Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Didier just keeps her focus resolutely on the emotional content of the piece - the surrogate family that gets formed and then ripped apart by the business they call show. For much of the dramatic action, the Dreamgirls (modeled, as you surely know by now, on the Supremes) are teenagers, easily preyed upon and wholly ill-equipped to navigate the biz that has a way of talking up "ensemble" and "community" but still rewards those who would throw their sisters under the bus. At times it feels like the whole show, floating in this raw space, represents shadows in Effie's head."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Didier’s magic is at work in every beat of this pulsating production that sears the heart, and transforms even grand production numbers and driving choreography into the stuff of fiercely played scenes. Lynn, who easily puts her own distinctive spin on the role that catapulted Jennifer Hudson (another Chicago talent) to fame, stops the show with her tour de force renderings of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going,” “I Miss You Old Friend,” and “Faith in Myself.” But it is her pairing with Peck (onstage at the piano) in “I am Changing” that might just break your heart most conclusively."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Wow. And once again, to confirm: wow. The Porchlight Music Theatre production of Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen's 1981 hit generates more pleasing, powerful sound per cubic inch than any musical I've seen for a long time."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Brenda Didier's new production, playing Stage 773's small Thrust space, feels somehow fuller than most bigger and bigger-budgeted stagings I've seen of this show. That's due in part to exquisite casting: Donica Lynn finds new shadings in the iconic role of Effie, who's been indelibly stamped by Jennifers Holliday and Hudson, and sings the stuffing out of tunes like "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and "I Am Changing"; as her sisters-in-arms, Candace C. Edwards and Katherine Thomas match Lynn for compelling charisma, while Eric Lewis gives 110 percent to the role of James "Thunder" Early, Dreamgirls's version of the hardest working man in showbiz."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...I never saw the two touring revivals of the Tony-honored Dreamgirls that played Chicago’s old Shubert Theatre. But, like Marriott Theatre’s riveting 2012 production, they couldn’t have supplied more soul-stirring passion than this homegrown revival by Porchlight Music Theatre. Even lacking the original pyrotechnics and Las Vegas brio in this smaller Thrust Theatre of Stage 773, Brenda Didier’s power-packed, three-quarter thrust staging never lets up. How could it with Tom Eyen’s pile-driving book (hardly a dull spot in 20 scenes) or Henry Krieger’s sizzling score (not a dull note in 30 songs and soul recitatives)?"
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Dreamgirls is a manic, polished and classy music and dance romp through Motown. You’ll quickly get excited by the sheer energy and deep emotional truth in this modern operetta. Powerful and richly evocative voices nail the tunes as the nuances of the struggles to attain and survive fame and fortune in the music world is sensitively presented. The joyous and angst ridden world of R and B music makes for a most engaging theatrical experience.Donica Lynn and Evan Tyrone Martin anchor an outstanding cast."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Most people are probably familiar with the 2006 Academy Award winning film based on the 1982 Tony Award winning show. Now Porchlight Music Theatre provides us the opportunity to see this award winning musical in an intimate setting at Stage 773. The show chronicles the rise of the all-girl group The Dreams (based on The Supremes) in the late 60’s and early 70’s, is a familiar rag to riches story full of new loves, betrayal, shady business dealings and big star turn for Donica Lynn as Effie Melody White."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...How does one spell “perfection”? When it comes to the current production at Stage 773 , as presented by Porchlight Music Theatre, the word is “Dreamgirls”!!!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This is a stunningly gorgeous production of Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger’s somewhat biographical musical, directed and choreographed with sass and style by Brenda Didier. Although she makes a few unorthodox choices in her staging (one of which is directing Effie to face upstage during much of her Act I diva turn), Ms. Didier does a wonderful job of equally including the entire audience, allowing spectators seated around the thrust stage to enjoy every exciting moment. Her rhythmic choreography is both exciting and stylistically period perfect. Several performances from this finely crafted production will be remembered for years to come as the actors’ groundbreaking moment. If that isn’t a Dream, what is? By the end of this fast-moving musical, the audience will find themselves humming the score on the way home, ultimately finding it “Hard to Say Goodbye.”"
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...DREAMGIRLS is a hot ticket. Before the show officially opened, it extended because of ticket demand. Don’t wait. Get your tickets! And you, and you, you’re going to love… DREAMGIRLS!"
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Flaws and all, Dreamgirls is worth the ticket price. You’ll feel the beat of the music in your bones, even with that troubled sound design. And watching Lynn and Lewis pour 1,000 percent into their award-worthy performances? That’s both a privilege and a thrill."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Porchlight's remarkably rousing rendition of Dreamgirls reminds us that times can be tumultuous, but they can be terrific. Amazed audiences will exit the theater to a better (if less lively) world than the one they just witnessed, where the artists who inspired the show long since smashed the segregation in the charts, and Harriet Tubman will be on the 20 dollar bill. And while the conversation continues about diversity in Chicago casting, this outstanding crew is a testament that theatre is at its most terrific when it embraces actors of all colors and creeds. We've got so far to go, but Dreamgirls reminds us that "All you've got to do is dream, baby!" They'll be there."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Director and choreographer Brenda Didier has taken this sprawling musical and ably contained it on the modest Thrust Theater at Stage 773, creating dazzling performances accompanied by Doug Peck’s musical direction."