THEATER REVIEW : ‘DREAMGIRLS’ IS A SPLASHY SPECTACLE

“Dreamgirls” is what’s hot in San Diego this week.

The international touring company electrified a capacity crowd at the San Diego Civic Theatre on Monday night (a traditional “dark” night for theater) with high-voltage performances, lightning-quick scene changes and an eye-popping array of glitter and theatrical trickery.

With some of the top troupes in town out of action this week while gearing up for new productions, the timing for “Dreamgirls” couldn’t have been better. And local aficionados were quick to honor the company with a raucous standing ovation.

“Dreamgirls” evokes the glamour of Broadway at its heyday with a minimalist set--a shimmering curtain that adapts to scene changes like a chameleon--and an endless parade of lavish costumes. But this splashy musical spectacle, which waltzed away with six Tonys in 1982, is strictly modern and thoroughly hip.

Motown music that never lets up propels the plot and keeps the pace racing in overdrive. Credit an energetic orchestra for plenty of support in the pit. But it was the first-rate cast, belting out those brash solos or working together like a well-oiled machine, that really turned the audience on Monday night.

“Dreamgirls” is a fictionalized account of the rise to superstardom of a Supremes-like trio, one of the musical groups that transformed black rhythm and blues into mainstream pop and brought the new crossover straight to the top of the charts.

But “Dreamgirls” shows us a world of shattered dreams and corruption in the popular-music business. The cast sings a song in praise of the American dream, but “Dreamgirls” actually depicts the American dream gone awry.

Michael Bennett, the mind behind Broadway’s longest-running show, “A Chorus Line,” directed and choreographed “Dreamgirls.” And once again, Bennett uses the show-biz experience as a metaphor for the struggle for identity. There is nothing subtle about the way “Dreamgirls” tells it, but that doesn’t dull its edge one whit.

Sharon Brown plays Effie, the talented lead singer who finds herself cast aside by her friends, her boyfriend, and even her own brother, in their urgent quest for success. It was a role made to order for full-throated, gospel-voiced Jennifer Holliday (who created it on Broadway).

Brown’s Effie is something else again, but it does succeed on its own. A fine actress, Brown gives her character a touching vulnerability, and she has the necessary vocal pyrotechnics as well. When Brown delivered her poignant reading of the big show stopper, “And I Am Telling You, I’m Not Going,” it was a genuine rafter raiser.

Herbert L. Rawlings Jr. is a dynamo as the hyperactive soul singer, and he brought down the house every time he grabbed the mike.

Deena (the Diana Ross character) is played by Alisa Gyse, a newcomer who holds her own very nicely in this seasoned company. Broadway veterans Lawrence Clayton (as C.C. White), Roy L. Jones (as the faithful agent), Arnetia Walker (as Lorrell) and Weyman Thompson (the ruthless mastermind of the group) are still around--and still vital forces in this production.

This contemporary folk opera may not be a modern-day “Porgy and Bess,” but it is a musical extravaganza with plenty of pizazz.

“DREAMGIRLS” Starring Susan Beaubian, Sharon Brown, Lawrence Clayton, Alisa Gyse, Roy L. Jones, Herbert L. Rawlings Jr., Weyman Thompson and Arnetia Walker. Book and lyrics by Tom Eyen. Music by Henry Krieger. Directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett (co-choreographer is Michael Peters). Robin Wagner, scenic designer. Theoni V. Aldredge, costume designer. Tharon Musser, lighting designer. Otts Munderloh, sound designer. Harold Wheeler, musical director. At 8 p.m. nightly through Saturday. Matinees at 2 p.m. today and Saturday, San Diego Civic Theatre, 202 C St.