A lot of experience has gone into the Jamaica Musical Theatre Company (JMTC) production of the Broadway and Hollywood hit Dreamgirls, now on at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts (PSCCA), Mona.
If you add the time the JMTC itself has been around (from 1960, though originally with another name) to the number of years the creative team has collectively been in show business, you'd get well over 100 years.
But the team is not only experienced; it is talented. Most of the members have received numerous laudatory reviews for their theatrical work; some have also received both industry and national awards for same.
They are (in the order their names appear in the Dreamgirls programme): director Fabian Thomas, production managers Maurice Bryan (also the lead actor) and Nadean Rawlins; musical director Michael Harris; movement director Paula Shaw; costume designer Franz Hall; set designer Michael Lorde; make-up designer Greg Thames; technical director Larry Watson and lighting designer Franklyn 'Chappie' St Juste.
It's no surprise, then, that the show is lovely to look at. The beautiful things include the set, the costumes, the make-up, the lighting and the movement.
Because the musical is about the on-and-off stage life of pop singers, many of the sets show stages and platforms for performances. Cleverly, Lorde has been able to make them look different and pretty, even while maintaining simplicity - this being crucial because of the requisite quick changes.
The colourful costumes, the make-up and the dance movements have the 1960s look. As the programme states, Dreamgirls is an amalgam of the stories of "R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles and James Brown. It follows the story of a young female singing trio called The Dreams, who become music superstars."
But while visually the production can hardly be faulted, aurally there are serious problems, variously caused. Were it not for the high quality of the production elements mentioned, and some excellent acting, the sound weaknesses would have been fatal. This is a musical, after all.
The first problem The Gleaner noticed last Friday was acoustical. For 15 minutes after the show opens, it is nearly impossible to hear anything clearly. Three sounds hit you simultaneously, resulting in cacophony.
Confused and confusing
From your left, on the apron of the stage, the amplified music of the Harris-led band is playing. From the adjoining half of the split stage comes the talking and singing occasioned by a talent contest; and from the other half, depicting outside the audition room, there is expository dialogue among several sets of characters.
It's very confused and confusing. Fortunately, that situation does not recur.
What one also has difficulty hearing, however, are the sung words of the lead actress, Allison Roberts. She plays Effie, and though she looks a bit like Jennifer Hudson (who plays the character in the movie), she falls far short vocally. Too often, she shouts instead of singing, and, in an effort to capture the Black American sound, she deliberately slurs her words.
While it's true there is much slurring in Black American speech, professional performers have to cheat and enunciate a bit more than might be realistic so that the rest of the world can understand them. Happily, the diction of the others in the cast is better, even with the American accent. Roberts, who otherwise acts well, will have to work harder at the singing.
Overall, the acting is very good. It's a large cast, but deserving to be singled out are Bryan as Curtis, a manager; Cleveland Cathnott, as the singer Jimmy Early; Aisha Davis as Deena, one of The Dreams; Laveda Thompson, another of the trio; Rudy Tomlinson as CC, Orrin Scott-Stewart as Marty, and Dane Robertson as Jerry.
A real 'find' for this production is Cathnott, with a decent voice and moves reminiscent of both Elvis Presley and James Brown.
The fact that most of the cast are at least relatively new to the stage — some perhaps are brand new (Bryan and Scott-Stewart, who have been around for years, are exceptions) — makes the high standard of acting especially noteworthy. Natural talent is doubtless one reason for it.
Another is the genius of director Thomas. (Professionally, he spells his name with common letters.) This year marks the 20th anniversary of his direction of the JMTC production of another stage and screen hit, Grease, which was also well done.
In addition to getting the actors to portray the stock characters that inhabit the story with energy and humour, Thomas keeps the often filmically brief scenes flowing coherently. He gets full marks for pacing.
The major problem with Dreamgirls is unrelated to the JMTC production per se. It lies with the book/screenplay. The story is a soap opera, with flat - that is, undeveloped and unchanging characters - predictable action and weakly motivated outbursts of passion. And what a limp ending!
Really, the Dreamgirls story is just a box for carrying the other components of a musical. Fortunately, the JMTC team has packed it with many delights.
These patrons were having a good time at Absinthe - Sunset Vista at the Morgan's Harbour Hotel on Sunday, July 12.
This beauty looked quite stunning in her outfit at Absinthe - Sunset Vista.
- Photos by Colin Hamilton/freelance photographer