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| Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: NYCVoiceTeacher 04:07 pm EST 11/24/22 | |
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| I saw the original Dreamgirls and I have watched the video about 1000 times. I always wonder why Michael Bennett put her behind that long table for the number. It never made sense to me. Happy Thanksgiving. |
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| re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 11:13 am EST 11/25/22 | |
| In reply to: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You - NYCVoiceTeacher 04:07 pm EST 11/24/22 | |
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| The people who have answered so far explicitly mention why the END of the song is effective by her being behind the table and pulled upstage. But I noticied you didn't mention the end in your post. You asked why he put her behind the table in the number. My answer to that would be that she doesn't spend the entire time behind the table, which you know since you have watched it so many times :-) The staging is varied. She starts behind the table, comes out, interacts with Curtis, does the infamous fan kick, then returns to the table at the end, as noted so that she can be brilliantly whisked away which is both cinematic and emphasizes her being "wiped" out of the group in favor of the new Dreamgirls. | |
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| re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: ChicagoDRO 05:04 pm EST 11/25/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You - EvFoDr 11:13 am EST 11/25/22 | |
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| I saw the original the original cast in August of 1982. The energy in the audience was incredible during this number ending in a standing ovation. The crowd was so loud and still cheering that the final moments of Act I were almost missed as The Dreams came on to end the act. I like how you posted it was like Effie was “wiped away” from the group and she was not allowed to end Act I on her song. We couldn’t wait for Act 2. Fun note- the night before I saw this show I saw Nine. After the show ended I saw Jennifer Holiday and Michael Bennet on the sidewalk having an argument. I didn’t realize who they were until I walked a bit and put 1+ 1 together. Looking back I'm so happy I saw this original cast. |
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| re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: NYCVoiceTeacher 08:45 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You - ChicagoDRO 05:04 pm EST 11/25/22 | |
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| I saw Nine as well as Dreamgirls. Both stunning. My friend got us standing room for Dreamgirls. I wasn't that thrilled to go for some reason. I remember we got to sit down pretty quickly on the aisle in the orchestra. Those were the days when you could "second act" a show. I was just blown away by every minute of Dreamgirls. I thought Nine was equally as brilliant. I wanted Dreamgirls to win I remember. Both shows were unforgettable... especially with the original casts! | |
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| re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 09:46 pm EST 11/25/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You - ChicagoDRO 05:04 pm EST 11/25/22 | |
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| Lucky you seeing Dreamgirls and Nine back to back! Since I was not a Tony voter and had no skin in either game, I get to love them BOTH. :-) Honestly they are both in my top five favorite musicals of all time. Funny that they opened in the same season. | |
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| re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: tmdonahue 08:10 am EST 11/25/22 | |
| In reply to: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You - NYCVoiceTeacher 04:07 pm EST 11/24/22 | |
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| The table enabled the end, where she is pulled up stage center, the curtains close and the reaugmented Dreamgirls come out for 8 bars. I do not stand for applause on habit, as many NYC audiences now do. But that moment made me leap to my feet. "I am telling you, I'm not going" and there she goes. Her unwilling removal was so much more potent than for her to stand, hold out her arms, and put the routine button on the big number. It was story telling in the Dreamgirls style. The intermission was a hub-bub in the audience. What would happen next? | |
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| re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: Roman 10:34 am EST 11/25/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You - tmdonahue 08:10 am EST 11/25/22 | |
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| I remember that moment with such clarity. Being pulled back as she was singing how she wasn’t going — heartbreaking and thrilling. Yes! The intermission was unlike any other. | |
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| re: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You | |
| Posted by: pecansforall 09:19 pm EST 11/24/22 | |
| In reply to: Original Staging of And I'm Telling You - NYCVoiceTeacher 04:07 pm EST 11/24/22 | |
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| Here's an interesting anecdote about that scene. | |
| Link | Old Show Queens - Ep 3 Clip - Michael Bennett |
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