you get a sense of that because it never stops moving," Stevens says. "As long as you keep those thoughts and concepts going, you serve the piece really well."
"Revivals are very touch and go," Dixon admits. "They're very popular these days, but they're really touch and go."
Yet Dixon classifies "Dreamgirls" as one of the more modern musicals, á la "The Life" and "Jekyll and Hyde," which reveal the darker and frequently more fun to play side of human nature, at the same time exploring serious cultural issues. These types of shows, she says, have broadened the spectrum of parts available to performers.
"You just don't have to be the cute little blonde that's in college and falls in love with the guy in the fraternity," Dixon says.
And if musical theater has changed its scope and focus since Gene Kelly and Judy Garland sang about various boy-meets-girl dilemmas, popular music has certainly evolved since the early days of Motown.
"I used to have an album of basically everybody I liked," Stevens says. "I can hardly do that now because there's such a huge amount of artists. They're all valid, they're all talented, but I think it's hard for artists to surface in this day and age and get someone behind them and really come up with something unique and special."
Though this may be bad news for groups in search of the kind of Elvis-esque mega-stardom that typified older acts, it also blurs genres and widens the range of what's considered "mainstream."
"Jamiroquai that's an example," Stevens says. "They're crossing pop with jazz and reggae ... There's much more to choose from. There's more dabbling in creating different sounds and styles and all that."
Of course, experiments usually produce mixed results and Dixon confesses that she prefers show tunes and Motown to much of the newer music on the market.
"I'm not very fond of rap at all," Dixon says. "Although I do see that it is a part of our culture and it's bringing out our African American men and showing their talents, and I'm very supportive of it, I don't go out and buy it.
"Now what they're starting to do is incorporate mixes of songs into rap. Now, that I like a lot because I like listening to that old type of music infiltrated in the rap, which gives it a new sound."
Which is of course what Motown did to R&B and what Broadway does to Motown in "Dreamgirls."
THEATER: "Dreamgirls" runs from Dec. 2-21 at the Wilshire Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Tickets range from $30 to $55. For more information, call (213) 365-3500.
Broadway LA
(Left to right) Tonya Dixon, La Tayna Hall and Kimberly Jajuan play the trio in "Dreamgirls."