Dreamgirls announces new cast members ahead of West End debut

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is already set to be a smash when it hits the West End on November 19, with the role of Effie White being played by powerhouse vocalist and former Glee star Amber Riley.

Today (September 12) a huge array of West End talent was announced to be joining Amber for the show, which tells the story of a revolutionary time in American music history and The Dreams, a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois who learn the hard lesson that show business is as tough as it is fabulous.

Ms Riley – who delivered a stunning rendition of ‘I Am Changing’ as her own casting was announced earlier this year – will be joined by Ibinabo Jack as Lorrell Robinson and Liisi LaFontaine as Deena Jones, making up the soulful singing trio ‘The Dreams’.

Nicholas Bailey will play Marty, Adam J. Bernard will play Jimmy Early, Tyrone Huntley will play C.C. White and Joe Aaron Reid will play Curtis Taylor Jr, with Ruth Brown and Karen Mav alternating the role of Effie White at performances when Amber Riley is not scheduled to perform.

Ibinabo Jack, who’s set to play Lorrell Robinson has already starred in Legally Blonde The Musical, The Color Purple, Little Shop of Horror and The Bodyguard, while Liisi LaFontain, who’ll be starring as Deena Jones has performed in Rent, and was a finalist on the NBC reality talent show, The Winner Is.

Sonia Friedman, the show’s producer, spoke of her excitement at having finalised the show’s cast, saying: “It was wonderful to announce our star Amber Riley a few weeks ago. Now, having seen more than 1000 performers audition over many months, I am thrilled that we can reveal most of our Dreamgirls company.

“It is 35 years since its Broadway premiere, so to finally be the ones to bring it to London with our world-class creative team and incredibly talented, exciting young cast is an honour and privilege. I believe we now have the perfect team to create a sensational production that I hope will be well worth the wait.”

With book and lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger, the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony Awards.

The original cast recording won two Grammy awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday’s ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.’

In 2006 it was adapted into an Oscar winning motion picture starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.

Performances of Dreamgirls begin on November 19 at London’s Savoy Theatre, with reduced price preview tickets available for shows from November 19 – December 13.

To book tickets, click here.

For the best deals on tickets and shows, visit tickets.attitude.co.uk.

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