Dreamgirls

There's a moment in the national tour of "Dreamgirls" currently running at the Hippodrome Theatre that perfectly captures the mingling of Motown and money that is the musical's main theme. In "Steppin' to the Bad Side," inventively choreographed by Shane Sparks, the stage goes dark, and a group of African-American men don glow-in-the-dark Stetsons and suitcoats and carry briefcases outlined on the front with fluorescent tape. All those green rectangles suddenly take on a resemblance to old-fashioned box radios.

Just as the Supremes climbed their way to the top of the pop music charts in the early 1960s, the suspiciously similar soul trio called the Dreams claws its way to the top in Michael Bennett's 1981 Broadway musical "Dreamgirls. " These biographical connections are made loud and clear in the crowd-pleasing production of "Dreamgirls" at Toby's Baltimore Dinner Theatre. Everything is made loud, if not always clear, in a staging whose sound levels take an already-boisterous show into decibel-elevated territory.

Dreamgirls, the movie musical loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes, may be set in Detroit, but it clearly has struck a chord with Baltimore-area audiences. Over its first weekend in theaters, the movie pulled in more money at Arundel Mills Muvico Egyptian 24 Theatres than at any other moviehouse in the country. From Friday through Monday, according to figures provided by Paramount Pictures, moviegoers spent just over $116,000 on Dreamgirls tickets at the Anne Arundel County theater.

There's a moment in the national tour of "Dreamgirls" currently running at the Hippodrome Theatre that perfectly captures the mingling of Motown and money that is the musical's main theme. In "Steppin' to the Bad Side," inventively choreographed by Shane Sparks, the stage goes dark, and a group of African-American men don glow-in-the-dark Stetsons and suitcoats and carry briefcases outlined on the front with fluorescent tape. All those green rectangles suddenly take on a resemblance to old-fashioned box radios.

For Baltimore native Cynthia Waddell, starring in the national touring production of "Dreamgirls" is like a dream come true."The message for me in this particular show is so synonymous with my life: that dreams really do come true," Waddell said over the phone from Albany, N.Y., where "Dreamgirls" played several one-night engagements. The show arrives at the Lyric Opera House today for a six-night run."Dreamgirls' " six-month tour has included about two weeks of one-nighters, most occurring earlier this month -- during the worst weather of the season.

Folks, it's a marriage.T. G. Cooper, one of the area's premier directors, and Dick Gessner, quintessential lounge pianist and Broadway musical maven par excellence, have joined together professionally for the first time.The state of this brand new union is on display at Dick Gessner's Broadway Corner over on Route 50 just east of Annapolis, where Cooper's Pamoja ensemble has just opened its run of "Dreamgirls," the smash musical loosely based on the story of the Supremes' rise to stardom.

DREAMGIRLS," ONE OF the biggest Broadway hits of the 1980s, has been re-created and is headed for Broadway. If you missed its week at the Mechanic Theatre, you might want to catch it at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where it will play for another three weeks.In Baltimore, members of the cast and crew were wined and dined after the opening-night show at a party at the Belvedere's 13th Floor. Even the star of the show, B.J. Crosby (Effie), was there. She came to "Dreamgirls" direct from the original Broadway company of "Smokey Joe's Cafe," for which she received a Tony nomination.

The movie, Dreamgirls, due to be released in December, is already generating buzz. To increase anticipation even more, the production company, DreamWorks, is picking up the licensing fees for amateur productions mounted this year. Taking advantage of this, Winters Lane Productions has staged an ambitious, large-scale production in its new home on the Catonsville campus of the Community College of Baltimore County. And though the gutsy company falls short in some minor respects (trying too hard on the costumes and not hard enough on the set)

Dreamgirls delivers the real glitter. When it opens Christmas Day, that alone could make this a sparkling holiday movie season. Sure, the December schedule overflows with heavy-duty Oscar bait and brow-furrowing fare: Ed Zwick's tale of civil war in Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond; Robert De Niro's CIA history, The Good Shepherd; and Steven Soderbergh's postwar Berlin thriller The Good German. And they may turn out to be worthy and exciting movies, answering the Yuletide call for peace on earth and good will toward men. Yet Dreamgirls does all that and has a good beat that you can dance to. It's not a perfect movie (I'll hold my review for the opening)

Talent that floods off the screen and leaves you ecstatically drenched in emotion and street wit. That's what Dreamgirls, a brash heartbreaker of a musical, provides for most of its swift and enthralling 131 minutes. It's there every second Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy take the screen. And it's there whenever writer-director Bill Condon unites music and storytelling in a torrent of imagery that revives both the social tumult of the 1960s and the glorious pop culture that grew out of it. Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles are the top-billed stars, but Hudson and Murphy are the heart and soul-man of this movie.

Reality show refugees Syesha Mercado and Shane Sparks couldn't have reacted more differently to landing key positions in the national touring production of "Dreamgirls," which opens Wednesday in Baltimore. Mercado, a third-place finisher on "American Idol," wanted so desperately to land the role of tomboy-turned-diva Deena that she submitted to a grueling, five-month audition process. Sparks, the hip-hop choreographer on "So You Can Think You Can Dance," came up with excuse after excuse to avoid working on his first Broadway show.

She heard the flutter of programs and the audience murmuring, but even when the stage lights clicked on, Maya Redfearn saw nothing. No shadows, no silhouettes. Blindness is like that, a velvet curtain that never rises. And yet, alone on stage one night a week ago, Maya knew it was nearly time to begin. She could feel the eyes on her, hundreds of them. Her family was there. So were church friends and a few former classmates who still live in the Baltimore area. Everyone was wondering what she would do with this, her first public performance without sight.

LOS ANGELES -- When Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles, Anika Noni Rose and company blasted their way through three Dreamgirls songs in this year's Academy Awards broadcast, they also had a message for the millions watching around the world: It wouldn't hurt to buy a movie ticket. Dreamgirls is a solid hit in the United States, with more than $100 million in domestic box office sales, and its backers at DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures have been tiptoeing into the international marketplace.

HOLLYWOOD -- Martin Scorsese finally felt the love last night from the film industry, as his mob drama, The Departed, was named best picture and he was named best director. "Could you double-check the envelope?" Scorsese joked after being presented the directing Oscar by a heavyweight trio of his directing peers, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. Scorsese, who had come up short on five previous directing nominations, received a standing ovation from the crowd at the 79th annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre.

Capsules by film critics Michael Sragow and Chris Kaltenbach unless noted. Full reviews are at baltimoresun.com/movies. Because I Said So -- Diane Keaton is a mother who can't bear the thought of her lovelorn daughter (Mandy Moore) spending one more minute unattached. This is a relationship film put together by people who think TV sitcoms are reality shows. (C.K.) PG-13 111 minutes D Breach -- tells the story of the capture of super-spy Robert Hanssen with a delicious doggedness. Writer-director Billy Ray doesn't try to dazzle you with the scope of Hanssen's treachery.

thatsthespirit.com This entertaining-focused site has recipes for cocktails themed to this year's Academy Awards (search articles for "Oscar Party"), such as a Sunny Dream to celebrate Little Miss Sunshine or Dreamgirls. Kate Shatzkin

thatsthespirit.com This entertaining-focused site has recipes for cocktails themed to this year's Academy Awards (search articles for "Oscar Party"), such as a Sunny Dream to celebrate Little Miss Sunshine or Dreamgirls. Kate Shatzkin