Cast announcement for Dreamgirls
24 April 2020
by Visit Blackpool
Sonia Friedman Productions today announced that Nicole Dennis will play the role of Effie White in the first ever UK tour of Dreamgirls. The tour which starts in September heads to the Opera House Blackpool from Tuesday 27 October – Saturday 07 November 2020.
A finalist on ITV’s The Voice in 2019, Nicole Dennis wowed viewers and judges at her blind audition, performing Dreamgirls mega-hit ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’ alongside team mentor Jennifer Hudson. Hudson won an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress) for her portrayal of Effie White in the 2006 Oscar-winning motion picture adaptation of Dreamgirls, which also starred BeyoncĂ© Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.
Nicole’s other London stage credits include The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), Waitress (Adelphi Theatre) and the West End production of Dreamgirls (Savoy Theatre).
This sensational, multi-award winning new production of Dreamgirls had its critically acclaimed West End premiere in December 2016 at London’s Savoy Theatre, 35 years on from opening on Broadway.
The UK tour will begin in Bristol in September 2020, continuing on to Milton Keynes, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Sunderland, Hull, Nottingham, Liverpool, Norwich, Canterbury and Leeds. Further venues and dates are to be announced.
Nicole Dennis said: "I am so thrilled that I can finally speak about something I’ve been holding onto for the LONGEST time! I will be playing Effie White in the first ever UK tour of ‘Dreamgirls’.
Also, I cannot wait to be back on the stage at the Noel Coward with my ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Fam once theatres reopen and so thrilled that following that, I will be going on tour in this mammoth role!
Effie has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and now I will get to share her with audiences around the UK. To say I’m excited is an understatement".
Producer, Sonia Friedman said: “We are delighted to be able to announce that having wowed viewers on ITV’s The Voice, as well as audiences in the West End, the incredibly gifted Nicole Dennis will be re-joining the Dreamgirls family to play Effie White on tour throughout the UK.
The multi-award winning Broadway classic Dreamgirls is an empowering and hugely entertaining story of hope, redemption, sisterhood, and resillience with an uplifting, and extraordinary score of now-classic hit songs from the golden era of American soul, R&B, and disco. It is a shining example of the best of American musical theatre, and the escapism that we will need soon.
Nicole Dennis will play the role of Effie White in the Dreamgirls UK tour at certain performances with further casting to be announced soon.
Dreamgirls the Musical at the Opera House Blackpool from Tuesday 27 October – Saturday 07 November 2020 Tickets are available now from £20.00 at www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk.