Dreamgirls on Broadway Backdrops For Rent

The History of Dreamgirls on Broadway

Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen that is based upon the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others. The musical follows the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called “The Dreams”, who become music superstars. The musical opened on December 20, 1981 at the Imperial Theatre and was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical, winning six. It was later adapted into a motion picture from DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures in 2006.

Dreamgirls premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on December 20, 1981 and closed on August 11, 1985 after 1,521 performances. The production was directed by Michael Bennett, produced by Bennett, Bob Avian, Geffen Records, and The Shubert Organization, and choreographed by Bennett and Michael Peters. It starred Sheryl Lee Ralph as Deena Jones, Jennifer Holliday as Effie White, Loretta Devine as Lorrell Robinson, Ben Harney as Curtis Taylor, Jr., Cleavant Derricks as James “Thunder” Early, and Obba Babatundé as C. C. White. Dreamgirls proved to be a star-making vehicle for several of its performers, particularly Holliday, whose performance as Effie received significant praise.