‘Dreamgirls’ at OCPAC

The girl groups of the 1960s pioneered the pop charts and the hit musical Dreamgirls, running through May 2, 2010 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, pays homage to those girls in the best form of flattery: imitation.

Dreamgirls uses original songs that adopt the soulful harmonies of the day to tell the story of Effie White (Moya Angela), Deena Jones (Syesha Mercado) and Lorrell Robinson’s (Adrienne Warren) rise to stardom; a journey that begins at the notorious Apollo Theater. When Effie’s big voice and big attitude is pushed to the background, Deena Jones, whose name itself is an obvious throw back to Diana Ross of The Supremes, emerges as the diva… and drama ensues.

James “Thunder” Early (Chester Gregory), whom the girls start out singing backup for, channels the best rock and roll and R&B has ever offered, borrowing Little Richard’s trademark “shut up” bit, fainting beneath a gold cape like James Brown and doing the splits like Chuck Berry. Not to mention Gregory’s voice and performance prowess that would give any legend a run for their money.

More than the sound and the moves, Dreamgirls also scratches the surface of some familiar conflicts in music history. Effie’s move from leader to backup singer calls to mind Aretha Franklin, who was famously told in her early career to tone down her powerful voice. Angela’s voice is so movingly soulful, an Aretha Franklin reference is almost obligatory. Similarly, C.C. White (Trevon Davis) who composes the Dreamgirls music endures the all-too-true tale of African American music being borrowed, or more accurately stolen, and then reworked for white mass consumption. A predicament that resembles that of many black artists, including Chuck Berry, who successfully sued The Beach Boys years after the 1963 release of “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” which sounded just like Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen.”

And if the music, moves and drama weren’t enough, the costumes are just as much a part of the show as the characters, with changes made as swiftly as a slide from one note to the other. A light goes out and when it comes back on, an entirely new dress appears, or a back is turned to the audience only to reappear in a whole new look. And the looks are plenty, from the simple bobby socks style the girls begin in, to the sheer floor-length dresses favored in the late ’60s to the funk-a-delic ’70s look complete with afros.

But while in some instances Dreamgirls hits high notes, it falls flat in others. The show is rather long, clocking in at two hours and 37 minutes, including an 18-minute intermission, at which point some theater-goers opted to leave, forgoing the remaining hour of the show. The plot starts out amicably enough, but by the end there are more than a few loose ends that never really get explained. And although opening night difficulties are to be expected, hissing and popping microphones where distracting and still not taken care of by the second act. Although some of the negative energy could be attributed to the Orange County audience – either too cool or too sleepy to react enthusiastically to virtually any showboat antics – which barely clapped when Effie ripped into her first powerful ballad or when James masterfully did the splits and repeatedly dropped to his knees.

Despite some setbacks, Dreamgirls has all the makings of an entertaining show.