#Character: Lorrell Robinson

[adamwatchesmovies]

Dreamgirls (2006)

Dreamgirls is not based on a true story but you’ll swear otherwise. While the film takes much inspiration from the history of the Motown record label and incorporates actual historical events into its story, the reason it feels so real are the characters and the drama. The ensemble cast all give such good performances and the material they’ve been given is so deep they all feel like real people. That’s enough to recommend Dreamgirls already but there's so much more: great musical numbers, a stellar production design, confident direction by Bill Condon (who also wrote the screenplay) and tons of re-watch value.

In 1962, in Detroit, Michigan, Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles) and Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose) are “The Dreamettes”. After appearing at an amateur R&B talent show, The Dreamettes and Effie’s younger songwriter brother C.C. (Keith Robinson) are recruited by car salesman - and aspiring music manager - Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) to sing as a backup for star Jimmy “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy). The story follows the Dreamettes’ rise to fame as their new manager becomes increasingly manipulative.

The ’60s and ‘70s era music scene is unfamiliar to me and not exactly the kind of music I gravitate towards (for the record, my taste in music falls under the “crap” category). It means a lot, then, that I was instantly able to “recognize” the songs featured in this musical. All of the numbers are from the Broadway musical or newly written for the movie and incorporated in a mix of diegetic and non-diegetic fashion. Every piece is a river of honey in your ear and surprisingly, Beyoncé Knowles ends up kind of playing second banana to both Jennifer Hudson… and Eddie Murphy. I don’t know if it’s hilarious or heartbreaking that my DVD of Dreamgirls featured a trailer for Norbit before the main event. As Jimmy, Murphy is incredible. There’s a particular scene where, tired of being asked to perform another soulful number, he breaks into an impromptu rap where he has to get his orchestra to play a new beat on the fly. It’s pure movie magic and the entire film is worth the price of admission just to see Murphy in full form in that one scene.

There’s a pervasive and consistent joy of filmmaking throughout Dreamgirls. Every frame looks terrific and the actors all give excellent performances. We’ve already mentioned some of them but now, I want to single out Jamie Foxx as Curtis Taylor Junior. His transition from sympathetic to villainous is so smooth it’s hard to tell at which point exactly your opinion shifts and part of this is because all of the characters - including the Dreamgirls - are fully-rounded human beings complete with flaws. Without a doubt, Effie White gets the short end of the stick in this story but there are times where she kind of gets what she deserves. You hate yourself for feeling that way, which demonstrates the quality of the drama. Obviously, credit is due to Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen, who wrote the original musical, but this film adaptation is not merely a shot-for-shot re-enactment. This is a real movie with distinct made-for-the-movie scenes and choices.

With a budget of $75-$80 million, Dreamgirls is one of the most expensive films ever made to feature an all-Black cast. That realization came with a bit of waryness from me. Ever since my back-to-back viewing of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami, I’m just kind of done with “struggle” movies. We’ve had some great ones but there’s more we can do with All-Black casts than show them getting beaten down, abused, raped, taken advantage of, etc. This is another reason to see Dreamgirls. While the topic of inequality is touched on in two key scenes, this is mostly an engaging drama that could (in theory) feature any kind of actors. This musical has the same sort of appeal as A Star is Born because of the characters, the music and the skill used to bring everything together.

Despite everything Dreamgirls does right, it will still be a hard sell for people who don’t like musicals. It's also worth noting that while the protagonists are rich, other characters don’t get the development they should. Sharon Leal’s Michelle Morris, for instance. She's an important character that's always kept out of reach. Ultimately, the flaws (you could probably find more if you really looked hard) don’t matter when we consider the film’s entertainment and eye-candy value. This is such a good-looking film and when we consider the way it recreates historical (or “historical”) events and elements, it was love at first sight for me. (Fullscreen version on DVD, August 1, 2022)

[lboogie1906]

Loretta Devine (August 21, 1949) is an actress and singer. She is known for numerous roles across stage, television, and film. Her most high-profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Gloria Matthews in Waiting to Exhale, and Adele Webber on Grey’s Anatomy, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

She was born in Houston. She grew up in the Acres Homes. She graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in Speech and Drama. She received an MFA in Theater from Brandeis University.

She was initiated into the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

She has worked on Broadway. Her Broadway debut was in 1978 in a musical called A Broadway Musical. She received raves in the 1995 Apollo revival of The Wiz as Glinda the Good Witch of the South.

She received raves in the Apollo revival of The Wiz as Glinda the Good Witch of the South.

She co-starred in Preacher’s Wife, Down in the Delta, and Funny Valentines.

She played roles as a repertory character in the play The Colored Museum. She appeared in A Different World as Stevie Rallen.

She starred as high school teacher Marla Hendricks on Boston Public. She won three more Image Awards for her work in the series. She continued to work in film, playing prominent roles in Urban Legend, Urban Legends: Final Cut, and I Am Sam. She earned an Image Award nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in Woman Thou Art Loosed. She appeared in Crash. She appeared in This Christmas and had a regular role on Eli Stone. She was part of the ensemble casts of For Colored Girls and Madea’s Big Happy Family. She was featured in a remake of “Feeling Good.” She appeared in First Sunday, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Jumping the Broom.

She starred in the State of Georgia. She was part of the Being Mary Jane cast. She voiced the character Hallie, on Doc McStuffins. She began starring in The Client List, playing the role of Georgia Cummings. She played Cynthia Carmichael on The Carmichael Show and Earnestine on P-Valley. She stars in Family Reunion. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphakappaalpha

[thediaryofatheatrekid]

Casting Goals: Lorrell Robinson in Dreamgirls

Danielle Steers

Krystal Joy Brown

Nikisha Williams

Zurin Villanueva

[jakegyllenhaalelujah]

if u reblog that vile singing my little pony thing one more time....

first of all, Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. The musical is based on 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.On December 20, 1981, the musical opened at the Imperial Theatre.The musical was then nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical, and won six. It was later adapted into a motion picture from DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures in 2006. The film starred Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, and Keith Robinson.

Dreamgirls had its beginnings as a project for Nell Carter. Playwright Tom Eyen and composer Henry Krieger first worked together on the 1975 musical version of Eyen's play The Dirtiest Show in Town. Carter appeared in the musical, and her performance inspired Eyen and Krieger to craft a musical about Black back-up singers, which was originally called One Night Only and then given the working title of Project #9. Project #9 was workshopped for Joseph Papp; Nell Carter was joined at this time by Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine, who were to play her groupmates. The project was shelved after Carter departed to appear in the soap opera Ryan's Hope in 1978.

A year later, Project #9 was brought back to the table, after catching the interest of Michael Bennett, then in the midst of his success with A Chorus Line. Ralph and Devine returned, and Bennett had Eyen, who was to direct, begin workshopping Big Dreams, as the musical was now known. Joining the cast at this time were Ben Harney, Obba Babatunde, Cleavant Derricks, and twenty-year-old gospel singer Jennifer Holliday as Carter's replacement (after Carter accepted an offer from NBC to star in Gimme a Break). However, Holliday left the project during the workshopping phase, as she disliked the material and was upset that her character, Effie White, died at the conclusion of the first act. Eyen, Bennett, and Krieger continued to iron out the story and songs. Cheryl Gaines and Phyllis Hyman were both considered as replacements for Holliday.

After two mildly successful workshops which included Jenifer Lewis as Effie, Holliday returned to the project, now known as Dreamgirls. However, she found Effie's role had been reduced significantly in favor of Sheryl Lee Ralph's Deena character, and Holliday eventually quit the project again. After acquiring funding from music industry mogul David Geffen and fellow co-financiers ABC Entertainment, Metromedia, and the Shubert family, Bennett called Holliday back and agreed to rewrite the show's second act and build up her character.

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.

Holliday's recording of Effie's solo "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was a #1 single on the Billboard R&B charts in 1982. For the Dreamgirls original cast recording, the producers decided to present the complex musical sequences as individual songs, cutting approximately half of the score. The cast recording won two Grammy awards, Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".

[k1804899media]

Week 9 - Curzon Cinema

TB1 Week 9, Blog 6 - Cinema Management (Curzon Cinemas)

Mick McAloon

This week we had a look at Curzon Cinema and this weeks blog post will be an example programme for a short film festival.

Short Film Festival Programme

Film 1. A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga - 2018

‘’In “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga fuse their considerable talents to depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life.  Theirs is a complex journey through the beauty and the heartbreak of a relationship struggling to survive.’’

2018 Warner Bros. Ent website https://www.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/a-star-is-born, last accessed 21/11/18

If you liked A Star is Born, you may also enjoy...

Film 2. Dreamgirls, Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson & Anika Noni Rose - 2006

‘’During the late 1960's and early 70's, three friends from Detroit, Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles), and Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose), form an R&B act called 'The Dreamettes'. The women compete in a local talent contest where they are discovered by Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx), a ruthless talent manager who offers them a job to be the backup singers for headliner James 'Thunder' Early (Eddie Murphy). They take the job and soon find out that Curtis has now taken over their lives.’’

IMDb Dreamgirls plot synopsis 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443489/plotsummary, last accessed 21/11/18

Film 3. Begin Again, Keira Knightley & Adam Levine - 2014

BEGIN AGAIN is a soul-stirring comedy about what happens when lost souls meet and make beautiful music together. Gretta (Keira Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own. Her world takes a turn for the better when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a disgraced record-label exec, stumbles upon her performing on an East Village stage and is immediately captivated by her raw talent.

Begin Again website http://beginagainfilm.com/#/themovie, last accessed 21/11/18

The three movies had very different budgets, yet they all carried the same plot behind them - a struggling artist who is discovered and skyrockets to fame and success. In both A Star is Born and Begin Again they also explore the theme of love and play with the love story to build upon the journey to fame. It creates a more emotional connection between the characters and the audience because love is something everyone experiences. In Dreamgirls, they create a sympathetical theme as they involve family-related issues, as well as each group member having competition with each other, making the audience feel sympathy and empathise with the characters and their story. With showing all threee movies at the film festival, people who are fans of stars such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce, will be intriguide by A Star is Born and in the search for something similar, they will come across Dreamgirls. Also, the audience may be curious to see how big music starts who have made a name for themselves in terms of their musical abilities are able to push their talent further in another creative field. A Star is Born fans may also be interested in a similar movie, Begin Again, as they look at the theme of love, as I mentioned above. 

This gives the feeling that the film festival theme is to tell the story of the hardships, yet magical, journey passionate singer-songwriters have to go on to find their fame.

They all also have big celebrity names acting in the movies, which grows public interest and makes people talk about it and want to know more about the movie. Having big names like Lady Gaga and Beyonce acting in the movies already creates a lot of buzz, because they already have a big fanbase because of their music rather than their acting. This brings in an even bigger audience because it’s not only film lovers, it’s also people who love their music.  

Quick facts...

The worldwide mega-hit, A Star is Born, was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures making $332 million. The movie had a budget of  $36–40 million.

Dreamgirls was distributed by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures and made  $154.8 million. The movie had a budget of  $80 million.  

Begin Again was distributed by The Weinstein Company (controversial) and made  $63.5 million. The movie had a budget of  $8 million.

References

2018 Warners Bros. Ent https://www.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/a-star-is-born, last accessed 21/11/18 

A Star is Born - Official Trailer 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSbzyEJ8X9E, last accessed 21/11/18

IMDb Dreamgirls https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443489/plotsummary, last accessed 21/11/18

Dreamgirls Official Trailer HD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK4AEkzYDIE, last accessed 21/11/18

Begin Again http://beginagainfilm.com/#/themovie, last accessed 21/11/18

Begin Again Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Keira Knightley, Adam Levine Movie HD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTRCxOE7Xzc, last accessed 21/11/18 

[kittyroxs]

Dreamgirls-Big voices lighting up the West End Stage

When you think of Dreamgirls you thinks of either Jennifer Holiday or Jennifer Hudson as their roles as Effie, with Holiday in the orginal Broadway Cast and Hudson in the film version, but now added to that there is a new Effie in town on the West End stage and that is Amber Riley. Watching this actress grow through her time on Glee and now hitting the big time in playing one of the most prominent roles in a musical is just phenomenal how her career has been catapulted.

 Dreamgirls, wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t at great fault. I thought some of the choreography got lost due to the staging, and that some of the stage direction was a little strange or it just looked strange, for an example, when Effie is doing her big number ‘And I’m Telling You’ she just standing behind the dressing room chairs and mirrors, I think at the big moment of the song she should of come forward, all guns blazing, it felt quite restricted.

 The cast were very strong, with the three leading ladies, Effie White played by Amber Riley, Denna Jones played by Liisi LaFontanie, Lorrell Robinson placed by Asmeret Ghebremichael, the trio complimented each other, in their character look, acting and vocal ability, it was a delight listening especially to Asmeret, with her quirky acting and her vocal range stood out…Amber Riley brought the house down with her solo’s and no doubt with ‘And I’m Telling You’, I had hair standing at the back on my neck and arms and looking around the audience everyone draw dropped and stood to their feet without any hesitation.

The men stood strong and showed their power status, the two that were the stand outs for me were Joe Aaron Reid who played Curtis Taylor Jr. and Tosh Wanogho-Maud who played Jimmy Earle, they were always in the moment, commanded the stage and were strong in all three disciplines, I enjoyed how quick they were, of how they reacted to others on stage and their energy in general. Along with the humor Tosh brought to the role along with sadness when we witness Jimmy’s decline. 

The show didn't knock me off my seat, though Amber Riley’s solo’s did. Overall, the show did not disappoint and had a some real stellar moments that will stick with you.

[tinahawleylma11-blog]

Acting for Musical Theatre - 19/10/17

Today in Acting for Musical Theatre, we began work on our contemporary piece ‘Dreamgirls’. I feel this will contrast nicely to our classical work, ‘Wizard of Oz’, and I am also a fan of this particular Musical having seen the film version.

To begin our session we discussed, as a company, what we already knew about ‘Dream Girls’, that being ; it is a story about a girl group  - ‘The Dreamettes’, ‘composed of full-figured lead singer Effie White and best friends, Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson.’ - Guide to Musical Theatre Editor, (2017). The Dreamettes meet a guy named Curtis, who becomes their manager and  helps the girls become back up singers for James Thunder Early (Jimmy). Effie, is then replaced as lead singer by Deena, which then kick starts her downward spiral and the rise of the Dreamettes, without Effie. Years pass in which the Dreamettes have become household names and Effie has been left in the shadows, before her electrifying return to the stage and the Dreamettes towards the latter end of the story.

After conversing about the story and it’s themes, we were spilt into groups and characters, and handed a scene. The scene we will be working on is a focal point of the story in which Effie is kicked out of the group and replaced by another girl. The ending of the scene is a conversation which is actually a song, sung by each cast member within the scene. However, we will be performing this as speech rather than song.  

My group consists of Ellyse (C.C), Olivia.W (Deena), Olivia.P (Effie), Jemima (Jimmy), Beth (Frank), and myself (Lorrell). Each group then read through the script in their characters to the rest of the class. When it was our turn we decided to use accents as this helped us with characterisation. I very much enjoyed this session and look forward to working on this piece. As homework we have been asked to apply the elements of acting to our characters, along with actions and objectives, and develop three ways of delivering our lines.

Reference 

- Guidetomusicaltheatre.com. (2017). Dreamgirls - The Guide to Musical Theatre. [online] Available at: http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_d/dreamgirls.htm [Accessed 29 Nov. 2017].

[lboogie1906]

Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an actress and singer. She is known for numerous roles across stage, television, and film. Her most high-profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Gloria Matthews in Waiting to Exhale, Adele Webber on Grey's Anatomy, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She was born in Houston. She grew up in the Acres Homes. She graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in Speech and Drama. She received an MFA in Theater from Brandeis University. She was initiated into the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She has worked on Broadway. Her Broadway debut was in 1978 in a musical called A Broadway Musical. She received raves in the 1995 Apollo revival of The Wiz as Glinda the Good Witch of the South. She received raves in the Apollo revival of The Wiz as Glinda the Good Witch of the South. She co-starred in Preacher’s Wife, Down in the Delta, and Funny Valentines. She played roles as a repertory character in the play The Colored Museum. She appeared in A Different World as Stevie Rallen. She starred as high school teacher Marla Hendricks on Boston Public. She won three more Image Awards for her work in the series. She continued to work in film, playing prominent roles in Urban Legend, Urban Legends: Final Cut, and I Am Sam. She earned an Image Award nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in Woman Thou Art Loosed. She appeared in Crash. She appeared in This Christmas and had a regular role on Eli Stone. She was part of the ensemble casts of For Colored Girls and Madea's Big Happy Family. She was featured on a remake of "Feeling Good." She appeared in First Sunday, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Jumping the Broom. She starred in the State of Georgia. She was part of the Being Mary Jane cast. She voiced the character Hallie, on Doc McStuffins. She began starring in The Client List, playing the role of Georgia Cummings. She played Cynthia Carmichael on The Carmichael Show and Earnestine on P-Valley. She stars in Family Reunion. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphakappaalpha https://www.instagram.com/p/ChhVCnYLwq7zLzwWgpGmhrB-bdsPUtGiYDXkzY0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lboogie1906]

Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an actress and singer. She is known for numerous roles across stage, television, and film. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, the long-suffering Gloria Matthews in the film Waiting to Exhale, and her recurring role as Adele Webber on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in Speech and Drama. She received a MFA in Theater from Brandeis University. She was initiated into the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She has worked extensively on Broadway. Her Broadway debut was in 1978 in a musical called A Broadway Musical. She captured attention in her second Broadway show, called Comin' Uptown. She received raves in the Apollo revival of The Wiz as Glinda the Good Witch of the South. She co-starred in Preacher’s Wife, Down in the Delta, and Funny Valentines. She played roles as a repertory character in the play The Colored Museum. She appeared in the TV series A Different World as Stevie Rallen. She starred as high school teacher Marla Hendricks on Boston Public. She won three more Image Awards for her work in the series. She also continued to work in film, playing prominent roles in Urban Legend, Urban Legends: Final Cut, and I Am Sam. She earned yet another Image Award nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in the film Woman Thou Art Loosed. She appeared in the film Crash. She appeared in This Christmas, and in the next year had a series of regular roles on Eli Stone. She was part of the ensemble casts of For Colored Girls and Madea's Big Happy Family. She was featured prominently on a remake of "Feeling Good." She appeared in First Sunday, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Jumping the Broom. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphakappaalpha https://www.instagram.com/p/CS1sCLTryYbtfdCK9nCmPKJlzeq1J6TqQeTJG00/?utm_medium=tumblr