Threaded Order Chronological Order
| Lillias White/Jennifer Holliday | |
| Posted by: Shutterbug 01:15 pm EDT 06/28/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Why was the 1987 revival of DREAMGIRLS such a bust? - Delvino 10:29 am EDT 06/28/20 | |
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| Agree that White is a gifted singer/actor, and I never miss an opportunity to see her perform. Her Effie was full of the nuance and subtlety that only White can deliver, but that doesn’t make her the definitive Effie in my opinion. Holliday was, and will always be, the definitive Effie. When Holliday reaches down, deep down into her chest - no, her guts - to deliver some of the big notes in And I’m Telling You.. her (and the character’s) emotional pain pours out in a torrent of raw feeling. I’ve never felt anything like it as an audience member - no matter who I’ve heard sing it since. Not White and not Hudson. I had the feeling that Holliday WAS Effie and knew Effie’s pain intimately through lived experience. Of course there was the off stage drama of Holliday getting fired by Bennett and then re-hired, which may have added another layer to an already gut-wrenching performance. Difficult to say if that off-stage experience contributed to the intensity that Holliday delivered. I saw Holliday perform the song live at an AIDS benefit in the early 90’s. She spoke about her complicated relationship with Bennett and then sang the song in his memory. It was devastating. I remember being in tears. (side note: the headliner at that benefit concert was Whitney Houston who was in magnificent voice. It was a night I’ll never forget). Holliday may not be a subtle actor, but for me she will always be the only Effie. |
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| re: Lillias White/Jennifer Holliday | |
| Posted by: Snowysdad 05:09 pm EDT 06/28/20 | |
| In reply to: Lillias White/Jennifer Holliday - Shutterbug 01:15 pm EDT 06/28/20 | |
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| I was living in Boston when the DreamGirls was coming in, pre Broadway. Even with Michael Bennett with A Chorus Line behind him the subject matter didn't pull me in, I'm not a rock fan. The show opened to raves and it was on everybody's lips. Even my parents who had stopped going to the theater saw it and raved, told me I had to see it. I was able to score a perfect mid orchestra seat for the final Saturday night performance from a ticket agency at a reasonable price. It was a total work of art, everything about the production was as great as Broadway can get. Jennifer Holiday literally blew the roof off The Shubert Theater, in retrospect the greatest performance I have ever seen. The only thing that kept that from being obvious to me is that everyone around her was equally on the same level, just not with that powerhouse first act closer, one of the greatest songs ever for a Broadway musical. I have and admire the concert CD, the cast is uniformly terrific and Lilias White is able to stand up to memories of Jennifer Holiday, but not better that performance, at least in my mind. I have a feeling that the part of Effie Melody White is so fantastic that many people will be great between now and forever and there is no point arguing who is greater than who, just whether you liked the particular performance or not, just like Rose in Gypsy. | |
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