Overview of ‘Dreamgirls’.
Coming direct from the West End and hitting Blackpool Winter Gardens, until the 5th November (remember, remember!!), Dreamgirls is a dazzling show, showcasing some amazing vocal talent.
Set in the swinging 60’s ‘The Dreams’ are a trio of young girl singers; Effie, Lorrell and Deene, all trying to make it big in the ruthless world of showbiz, enduring some testing times which tests their friendship to the very limits.
The show features hits such as ‘one night only’ and ‘And I’m telling you, I’m not going‘. It’s easy to see why Dreamgirls is one of the world’s most beloved musicals. It’s a story of friendship, family and perseverance to it’s very core, a tale of best friends on their rise to stardom, defeating the odds stacked against them. The musical has won multiple awards and has become a cult classic and an inspiration for generations …… and rightly so!
Mowtown connection.
At it’s very core, Dreamgirls is about the music (the sweet soul music!!), and the show stopping, original songs are one of the key reasons it’s loved soooo much, ‘And I’m telling you, I’m not going’ has been performed on TV more times than you can shake a stick at and has firmly cemented it’s place in popular culture! Within the story, the trio are signed to a black-owned record label, which is loosely based on Motown records and their original ethos of looking for R&B soul sounds and keeping an ear out for up and coming black talent.
2006 Dreamgirls Movie adaptation.
Given the popularity, a film adaptation was always on the cards and with movie rights being sold to Warner Bros in the 80’s, two decades later saw what the public had been waiting for, ‘Dreamgirls’ the motion picture…. which premiered to critical acclaim! The cast was star studded, with Beyonce (if you’ve heard of her?) cast as Deene Jones, Jennifer Hudson as Effie White, Anika Non Rose playing the part of Lorrell Robinson….. alongside Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover!! If you’ve not seen it, stream, download or even buy a DVD (if you still can) and give it a watch (not sure betamax or VHS will be available now tbh) ;-).
The Winter Gardens.
Whilst Dreamgirls is on a UK tour, we of course went to watch in the world famous Blackpool Winter Gardens. If you’ve not paid a visit then it’s worth making a special effort, beautiful architecture, brilliant lay out of the theatre, just gives you a more ‘homely’ feel than a lot of the ‘new kids on the block’ that have triple (or more) capacity, you get the feel of being right in the thick of it during the show, an intimate feel that you simply don’t get with a lot of venues and a feeling we particularly love!
Being located in the centre of town, parking near the Winter Gardens is pretty easy and there’s loads of places to go for a bite to eat or drink beforehand, check out our blog on our favourite restaurants though also check out the Common Room if you fancy a cheeky Cocktail beforehand too 🙂
We loved the night and wait with bated breath for a return showing, fingers crossed for next year!!!
We do hope you enjoyed reading our summary of Dreamgirls. Whilst you’re here, why don’t you check out some of our other blogs such as ‘5 Best reasons to visit Blackpool‘ or how about a virtual pub run around south shore? …and please follow us on social media, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, youtube or TikTok.
