Milwaukee Rep 15/16 Season Kick Off Party Previews DREAMGIRLS Starring Nova Y. Payton

Milwaukee Rep 15/16 Season Kick Off Party Previews DREAMGIRLS Starring Nova Y. Payton 1 The Milwaukee Repertory Theater is kicking off its 2015/2016 season in its main theater, the Quadracci Powerhouse, by continuing its goal of increasing diversity on stage and in the seats with a staging of what promises to be a bold, dazzling production of the Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls, Sept. 22 through Nov. 1st.

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The Milwaukee Repertory Theater is kicking off its 2015/2016 season in its main theater, the Quadracci Powerhouse, by continuing its goal of increasing diversity on stage and in the seats with a staging of what promises to be a bold, dazzling production of the Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls, Sept. 22 through Nov. 1st.

Mark Clements, the Rep’s artistic director, has backed up his commitment to bringing musicals into the Quadracci Powerhouse in downtown Milwaukee with a string of acclaimed productions, including Cabaret, Assassins, Next to Normal, Ragtime and The Color Purple.

Now on the heels of Ragtime and The Color Purple, both of which enjoyed sold-out runs, comes Dreamgirls, the musical charting therise of a fictional Motown singing group called The Dreams, loosely based on the performing careers of The Supremes and other all-girl singing groups of the 1960s.

From 1981 to 1985, Dreamgirls ran for 1,521 performances on Broadway, earning 13 Tony Award nominations and winning six.  The show also won two Grammy Awards.

Nova Y. Payton, a Helen Hayes Award-winning actress, is slated to play the pivotal role of Effie White, the most turbulent of all the Dreamgirls.

During a recent kickoff event, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater indicated that it’s sparing no details in its staging of the groundbreaking Dreamgirls.  The production design team is committed to capturing the unique look and sound created by the myriad all-girl singing groups that put their indelible stamp on 1960s pop culture.

Other productions joining Dreamgirls as part of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s 2015/2016 season in the Quadracci Powerhouse include Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (Nov. 17 – Dec. 20); John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (Jan. 19 – Feb. 21); Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith’s American Song (March 15 – April 10) and August Wilson’s Fences (April 26 – May 22).

Season subscriptions are now available beginning at $99. For more details, and for a listing of shows in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Stackner Cabaret and Stiemke Studio, visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com or call (414) 224-9490.