It was back to the theatre last night for the opening night of Dreamgirls at Venue Cymru as the show arrived in Llandudno for a night of music and theatrical delights.
Dreamgirls not only features some amazing songs and choreography, but it also features some amazing lighting that brings the story of Effie, Lorrell and Deena – three talented young singers in the turbulent 1960s, a revolutionary time in American music history. Join the three friends as they embark upon a musical rollercoaster ride through a world of fame, fortune and the ruthless realities of show business, testing their friendships to the very limit.
The show opens as it means to go on throughout the performance, act one brings us the introduction to The Dreams will some great musical numbers and unlike many of the musicals I’ve seen over the years, Dreamgirls is almost completely musical. Many of the conversations are also being set to music and beautifully performed by a stunning cast of performers.
This is a show that I wasn’t sure about at first, I’d heard so many people mention how good the show was and people mentioned the 2006 movie that starred Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy, which I have to say I will be checking out over the next few days after seeing last nights show.
There are some wonderful comedic moments spread throughout Dreamgirls which most seemed to come from the character Jimmy (played by Brandon Lee Sears), the character reminded me a little of a mix of James Brown and Little Richard, his comic timing and performance were a delight to watch and listen to.
Dreamgirls certainly has the soul running through it of the music that the story is set around, it’s packed with emotions and moments that have you laughing out loud to a point where your jaw will hit the floor with sheer wonder and amazement, a moment that at Venue Cymru had the audience up on their feet with thunderous applause and a standing ovation and no, that’s not right at the end of the evening, this happened just before the end of the first act!
Towards the end of the first act, Nicole Raquel Denni who plays Effie White performs a truly powerful and emotional musical number that sends chills down your back and makes the hairs on your arms and neck stand to attention. The performance from Nicole, for me, was one of the best moments of the show, the sheer emotion poured into the number was spellbinding and after Nicole finished, the audience shot to its feet with a standing ovation, something that I’ve never seen during a performance only at the end of a show.
Act two would certainly need to be something special to come back from the end of the first act, but it really didn’t disappoint, with more fantastic musical numbers and performances from the very talented cast to bring the story of the Dreams to a conclusion.
Nicole Raquel Dennis as Effie White, Natalie Kassanga as Deena Jones and Paige Peddie as Lorrell Robinson have such a fantastic stage presence together and are a sheer delight to watch perform on the stage, the music by Henry Krieger is beautifully performed by all the cast members with flawless choreography to watch while being lit so perfectly from the lighting design as many of the costumes look amazing and those of the Dreamgirls shine.
This is a show that is fantastic to see on the stage and is one that you really don’t want to miss out on seeing the show ended with its second standing ovation from the audience as they showed their appreciation for a stellar evening of performances. You can see Dreamgirls at Venue Cymru until the 13th of August, tickets are available from the website at venuecymru.co.uk or via the Box Office on 01492 872 000.
Not one but two standing ovations
Event Title: Dreamgirls
Event Description: The show arrived at Venue Cymru in North Wales and had the audience loving the show.
Start date: August 9, 2022
End date: August 13, 2022
Location name: Venue Cymru
Address: Venue Cymru Promenade Llandudno, LL30 1BB
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
