CHICAGO – The revival of interest in the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls got a significant boost when the 2006 film version was released. Chicago now has the opportunity to see a brilliant new production of the stage version at the Cadillac Palace Theater, running from January 19th through January 31st.

The rejuvenated show premiered in New York City’s Apollo Theater last November, where the setting of the play begins. The revised soundtrack even includes a song exclusive to the film, second act’s “Listen.”

The story is a parallel universe version of The Supremes, set in the appropriate era of their rise and tribulations, the 1960s and ‘70s. The girl group featured is called the Dreamettes – later The Dreams – and features Effie White as the lead singer, with Lorrell Robinson and Deena Jones backing her up.

From their roots at the Apollo Theater to their stint as James “Thunder” Early’s background singers, the Dreamettes claw their way up the performance ladder to get a shot as an individual act. It is just as they are about to get their big break when their hustler/manager Curtis Taylor announces that the beauty Deena will now sing lead over the more full-figured Effie.

As the Dreams continue rising to the top, Effie feels more and more slighted, and her reactionary anger leads to her ouster from the group. The second act of the musical chronicles the unstoppable Effie’s comeback, both with her career and repairing the relationships she had to sever when she lost her Dreams.

This is a unique production, as it uses modern stagecraft in a way that heightens the experience of what is essentially a set-in-the-backstage story. Large LED diode panels were linked to a computer display that could create virtually any scene backdrop required, from glittery stage curtains to CBS-TV control rooms. The effect was sensational and sweetened the Dream’s journey and the epic song moments.

And what glorious songs they are. From the hits “Dreamgirls” and “One Night Only” to the narrative exposition tunes (the play is more of a rock opera format than the film) including “Steppin’ to the Bad Side” and “I Am Changing.” The songs were the storytellers, giving both an immediacy to the moment and a conveying vehicle to whatever concert, press conferences or TV studios that the Dreams inhabited in that time so long ago.

Special consideration is given to the show stopper – now, then and forever – of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.” This remarkable moment was absolutely knocked out of the theater, maybe even the planet, by Indianapolis native Moya Angela as Effie. There is an otherworldly connection to this song when it is given a proper rendering, and Angela transported the audience to whatever functional universe they needed to be.

The rest of the cast was strong, helped along by the previous Broadway and film versions. Chester Gregory, as James “Thunder” Early (the James Brown prototype) gave his youth and effervescence to the character and bred more understanding regarding his motivations, moreso than Eddie Murphy in the film. Gregory gave Early a distinct drive and energy that underscored his indiscretions, as in “the thing that makes you great also has the power to destroy you.”

This production of Dreamgirls is a spellbinding night of musical theater, offering an essential American show business story that can be related to any rise and fall in life’s path. We are all Dreamgirls, or Soul Brothers like James Early, getting up and performing, hoping for the either the big break or at least some recognition of our unique existence.

“Dreamgirls” runs January 19th through January 31st at the Cadillac Palace Theater, Chicago, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.