A roadshow — designed to make an evening of moviegoing more like a live theatrical experience — will be offered in three cities beginning Dec. 15. Variety reports that Hollywood's Cinerama Dome, New York's Ziegfeld Theatre and San Francisco's Metreon will all host the "Dreamgirls" roadshow, which features reserved seating, an intermission, "Dreamgirls"-themed lobby displays and merchandise booths, a limited-edition program and, of course, higher ticket prices.
The roadshow will play in each of these theatres for ten days. About the "Dreamgirls" roadshow, Paramount's president of distribution Jim Tharp told the industry paper, "We wanted to bring ["Dreamgirls"] to audiences in a special way, and we think this roadshow does the film justice." The last film to have an official roadshow, Variety says, was another film musical, 1972's "Man of La Mancha."
Directed by Bill Condon, "Dreamgirls" is scheduled to hit movie theatres nationwide Dec. 25, although it will premiere in New York Dec. 4 and in Los Angeles Dec. 11. The film stars Jennifer Hudson as Effie, Beyoncé Knowles as Deena Jones, Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell Robinson, Jamie Fox as Curtis Taylor Jr., Eddie Murphy as James "Thunder Early" and Danny Glover as Marty. Director Bill Condon also wrote the film's screenplay based on the late Tom Eyen's book. The film employs most of the original score by Eyen and Henry Krieger as well as four new tunes.
"Dreamgirls," according to the film's official website, "follows the rise of a trio of women — Deena (Beyoncé Knowles), Effie (Jennifer Hudson) and Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose) — who have formed a promising girl 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. The spotlight, however, begins to narrow in on Deena, finally pushing back 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."
