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Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical

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The official companion book featuring essays exploring the production of the film, Michael Bennett's legendary Broadway musical, and the historic Motown revolution that inspired both. Illustrated with more than 200 color stills, concept paintings, costume designs, album art, and archival photographs.

Twenty-five years after first bringing Broadway audiences to their feet, the Tony Award-winning musical sensation Dreamgirls comes to the big screen, starring Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx (Ray), Beyoncé Knowles (Austin Powers in Goldmember), Eddie Murphy (The Nutty Professor, Dr. Dolittle), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Jennifer Hudson (American Idol), and Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (Broadway's Caroline or Change).

Set in the turbulent 1960s to mid-70s, Dreamgirls follows the rise of a trio of women-Deena (Beyoncé Knowles), Effie (Jennifer Hudson), and Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose)-who have formed a promising singing group called The Dreamettes. At a talent competition, they are discovered by an ambitious manager named Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx), who offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to become the back-up singers for headliner James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). Curtis gradually takes control of the girls' look and sound, eventually giving them their own shot in the spotlight as The Dreams. That spotlight, however, begins to narrow in on Deena, finally pushing the less attractive Effie out altogether. Though The Dreams become a crossover phenomenon, they soon realize that the cost of fame and fortune may be higher than they ever imagined.

Capturing the extraordinary visual style and power of the movie, the book features more than 200 color stills, drawings, concept paintings, costume designs, storyboards, album art, and archival photos about the cast, music, choreography, costumes, production, set design, and historical foundation for the period when the story occurs.

The text, including extensive interviews with Bill Condon and others in the cast and crew, is written exclusively for the Newmarket book by distinguished writers Martin Gottfried (author of Broadway Musicals and All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse) and Cheo Hodari Coker (journalist and author of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.).

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2007

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About the author

Bill Condon

89 books28 followers
Bill Condon's young adult novels, Dogs (2001) and No Worries (2005) were Honour Books in the CBCA (Australian Book of the Year) Awards. No Worries was also short-listed for the Ethel Turner Prize in the 2005 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. In 2010 Bill's Confessions Of A Liar, Thief And Failed Sex God won the inaugural Prime Minister's Literary Award for young adult fiction. A Straight LineTo My Heart is Bill's most recent young adult novel. In 2012 it was a CBCA Honour Book, and was short-listed in the Prime Minister's Lterary Awards and the Ethel Turner Prize.
Before devoting himself to novels, Bill had a long and successful career as a writer of short stories, plays and poetry for young people. His work encompasses many genres and he has more than one hundred titles to his credit. He lives on the south coast of New South Wales with his wife, the well known children's author Di (Dianne) Bates.
Bill's latest book is the junior novel, The Simple Things, published in 2014.

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