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Dreamgirls is coming back to Broadway after over 40 years

Dreamgirls is coming back to Broadway after over 40 years

Sheryl Lee Ralph, Deborah Burrell, and Loretta Devine in a photo from the 980s
Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images

When 'Dreamgirls' originally premiered on Broadway in 1981, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Deborah Burrell, and Loretta Devine were among the original cast.

Producers for the show, which first took the stage back in 1981, will conduct a worldwide star search for the main cast.

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Fans of Dreamgirls can start preparations to revisit The Crystal Room, as it was just announced the show is coming back to Broadway in the fall of 2026.

Five-time Tony nominee Camille A. Brown is taking the reins of the revived Broadway musical, serving as its director and the choreographer. The prolific creative's most recent credits include the Alicia Keys' semi-autobiographical musical Hell's Kitchen and the Audra McDonald-led revival of Gypsy, both of which she nabbed Tony noms for.

The cast of the new Dreamgirls has yet to be announced, as the producers shared with The New York Times that they plan to hold auditions for "talented women of all shapes and sizes" to fill the lead roles. The worldwide star search will take place in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, London, Toronto, Mexico City, Amsterdam, Rome, and Paris.

Dreamgirls premiered on Broadway back in 1981 with the now-iconic actresses Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, and Jennifer Holliday in the lead. Holliday took home one of the show's six Tony Awards in the Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical category for her performance of the bombastic number "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going." The show ran for almost four years, closing after over 1,200 performances.

The musical was later adapted into a 2006 Oscar-winning movie starring Beyoncé, Anika Noni Rose, and Jennifer Hudson, who received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

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