No. 25. ”And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”
DREAMGIRLS (1981). By Henry Krieger (music) and Tom Eyen (book and lyrics)
Late December, 1981. You’re at Dreamgirls. The composer (Henry Krieger) is making his Broadway debut, and the lyricist/librettist’s (Tom Eyen) previous Broadway outing closed in previews. But you’re not concerned, because this is the latest musical from the mind of A Chorus Line’s Michael Bennett. From the first downbeat, you’re treated to a non-stop series of musical sequences and underscored scenes, with a set (by Robin Wagner) consisting of moving light towers, that is the perfect companion to Bennett’s cinematic staging. The musical charts the rise of a Motown-esque 1960s girl-group called The Dreams. They start as aspiring hopefuls in a talent contest where a smooth talking car salesman (Curtis Taylor Jr.) gets the girls a gig as back-up singers for James Thunder Early (styled after James Brown). They soon break off as popular act on their own, though this success brings internal strife. Curtis has a relationship with Effie, the group’s lead singer with a voice even bigger than her ego (played by an incredible Jennifer Holliday, previously only on Broadway in a limited return engagement of the review Your Arm’s Too Short to Box with God.) Curtis eventually starts an affair with Deena (a stunning Sheryl Lee Ralph), the more conventionally beautiful member of the group with a softer, smoother voice (and temperament). Deena becomes the new lead singer of The Dreams, because Curtis believes her voice will have more crossover appeal with white audiences. In “It’s All Over” Effie (who is pregnant with Curtis’s child, though no one knows yet) finds out she has been kicked out of the Dreams entirely because of her disruptive behavior. Effie processes this profound rejection with “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. As the song ends, the reformed Dreams make a grand entrance, and the act ends, receiving a spontaneous, and well earned, standing ovation.
In many ways, Dreamgirls is a follow-up to Show Boat’s exploration of the intersection of race and culture in American music. Dreamgirls functions as a rock-operetta, with extensive sung-through scenes (and a fluid staging to match). At the time, some found Dreamgirls a bit too slick, even cold. And it is admittedly as stuffed with ideas as it is with characters, and the recitative can occasionally flatten the drama of a scene. But no one can deny that act one ends with the most spectacular solo in the Broadway canon. “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” puts Effie’s anger, betrayal, and pain downstage center in a way that is a heartbreaking as it is thrilling.
Recommended Recording: ”And I Am Telling You I’m Not going,” Dreamgirls(1981 Original Broadway Cast)
The Original Broadway Cast Recording is a classic, if misleading record. The score, which is pretty much non-stop in the theater, is heavily truncated on disk and often lacking in context. That said, it's a great album with perfect performances, and every song plays like a banger.
Jennifer Holliday’s performance is about as legendary as it gets. And she can reliably be brought out to stop any gala or awards program with it to this very day. She released her track from the cast recording as a pop single and won a Grammy for best R&B performance, and nothing similar has ever happened before or since. Just watch the Dreamgirls Tony performance (which also includes “It’s All Over”).
Alternate Performances
Dreamgirls has received ~6 Cast Recordings, which is not nearly enough—few (if any) shows are as overdue for a major Broadway revival. “And I Am Telling You…” is a favorite of anyone who thinks they have the chops (including an infamous beauty pageant contestant who clearly was NOT up to the challenge). If you’ve watched a season of a American Idol or The Voice, there’s a good chance you’ve heard it. You may have also seen Will Smith do a full lip sync on an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
2001 Concert Cast - (see Frank Sinatra, Audra McDonald, or Glee?) This recording—from a benefit concert—is the only complete recording of the original score (including the numerous, extensive, sung-through scenes). Lilias White, who had played Effie on tour and Broadway in the 1980s, offers a killler rendition of “And I Am Telling You…” She’s surrounded by an embarrassment of riches, including Audra McDonald, Heather Headley, and Norm Lewis.
2006 Film - Bill Condon directed and wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation, which starred Beyoncé as Deena as Jennifer Hudson, who won an Oscar playing Effie. The movie cut a lot of the connective tissue from the score and added several new songs (by Henry Krieger and a host of other collaborators). It’s a very different Dreamgirls than the stage version, but nonetheless efffective.
2017 London Cast - Amber Riley won acclaim and awards for her Effie in the 2017 London production (the first major West End presentation of the show). Casey Nickolow directed the production, which interpolated “Listen,” a song written for (and with) Beyoncé for the movie, here recontextualized as a duet for Effie and Deena. It’s a nice recording that captures the full scale of the score, though I don’t think the performance styles reflect the various periods of music represented.
Is it Covered by The Rat Pack, Audra McDonald, or Glee?
The Rat Pack - Sammy Davis Jr. performed “And I Am Telling You…” in the 1980s, including on a Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
Audra McDonald played Deena in the 2001 Concert cast. While she’s not the first person you think of when you hear “pop star,” she acclimates better to the material than you might expect and, most importantly, is a great contrast to Lilias White’s Effie. “When I First Saw You,” Audra’s romantic duet with Norm Lewis (who played Curtis) is one of my all time favorite musical theater tracks.
Glee Before Amber Riley played Effie on the West End, she sang “And I Am Telling You…” in season one, episode 13 (“Sectionals”) as a bid to get a solo in an upcoming competition. Other Dreamgirls songs that appeared on Glee include “Listen” (season 2, episode 1), “It’s All Over” (season 3, episode 3), and “I Am Changing” (season 5, episode 13)
In the Wings
We’re 25% through this project, and I want to thank you all for coming on this journey with me. Song No. 26 will drop next week. Until then I recommend checking out Michael Riedel’s book Razzle Dazzle, which includes a deep dive into Dreamgirls, the Shuberts, and how a Times Square hotel led to Nine triumphing over Dreamgirls at the Tony awards.
