Dreamgirls: stage vs screen

Dreamgirls began on stage. The musical opened on Broadway in 1981 at the Imperial Theatre, with music by Henry Krieger and a book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, and it won six Tony Awards. Bill Condon's 2006 film starred Jamie Foxx, Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as Effie White. The film keeps the story of the Dreams but changes the setting, the score, and much of the second half.

Stage

Broadway musical (1981)

Screen

Dreamgirls (2006), directed by Bill Condon

1. The Dreams come from Detroit, not Chicago

On stage, the Dreams are a Black girl group from Chicago who start out at Harlem's Apollo Theater. Condon's film moves them to Detroit, the hometown of the Supremes and of Motown. The change makes the film's links to real Motown history easier to see, even though the show's creators publicly denied basing the story on the Supremes.

2. Curtis runs Rainbow Records

On stage, Curtis Taylor Jr. is a former car salesman who manages the Dreams, but the show never has him running a record label. The film has Jamie Foxx's Curtis found Rainbow Records out of his Cadillac dealership, a label built to mirror Motown. It also ties the characters more closely to their real-life inspirations: Berry Gordy for Curtis, Diana Ross for Deena, and Florence Ballard for Effie.

3. Four new songs were written for the film

Krieger wrote the music for "Love You I Do," "Patience," and "Perfect World," with lyrics by Siedah Garrett (the first and third) and Willie Reale. "Listen," a number for Deena, has additional music by Scott Cutler and Beyonce and lyrics by Anne Preven. All three of "Listen," "Love You I Do," and "Patience" earned Oscar nominations for Best Original Song, and "Love You I Do" later won a Grammy.

4. Some stage songs are gone

"Ain't No Party," the Act Two argument in song between Lorrell and Jimmy, does not appear in the film, and neither does the stage show's Act Two opener. After preview screenings, the filmmakers also cut C.C. and Effie's sung reunion, "Effie, Sing My Song," and replaced it with a spoken scene; it is back in the 2017 Director's Extended Edition. The Underdogs rearranged the rest of the score with a more modern R&B sound.

5. Jimmy dies in the film

On stage, Curtis fires Jimmy after he drops his pants mid-song, Lorrell ends their affair, and Jimmy simply fades into obscurity. The film adds a rejected protest song, "Patience," and has Jimmy die of a heroin overdose, which spurs C.C. to reconcile with Effie. The ending also gains a beat: at the farewell concert in Detroit, where Effie rejoins the Dreams as in the stage show, Curtis sees Effie's daughter Magic and realizes she is his.

6. Effie's big moment, on stage and on screen

On stage, Jennifer Holliday won a Tony for her Effie, and her recording of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" topped the Billboard R&B chart in 1982. In the film, Jennifer Hudson won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the same part and the same song. Both performances are the emotional high point of their versions.

7. Jimmy Early won a Tony, then earned an Oscar nomination

Cleavant Derricks won the 1982 Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical as James "Thunder" Early. In the film, Eddie Murphy plays the role, now drawn from soul stars such as James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and Marvin Gaye, and he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Murphy's showcase is "Jimmy's Rap," which Rolling Stone's Peter Travers called his finest screen moment.

8. Tony haul versus Oscar haul

The musical earned 13 Tony nominations and won six, including Best Book for Tom Eyen and Best Choreography for Michael Bennett and Michael Peters, though Best Musical went elsewhere. The film earned eight Oscar nominations across six categories and won two: Best Supporting Actress and Best Sound Mixing. It did not receive a Best Picture nomination.

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