DREAMGIRLS UK Tour will star Nicole Raquel Dennis (ITV’s The Voice)

Sonia Friedman Productions announce that Nicole Raquel Dennis will play the role of Effie White in the first-ever UK tour of Dreamgirls.

A finalist on ITV’s The Voice in 2019, Nicole wowed viewers and judges at her blind audition, performing Dreamgirls mega-hit ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’ alongside team mentor Jennifer Hudson. Hudson won an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress) for her portrayal of Effie White in the 2006 Oscar-winning motion picture adaptation of Dreamgirls, which also starred Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.

Before opening in the UK Tour of Dreamgirls, Nicole remains in the original West End company of Dear Evan Hansen (Nöel Coward Theatre) in which she plays the role of Alana Beck.

Nicole’s other London stage credits include The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), Waitress (Adelphi Theatre) and the West End production of Dreamgirls (Savoy Theatre).

This sensational, multi-award-winning new production of Dreamgirls had its critically acclaimed West End premiere in December 2016 at London’s Savoy Theatre, 35 years on from opening on Broadway. The UK tour will begin this autumn and visit Bristol, Milton Keynes, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Sunderland, Hull, Nottingham, Liverpool, Norwich, Canterbury and Leeds. Further venues and dates are to be announced.

I Am Changing from Dreamgirls

Nicole Raquel Dennis said: “I am so thrilled that I can finally speak about something I’ve been holding onto for the LONGEST time! I will be playing Effie White in the first-ever UK tour of ‘Dreamgirls’.

Also, I cannot wait to be back with my ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Fam on the stage at the Noel Coward once theatres reopen and so thrilled that following that, I will be going on tour in this mammoth role!

Effie has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and now I will get to share her with audiences around the UK. To say I’m excited is an understatement.”

Producer, Sonia Friedman said: “We are delighted to be able to announce that having wowed viewers on ITV’s The Voice, as well as audiences in the West End, the incredibly gifted Nicole Dennis will be re-joining the Dreamgirls family to play Effie White on tour throughout the UK.

The multi-award-winning Broadway classic Dreamgirls is an empowering and hugely entertaining story of hope, redemption, sisterhood, and resilience with an uplifting, and extraordinary score of now-classic hit songs from the golden era of American soul, R&B, and disco. It is a shining example of the best of American musical theatre, and the escapism that we will all need soon.”

Nicole Dennis will play the role of Effie White in the Dreamgirls UK tour at certain performances with further casting to be announced soon.

This award-winning production is Directed and Choreographed by Olivier® and Tony® Award-winning Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Mean Girls, Disney’s Aladdin and Something Rotten!), with Set and Costume Design by Tim Hatley, Lighting Design by Hugh Vanstone, Sound Design by Richard Brooker, Hair Design by Josh Marquette and Music Supervision by Nick Finlow.

With Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen and Music by Henry Krieger, with Additional Material by Willie Reale, the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls, Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett, opened in 1981 and subsequently won six Tony® Awards. The original cast recording won two Grammy® Awards for Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday’s ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.’

The Original London Cast Recording of hit West End musical Dreamgirls is available via Sony Masterworks Broadway. View and buy from Amazon.

The UK Tour of Dreamgirls is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Greenleaf Productions, Fakston Productions, Rupert Gavin, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Griffin Dohr, Adam Blanshay Productions in association with 1001 Nights Productions, Steven Rivellino, Glass Half Full Productions.

DREAMGIRLS TOUR
***ALL DATES AND VENUE DETAILS ARE CORRECT AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRINT, BUT SUBJECT TO CHANGE***

Saturday 12 September– Saturday 3 October 2020
Bristol Hippodrome
St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol BS1 4UZ
0844 871 3012
Bristol Hippodrome

Tuesday 6 – Saturday 17 October 2020
Milton Keynes Theatre
500 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 3NZ
0844 871 7652
Milton Keynes Theatre

Tuesday 27 October – Saturday 7 November 2020
Winter Gardens, Blackpool
97 Church St, Blackpool FY1 1HL
0844 856 1111
www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk/

Tuesday 10 – Saturday 21 November 2020
His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen AB25 1GL
01224 641122
www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/

Tuesday 24 November – Saturday 5 December 2020
Edinburgh Playhouse
18-22 Greenside Pl, Edinburgh EH1 3AA
0844 871 3014
Edinburgh Playhouse

Tuesday 8 December – Saturday 2 January 2021
The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham B5 4DS
0844 871 3011
Alexandra Theatre

Tuesday 12 – Saturday 23 January 2021
Sunderland Empire
4-5 High Street West, Sunderland SR1 3EX
0844 871 3022
Sunderland Empire

Tuesday 26 January – Saturday 6 February 2021
Hull New Theatre
Kingston Square, Hull HU1 3HF
01482 300 306 | www.hulltheatres.co.uk

Tuesday 9 – Saturday 20 February 2021
Nottingham Theatre Royal
Theatre Square, Nottingham NG1 5ND
0115 989 5555
www.trch.co.uk

Tuesday 23 February – Saturday 6 March 2021
Liverpool Empire
Lime St, Liverpool L1 1JE
0844 871 3017
Liverpool Empire

Tuesday 16 – Saturday 27 March 2021
Norwich Theatre Royal
Theatre St, Norwich NR2 1RL
01603 630000
www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

Tuesday 30 March – Saturday 10 April 2021
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
The Friars, Canterbury CT1 2AS
01227 787787
www.marlowetheatre.com

Tuesday 13 April – Saturday 1 May 2021
Leeds Grand Theatre
46 New Briggate, Leeds LS1 6NU
0844 848 2700
www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

Dreamgirls will continue touring throughout 2021 with further venues and dates to be announced.