On Monday evening, a welcome reception for The Muny’s 2012 production of Dreamgirls – starring Jennifer Holliday in the Broadway role that made her famous – became a moving walk down memory lane.
“I first heard your voice early in the Broadway run before you won the sweep of awards – including the Grammy and the Tony Awards in 1982,” said Donald M. Suggs, publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American, which co-hosted the reception along with World Wide Technology and the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
“And I – along with the entire, completely enthralled audience – leapt to my feet cheering, clapping and stomping in appreciation of your powerful performance that I’ll never forget.”
“I too have a memory of seeing Dreamgirls with all five of my sisters back in the ‘80s,” said Ann Marr, vice president of human resources for World Wide Technology.
“When you came out and sang, we were in tears. It was so moving and so powerful. When I told my sisters I was going to meet you, they were texting me all day.”
As The Muny and its co-hosts expressed gratitude to Holliday for singing her signature role of Effie for the first time since 2007, everyone in the room at the Bogey Club could feel it.
Michael Isaacson, Muny executive producer, described the artist recruitment process.
“What I said to her is, ‘This community is ready for you and is ready for this show,’” Isaacson said. “And now all of these people are here to tell you how grateful and excited we are that you are here.”
From multiple sclerosis to main stage
“I just did Dreamgirls in 2007 and I was thinking that was going to be the last time,” Holliday said.
“Then I began to listen and hear how much love and respect Mike had for me. I was so moved and so overwhelmed. A lot of times when we recognize love, we run – because things that are real sound too good to be true.”
She recalled her continuing conversations with the producer.
“I don’t know if anyone told you, but I’m 51 years old and Effie is supposed to be a teenager,” she told him. “Maybe with 10,000 seats they will think I’m 18 because they will be so far away.”
The humor was a setup for something serious and quite surprising.
“Then I have to tell you something very private about myself,” she told him. “I have multiple sclerosis … MS is unpredictable. I have been paralyzed. I have been blind. I was recently blind in 2007 right before I had done Dreamgirls the last time.”
She recounted her trials as an MS sufferer in the limelight.
“A lot of people in show business and entertainment, we are made to hide our pain. And we are made to hide our difficulties in some hope that it is supposed to keep us working or keep us going,” she said.
“When I first came out in 2007 that I had MS and I was still working, people said, ‘Don’t tell people.’ But I’m also a Christian – and the other side of that is the testimony. I have to let people know that hope is real and faith is real.”
Isaacson told her, “We will take the risk, because we feel with what you have brought to the theatre that we would like our audience to experience the real thing.”
Holliday said that since Isaacson took the risk, he has become her “good luck star.”
Last month she performed on American Idol with 16-year-old finalist Jessica Sanchez, who said Holliday was her Idol.
She said, “I fell to my knees, and the second person I called was Mike and I said, ‘God has given us a great gift.’”
She admitted that she believed Sanchez was actually referring to Jennifer Hudson – another Idol finalist who went on to win an Academy Award for her own portrayal of Effie in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls.
“I kept saying to myself, ‘What if she’s got the wrong Jennifer?’” Holliday said. “Maybe I could go to Weight Watchers really quick before the show, and then she won’t know the difference.”
She brought the house down on Idol and feels that her run at the Muny will be a similar experience.
“I’m so much more humbled and grateful than you can ever know,” Holliday said. “I feel like singing.”
Her testimony moved some in the audience to tears.
“You are witnessing a great story of hope and promise and that dreams can come true for anybody at any moment and at any age and in any circumstance,” Holliday said.
“We just have to keep believing in ourselves and also keep building up others. Thank you for taking the risk. You are never going to feel sorry or regret it.”
The Muny’s premiere of Dreamgirls starring Jennifer Holliday runs July 16-22. For more information, visit www.muny.org or call (314) 361-1900.
