Community Players Theatre kicks off its spring musical Thursday with a pay-what-you-can preview of Dreamgirls.
The hit show loosely based on the Motown music biz and the Supremes' rise to fame officially opens Friday and runs three weekends at the Bloomington theater.
Dreamgirls marks Jennifer Rusk's return to directing the Players for the first time in five years. In 2021, she was the first African American to direct the century-old theater company, leading a production of A Raisin in the Sun. With Dreamgirls, she is also the second.
“I didn’t know that was even a thing,” she said. “I just don’t think about it. I’m just honored to be at the helm of this project. It’s important to me because representation matters. So, I just don’t even think about being the first. I just want to be a conduit so I can open the door, so other people can walk through.”
Rusk said she was apprehensive at first about the thought of directing a musical, but excited by Dreamgirls coming to Community Players, something she said has not been easy to get. The show was performed in Peoria, but never in Bloomington-Normal.
“There were always these rumblings of it coming to Community Players Theatre, but it’s taken several years for it to finally get here,” Rusk said. “After a couple of people inboxed me with some gentle nudges … I was like, OK, I will attempt to do so.”
Rusk gives credit to the production team, a cavalry of volunteers that includes producer Erica O’Neill, music director Deonté Mosely, co-choreographers Chartamia Turner and Jay Williams and Illinois Wesleyan University’s head of costumes Zandra Siple, whose garments include scores of glitzy gowns for the Dreamgirls alone.
The show also marks the Community Players’ debuts of about a dozen performers [plus a first-ever musical for Sean Henderson, a perennial presence in Bloomington-Normal’s theaters].
It’s taken time to make Dreamgirls a possibility, the first musical ever produced at CPT to feature a predominantly Black cast.
O’Neill said the dream of Dreamgirls started years ago. She credited play reading chair Ashleigh Rae-Lynn with expanding the theater’s repertoire to embrace a wider casting pool.
“This has been a goal of hers to do new things — things that expand our reach into the community,” O’Neill said.
They recruited folks of all stripes to audition for shows like Jesus Christ Superstar and Puffs.
“It didn’t really matter what race you were, it was more about the character,” O’Neill said. “We wanted a diverse cast and we were very intentional about putting that on our website that that was one of our missions.
“I think there was also a very intentional effort for this show specifically, from Jennifer and a lot of other people, reaching out into church communities; reaching out to people who had maybe seen the movie but hadn’t come to a live show before. It was part organic, part intentional,” O’Neill said.
“I think it’s one of the most diverse seasons [CPT’s] ever had,” Rusk said. “It starts first with being able to select a season that reflects our community as a whole.”
New seats!
Dreamgirls audiences will also be among the first to christen new seats in the Players' new auditorium.
The venue underwent a major renovation this winter, moving productions off-site while its lumpy, 1980s-era Dijon-hued chairs were replaced.
“We’re going to keep a couple for historical purposes,” O’Neill said. “Where we’ve been and how we got there. They are older than me, for sure. It’s been over 40 years. It was time.”
The new chairs, a sleek Community Players’ red, come with additional accessibility improvements.
Passing the torch
As the show’s director, Rusk won’t be showing off her own dazzling vocals—though she said she’s been singing in rehearsal.
“It’s a new generation that’s coming up,” she said. “It’s a passing of the torch, and I know it’s in good hands. That’s what makes my heart sing. I’m able to see other actors that are of a diverse walk be on this stage. That just makes me happy. I feel like it’s going to continue on into the future.”
Not for nothing, Rusk said the cast sounds “amazing.”
“You will sit in these seats and have chills all over your body,” she said. “They are just a force to be reckoned with. The voices are amazing. The acting is top-tier.”
