Special performance of ‘Dreamgirls’ to benefit Dillard scholarship fund

Dillard University’s 2013 Pre-Commencement Scholarship Benefit will be a one-night encore performance of the Dillard theater production of “Dreamgirls” featuring special guest Jennifer Holliday at 8 p.m. on May 9 in Lawless Memorial Chapel. All proceeds will go toward student scholarships. The show will also serve as a celebration of the completion of the $70 million Advantage Dillard! Capital Campaign.

Holliday’s performance as Effie “Melody” White in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and her first Grammy Award for Best R&B Female Vocalist. Holliday’s recording of the Dreamgirls torch song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” hit No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart.

“Dreamgirls” captures the Motown era through the story of a Chicago girl group fighting for love, fame and cultural identity in the midst of showbiz success. The smash-hit Broad­way musical de­buted in 1981 and became an Oscar-winning film starring Be­yoncé, Jen­ni­fer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx in 2006.

Dillard’s production of “Dreamgirls,” directed by Troy R. Poplous from Tom Eyen’s original book and Harry Krieger’s timeless music, played to sellout crowds from April 5-14. Dillard Theatre, now in its 77th season, took home the Big Easy Theater Award for Best University Production in March for its 2012 production of the critically acclaimed August Wilson-penned play “Two Trains Running.”

In previous years, Dillard’s Pre-Com­mencement Scholarship Benefit has featured performances by Nancy Wilson, Roberta Flack, The Four Tops, The Chi-Lite and more.

Tickets for the encore performance of “Dreamgirls” featuring Jennifer Holliday are $25. To purchase tickets, go to www.Dillard.edu or visit the university cashier in Rosenwald Hall, room 108E, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

This article originally published in the April 22, 2013 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.