On December 20, Henry Krieger Tom Ion's musical Dream Girl celebrated its 39th anniversary. The show was released in 1981 and starred Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devon.
Themed after the fictional Motor City band the Dreams, DreamGirl explores the status, rivalry, and love lives of three African-American women in the music industry in the '60s and '70s, with Devin playing Lorrell as the central figure in the trio, each representing a breakthrough role that Broadway didn't have before.
The original opened on December 20, 1981 at the Empire Theatre on Broadway. Dream Girl was directed and co-choreographed by Michael Bennett, co-choreographed by Michael Peters, written and written by Tom Ian, and arranged by Henry Krieger.
The show received 13 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and eventually won 6 awards, including Best Musical Screenplay, Best Actor, Jennifer Holliday's Best Actress Award, and more. Before closing on August 11, 1985, the play had more than 1,500 performances.
